Category: Statements

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PBPC Supports Senator Vincent Hughes’s K-12 Funding Plan

  By Budget, K-12 Education in PA, PA Budget and Policy Center, Pennsylvania Budget, Statements

Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center joined a press conference on Thursday in support of Senator Vincent Hughes’s plan to invest $3.1 billion in K-12 education. The plan would add over $2 billion in K-12 funding from general operating funds, including  $750 million in basic education funding; $400 milllion for additional for the Level Up program, which provides additional funds to the 100 least-well-funded school districts; $250 million for special education; $275 million to reimburse school districts for the cost of charter schools; $150 million for early childhood education; $125 million for academic support programs; $100 million for mental health supports; and $100 million to recruit more teachers. Sneator Hughes also proposed spending $1 billion from Rainy Day Funds for remediation of toxic schools. Senator Hughes was joined at the press conference by Senators Sharif Street, Tim Kearney, Jimmy Dillon, and Nick Miller and Represenative Elizabeth Fiedler. PBPC Director Marc Stier’s… Continue reading

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Statement: PA Budget and Policy Center Lauds Passage of PA House Bills on Sexual Abuse

  By Feminism, PA Budget and Policy Center, Sexual and gender equality, Sexual harassment, Statements

Today the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center applauds the two bipartisan bills passed to allow those who have been past victims of sexual abuse in the state to sue their perpetrators and the institutions that protect them. Legislation creating a two-year window waiving the statute of limitations for these crimes is long overdue. And while we believe that there is no constitutional barrier to such legislation, we are also glad that a constitutional amendment allowing such legislation was passed today, as well, in case the Courts disagree with our analysis of the issue. We congratulate Speaker Mark Rozzi for his leadership on this important, deeply personal legislation. Continue reading

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Statement on Victory in the Education Funding Lawsuit

  By Education, K-12 Education in PA, Statements

We are deeply gratified that Commonwealth Court Justice Renée Cohn Jubelirer has ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in the education funding lawsuit, which sought to have Pennsylvania’s system of funding K-12 schools declared unconstitutional on the grounds that it did not meet the requirement that “The General Assembly shall provide for the maintenance and support of a thorough and efficient system of public education to serve the needs of the Commonwealth” (PA Constitution. Art. 3 section 4). The dry language of law and statistics in Judge Jubelirer’s long opinion fully embraces the moral and constitutional imperative that “every student receives a meaningful opportunity to succeed academically, socially, and civically, which requires that all students have access to a comprehensive, effective, and contemporary system of public education” (William Penn School District et al. v. Pennsylvania Department of Education; Memorandum Opinion by President Judge Renée Cohn Jubelirer, February 7, 2023, p.… Continue reading

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STATEMENT: Protect Medicare and Social Security

  By Health Care, PA Budget and Policy Center, Social Justice, Social Security, Statements

Statement by PBPC director Marc Stier at a press conference with US Representatives Brendan Boyle and Mary Gay Scanlan, and Dan Adcock, policy director of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, held in Philadelphia on January 23, 2023.  If you are a member of the U.S. House of Representatives or a political junkie, you probably found yourself alternately transfixed, astounded, and disgusted earlier this month at the spectacle of the Republican House members trying to pick a speaker of the House. And you were subjected to speech after speech by MAGA Republicans who said that Washington, DC, is broken. They kept saying that something was wrong—but they weren’t very specific about it. I want to tell you today what is broken in Washington, DC. What is broken is that one of our two major political parties is dominated today by MAGA Republicans. It’s not just the 20… Continue reading

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STATEMENT: On The Inauguration of Governor Josh Shapiro

  By PA Budget and Policy Center, Statements

For Immediate Release January 17, 2023 Contact: Kirstin Snow, Communications Director, Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center snow@pennbpc.org Statement by PA Budget and Policy Center director Marc Stier on inauguration of Governor Josh Shapiro The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center welcomes our new governor Josh Shapiro. We are gratified that his inaugural address embraced many of the progressive ideals we and he have long championed. We look forward to working in a collaborative way with him, with his administration and with the Democratic and Republican leaders of the General Assembly in support of these shared ideals. Continue reading

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STATEMENT: PA Senate Hijacks Justice for Sexual Abuse Survivors With Passage of Constitutional Amendments Package

  By Pennsylvania, Republicans, Statements

In passing SB 1, the Pennsylvania Senate has hijacked the issue of providing relief to victims of sexual abuse to pass other constitutional amendments. It used a noncontroversial, bipartisan proposal to help pass controversial and partisan amendments that are bad policy and the subject of litigation. The proposal to provide a window for sexual abuse survivors to sue their abusers is an important step toward justice. We strongly support it. The other amendments do not serve the people of Pennsylvania but the political goals of one party. One of the partisan amendments would require voters to submit a government-issued ID every time they vote, even mandating that they provide copies of their IDs along with their mail ballots. We know that requiring a government-issued ID would make it impossible for some people to vote. This would disproportionately affect seniors and Black voters. Requiring voters to include a copy of their… Continue reading

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STATEMENT: House Dems Pass Inflation Reduction Act To Lower Drug Prices, Make Health Care & Energy Costs More Affordable

  By Climate Change, Economic Development, Energy, Health Care, PA Budget and Policy Center, Statements, US

For Immediate Release Date: August 12, 2022 Contact: Kirstin Snow, snow@pennbpc.org   House Democrats Pass Inflation Reduction Act To Lower Drug Prices, Make Health Care and Energy Costs More Affordable   Historic Bill to Curb Big Pharma and Make Corporations Pay What They Owe Moves Towards Passage Harrisburg, PA — Following U.S. House passage of the Inflation Reduction Act—a bill that will enact historic drug pricing reform, reduce health insurance costs, lower energy costs, and reduce the national deficit—Marc Stier, director of the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center and Stephen Herzenberg, executive director of the Keystone Research Center, released the following statement:    The U.S. House’s vote to pass the Inflation Reduction Act makes historic progress on many fronts. It takes a huge step forward in addressing the threat of climate change by investing $370 billion in a series of incentives to encourage the replacement of fossil fuels with clean,… Continue reading

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STATEMENT: Senate Democrats Pass Inflation Reduction Act To Lower Drug Prices, Make Health Care and Energy Costs More Affordable

  By Climate Change, Drug costs, Energy, Environment, Health Care, PA Budget and Policy Center, Statements

For Immediate Release: August 7, 2022 Contact: Kirstin Snow, snow@pennbpc.org Senate Democrats Pass Inflation Reduction Act To Lower Drug Prices, Make Health Care and Energy Costs More Affordable Historic Bill to Curb Big Pharma and Make Corporations Pay What They Owe Moves Towards Passage Harrisburg, PA — Following the U.S. Senate’s passage of the Inflation Reduction Act—a bill that will enact historic drug pricing reform, reduce health insurance costs, lower energy costs, and reduce the national deficit—Marc Stier, director of the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, released the following statement:    The U.S. Senate’s vote to pass the Inflation Reduction Act makes historic progress on many fronts. It takes a huge step forward in addressing the threat of climate change by investing $370 billion in a series of incentives to encourage the replacement of fossil fuels with clean, renewable energy. This legislation will put the United States on a path… Continue reading

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STATEMENT: On the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 — What it means for PA

  By Climate Change, Health Care, PA Budget and Policy Center, Statements, US, US Constitution

For Immediate Release Date: July 29, 2022 Contact: Kirstin Snow, snow@pennbpc.org Statement on the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 — What it means for PA Stephen Herzenberg and Marc Stier   We are happy to see that a deal has been reached to address growing inflation by reducing prescription health care costs, taxing corporations and the ultra-rich, and combatting climate change and reducing energy costs. We call on the United States Senate and House of Representatives to take immediate action to pass this legislation and send it to President Biden’s desk. This legislation, along with the Infrastructure law and the American Rescue Plan, again shows that Democrats are committed to meeting the needs of everyone in the country, no matter where we live or what we look like or whether we are rich and poor, by using the power of the government. Only by acting together can we ensure that we… Continue reading

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The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 – A Major Step Forward for the US and the World

  By Climate Change, Economic Development, Economic Justice, PA Budget and Policy Center, Politics, Public Policy, Statements, US

With Stephen Herzenberg We are happy to see that a deal has been reached to address growing inflation by reducing prescription health care costs, taxing corporations and the ultra-rich, and combatting climate change and reducing energy costs. We call on the United States Senate and House of Representatives to take immediate action to pass this legislation and send it to President Biden’s desk. This legislation, along with the Infrastructure law and the American Rescue Plan, again shows that Democrats are committed to meeting the needs of everyone in the country, no matter where we live or what we look like or whether we are rich and poor, by using the power of the government. Only by acting together can we ensure that we have the roads and bridges and public transit critical to our economy, affordable health care, and clean energy. And only by acting together can we give our… Continue reading