Month: January 2021

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On Governor Wolf’s 2021-22 Legislative Agenda

  By PA Budget and Policy Center, Statements

Harrisburg, PA — Statement on the governor’s newly released agenda by Marc Stier, Director, PA Budget and Policy Center Legislative enactment of the agenda Governor Wolf announced today would be a huge step forward in meeting the needs of Pennsylvania workers and businesses that are suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic, while also ensuring a fast and inclusive economic recovery. Critical elements of his agenda include providing support to working people, especially those with low incomes; raising the minimum wage and investing in workforce training to help people move into new jobs; and providing support to small businesses damaged by the pandemic. Investments in public infrastructure, and especially in school buildings and broadband internet access, would overcome some of the deep inequities in public services that some of us have known about for years but the pandemic has revealed to all. Corporate tax reform would require large multinational corporations to pay… Continue reading

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How to change the filibuster without really trying

  By Congress, Politics

Two or perhaps three Democratic Senators–Manchin and Synema and perhaps one other–are reluctant to overturn the filibuster. That reluctance could be overcome by Republican obstruction of critical policy needs–COVID-19 relief, funding for a massive vaccination campaign, help with health care and housing–that are critical to the states of these Senators. But even then, Senators who have publicly opposed filibuster reform might be concerned about changing their position publicly. So here are two steps that go part way to filibuster reform. First, we can change the rules for the reconciliation process. The reconciliation process allows Congress to move, once every session, a budget resolution under which changes in laws that affect the budget–including taxation and appropriations–without being subject to a filibuster. Critical legislation has been passed by both sides under reconciliation resolution in the last 15 years including the ACA and the Trump Tax Cut. There are, however, limitations on what… Continue reading

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Deflection by Constitutional Amendment: On HB 55

  By Constitutional Law and Civil Liberties, Legislative Politics and Rules, PA Budget and Policy Center, PA Constitutional Law, Separation of Power, Statements

Republicans this week will seek to advance a constitutional amendment that would enable the General Assembly to act by a concurrent resolution to override a governor’s emergency order after 21 days. In doing so they are doubling down on their false narrative about COVID-19 and the economic crisis it created. That crisis remains severe. New cases and hospitalizations have fallen to about half of their peak in mid-December—but they are far greater than the first wave of March and April. Meanwhile, COVID-19 deaths per day have just reached their peak. The economy of the state remains in bad shape especially for small businesses and those with low incomes. Small business revenues are down by more than 25% from January 2020 and, shockingly, by more than 40% in high-income neighborhoods, where many people with low incomes work. As a result, employment remains at 6.7% below the January 2020 level and for… Continue reading

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How to know who is telling the truth about the election

  By 2020

Some people are having a hard time figuring out the truth about the election. If you are too busy to explore all the claims by Trump and his supporters; read all the court cases in which they have put them forward, and understand why one judge after another has rejected them both because they have presented no evidence and made astoundingly unserious legal arguments, here is a simple cheat sheet. Trump’s claims about the election are supported by very conservative federal and state legislators who are either scared of or are opportunistically seeking to win the support of Trump and his supporters. Trump’s claims about the election have been rejected by equally conservative federal and state judges who are unconcerned by the views of Trump and his supporters. That should tell you all you need to know about the truth of those claims. And also should remind you of the… Continue reading