Category: Public Policy

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Let Rep. Gerlach Know: We Won’t Go Back!

  By Penn ACTION, Sexual and gender equality, Women and Health Care

On February 18, Rep. James Gerlach voted to: prohibit funding of the Affordable Health Care Act cut the entire $317M of federal funding for family planning services deny Planned Parenthood federal funding for any purposes Every one of these votes is a vote against women and prevents them from accessing a full range of health care services. On February 23,  Penn ACTION visited the Trappe office of Rep. James Gerlach (PA-06) to discuss the Congressman’s disappointing participation in the recent attacks on women and health care.   On Wednesday afternoon, two Penn ACTION staffers met three constituents of Rep. Gerlach at the Congressman’s Trappe office.    Two of the constituents chose to talk privately to Rep. Gerlach’s staffer about the Congressman’s recent votes threatening women’s health.  While that meeting was happening, we stood on the sidewalk outside the office with the third constituent, Mary, protesting Rep. Gerlach’s participation in the… Continue reading

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Wisconsin Politics Comes to Pennsylvania: Huge tax cut for corporations

  By Pennsylvania Budget

Late last week, when many of us were focused on the struggle in Wisconsin between working people and the middle class on the one hand, and the corporate backed governor of Wisconsin on the other, that fight came to Pennsylvania. Republican Governor Tom Corbett’s Department of Revenue adopted new tax regulations that will reduce the corporate income tax by $200 million in 2010 and $833 million over two years. (If you don’t need to read more to know what you think about that, sign the Penn ACTION / Keystone Progress petition against this corporate giveaway here. And, at almost the same time AdultBasic, which provides health insurance for 42,000 working Pennsylvanians who do not qualify for medical assistance, ran out of money. Governor Corbett did nothing to save AdultBasic. What would it have cost to extend AdultBasic for another year? Just a bit less than the $200 million in Tom… Continue reading

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Don’t let Corbett sneak through his $833 million corporate tax giveaway!

  By Pennsylvania Budget

While Pennsylvania is facing a $4 billion deficit, Gov. Tom Corbett approved a corporate tax break of $833 million last week. He did it with almost no notice, hoping that Pennsylvania’s citizens wouldn’t find out.  It was done with such little notice, that even reporters and PA legislators were unaware of this giveaway until we told them. Well, we found out and we’re outraged.  Just this week Corbett told us we couldn’t afford to continue healthcare for the working poor.  But somehow he can find $833 million for billionaires and CEOs, sticking middle class families with the bill. Tell Corbett and your legislators to stop this outrageous giveaway! This is not only a giveaway to special interests, it’s a job destroying tax break.  It could cost Pennsylvania another 5-15,000 jobs.1 Politicians like Corbett are using our real economic problems as an excuse to pay back their corporate donors at the… Continue reading

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Corbett’s Unconscionable $833 million tax cut for corporations

  By Pennsylvania Budget

No money for Adult Basic but millions for big business Budgets are moral documents that set for the priorities of our government. Late last week, the Corbett Administration made clear that its top priority is helping American corporations not Pennsylvanians when it adopted new tax regulations that will reduce the corporate income tax by $200 million in 2010 and 833 over two years.1 With the state facing a $4 billion deficit that may lead to massive cuts in spending on education and health care, and with the AdultBasic program expiring at the end of the month, a reduction in corporate taxes is simply unconscionable. The Governor of the Commonwealth should not be putting the profits of corporations over the needs of people. The $200 million that the Corbett administration is giving away to corporations is more than the amount necessary to continue AdultBasic, which provides health insurance for 42,000 Pennsylvanians… Continue reading

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The Right Wing War on Women and Health Care

  By Penn ACTION, Women and Health Care

t’s a classic case of bait and switch. The Republican campaign of 2010, nationally and in Pennsylvania, focused on the economy and jobs. But since taking office Republicans have instead been appeasing right wing extremists who want to roll back the advances women made in the last forty years. It began, in both Washington and Harrisburg, with legislation that would make it harder for women to use their own money to purchase health insurance that covers abortion. Having claimed, dishonestly, that the Affordable Care Act provides government funding for abortion, Republican legislation supposedly fixes the problem the invented. However their radical legislation goes much farther than the existing ban on government funding of abortion. Evidently, the Republican regard for the free market ends when it comes to women choosing how to send their own money. These new attempts to limit abortion rights are, however, just the beginning of the Republican… Continue reading

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We Won’t Go Back!

  By Health Care, Penn ACTION, Women and Health Care

Penn ACTION teamed up with Raising Women’s Voices of Southeastern PA on Thursday, February 17 when over 100 supporters of women’s health and health care reform rallied in Philadelphia in view of City Hall. Chants of  “We won’t go back!” punctuated addresses from State Sen. Lawrence Farnese, State Rep. Babette Josephs,  Carol Tracy from the Women’s Law Project,  Brenda Shelton Dunston of the Black Women’s Health Alliance, Dayle Steinberg from Planned Parenthood Southeastern PA, Kistine Carolan of the Maternity Care Coalition and Penn ACTION’s Marc Stier. As Stier pointed out, the attacks on women are not confined to attempts to role back access to reproductive care to the dark ages of back alley abortions, the attacks also extend to repealing the Affordable Care Act, which does more than any law in recent memory to bring women’s access to quality care into parity with men’s. With Planned Parenthood the target of possibly unconstitutional… Continue reading

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Penn ACTION joins Gas Truth Protest

  By Marcellus Shale, Penn ACTION

Members of Penn ACTION joined a few hundred Pennsylvanians from all over the state at the Gas Truth protest at the inauguration of Governor Tom Corbett. Organized by Gas Truth and Clean Water Action, the rally called on Corbett to protect the state from the potential dangers of the drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale. A variety of opinions were presented by the speakers at the event. Many called for a moratorium on all drilling. All called for a moratorium on drilling in the state forrests. Many called for a severence tax on natural gas. Penn ACTION Executive Director, Marc Stier, was the closing speaker at the rally. Stier focused on the political danger of natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania saying that our democracy is one of the few things more important than our water. “Just as as the hydrofracking process have polluted our waters, the natural gas drillers have… Continue reading

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Pennsylvanians say no to repeal!

  By Health Care, Penn ACTION

Yesterday the Republican leadership in the House made good on their campaign promise to roll back the progress made by the Affordable Care Act.  This is be frustrating for those of us who worked so hard for health care reform last year, but keep in mind three things. First, this was a political show that is likely to have no long term negative consequence.  Repeal legislation will not pass the Senate or be signed by President Obama. Second, the repeal effort gave us an opportunity to talk more and, after Arizona, more calmly, about the new protections and rights that the ACA created. The more people hear about the bill, the more they like it. Polls are clearly trending in our favor.  People know that was a vote against affordable health insurance for Americans with pre-existing conditions – including children.   It was a vote against making sure that greedy… Continue reading

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Good news on filibuster reform: thank Senator Casey

  By Filibuster, Penn ACTION

I have really good news on filibuster reform. First, Senator Casey has announced his support for the filibuster reform package introduced by Senators Udall, Harkin, and Merkley. Second, it looks like serious reform is on the way. Majority Leader Harry Reid has taken advantage of the rules to draw out the first “legislative day” for a few weeks to build support. But we are hearing growing optimism on the part of reform minded Democrats. Thank Senator Casey and each other! We’re very grateful for Senator Casey’s support. And I want to thank all of you who signed our petition to Senator Casey. After meeting, along with Common Cause, SEIU, CWA, and the Steelworkers, with his legislative director, we thought Senator Casey was leaning in our direction. But it was just hours after I forwarded the list of signers of the petition to the Senator’s office that I received word that… Continue reading

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Why we must reform the filibuster now!

  By Filibuster, Penn ACTION

In the last few years, two features of our political system have done more to stand in the way of progressive public policy than any other. The first is the role of corporate money in our politics. The second is the filibuster—which requires supporters of legislation to find not a majority of 51 but a super majority of 60 to pass legislation in the Senate. Given the Citizens United decision by the Supreme Court, fixing the first problem is difficult. It is made much more difficult by the second problem But on Wednesday, January 5, Senate Democrats may step forward and try to reform the filibuster. If they do, vote on filibuster reform will be the most important vote the Senate takes in the next two years. That’s why it is critical for you to sign a petition, today, to tell Senator Casey to suppor efforts to reform the filibuster.… Continue reading