Michael Herzing
@mherz67.bsky.social
đ¤ 622
đĽ 485
đ 4292
Writer, Pennsylvanian, Progressive, Pragmatist
Trump just declared war on statesâ rightsâagain. One man, one pen, total control over AI so Big Tech wins and communities lose. âFederalismâ for Trump only applies when it helps him. The people should fight this power grabâin courts, Congress, and the states.
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Trump signs order intended to block states from regulating AI ⢠Stateline
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday night that aims to preempt states from enacting rules governing artificial intelligence.
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1 minute ago
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Project 2025 is a wrecking ball aimed at public education. An Ed Secretary with zero classroom experience following a Heritage script to gut Title I, civil rights & special ed? John King is right: this isnât âreformââitâs sabotage. Our kids deserve better.
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Jerry Zahorchak | Vital to keep Department of Education
While a partisan Project 2025 guides an inexperienced federal secretary of education in reshaping American education, John B. King Jr., former U.S. secretary of education and a prominent, tirelessâŚ
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about 1 hour ago
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135 days late. Tens of millions lost. Counties, schools & human services paid the price for Harrisburgâs dysfunction. Reps. Malcolm Kenyatta & Gina Curry are right: make communities whole. Taxpayers shouldnât eat the cost of a GOP budget impasse.
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Allegheny County and officials elsewhere want state to pay for budget impasse costs
HARRISBURG â Outside the state Capitol, entities that rely on state funding lost a lot of their own money because lawmakers and the governor who...
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about 2 hours ago
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[email protected]
are doing the work â the GOP Senate is blocking it. Rep. Joe Ciresi and
@rephanbidge.com
passed commonsense bills on wages, schools, and transit, only to watch them die in the Senate. Dysfunction isnât bipartisan.
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PA lawmakers blame partisanship for few new laws
Pennsylvania legislators have passed just 65 bills in 2025, which is poised to be an all-time low for the past decade, leaving key priorities unfinished.
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about 3 hours ago
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Trump promised to target the âworst of the worst.â Reality: arrests >30,000/month, violent convictions under 5%, and immigration-only arrests up to 44%â80% in DC. This isnât public safety. Itâs mass deportation of families.
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about 3 hours ago
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2 days ago
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U.S. farmers arenât âwinningâ Trumpâs trade war â theyâre losing their livelihoods. Soybean prices plunged from $14.50 to $9.30, bankruptcies are up 60%, and families whoâve farmed for generations are barely hanging on. Farmers donât want bailouts. They want a real trade policy.
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American farmers say bailout doesn't solve underlying problem
Soybean growers say that President Donald Trump's $12 billion bailout package is helpful but doesnât get to the root of the problem.
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3 days ago
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Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Debra Bogen and Secretary of Aging Jason Kavulich are urging all Pennsylvanians 6 months and older to get vaccinated against the flu now. For updates and resources, visit the PA Department of Health Respiratory Virus Dashboard...
www.pa.gov/agencies/hea...
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Respiratory Virus Dashboard
Check the respiratory dashboard every Tuesday for the latest updates.
https://www.pa.gov/agencies/health/diseases-conditions/infectious-disease/respiratory-viruses/respiratory-virus-dashboard
3 days ago
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So TSA is now handing over EVERY travelerâs name to ICE so Trump can turn routine air travel into a dragnet for mass deportation. A 19-year-old college student was detained at her gate and deported in 48 hours. This isnât âlaw and orderâ â itâs state-run fear. America must be better than this.
add a skeleton here at some point
3 days ago
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If Congress lets enhanced
#ACA
tax credits lapse, 500,000 Pennsylvanians will pay the price â including families whose cancer care literally depends on affordable coverage. A jump from $490 â $1,792/month is not âmarket fluctuation.â Itâs a policy choice. Fix it.
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Congressional health insurance tug-o-war puts Pennsylvanians in a lurch ⢠Pennsylvania Capital-Star
Congress can't decide how to help Pennsylvanias like the Wrights, who rely on the Pennie marketplace for their insurance coverage.
https://buff.ly/wXqBupE
3 days ago
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Jenkintown Borough Council just strengthened protections limiting police collaboration with ICE. Because public safety means everyone should feel safe calling 911 â not fearing deportation. This is how you build trust, not break communities apart.
buff.ly/AmrCWV2
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Jenkintown limits local police collaboration with ICE
Residents pushed back on the original measure, passed in September, saying it allowed local police to assist ICE agents without judicial warrants.
https://buff.ly/AmrCWV2
3 days ago
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reposted by
Michael Herzing
PA House Majority Policy Committee
3 days ago
The new state budget includes a tax cut for almost a million working Pennsylvanians. Tax time will be here soon - do you qualify? Here's a helpful calculator:
www.pa.gov/agencies/rev...
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Working Pennsylvanians Tax Credit
Working Pennsylvanians Tax Credit
https://www.pa.gov/agencies/revenue/resources/tax-types-and-information/personal-income-tax/working-pennsylvanians-tax-credit
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This is exactly why enhanced ACA tax credits must be extended. Without them, cancer patients, small business owners, and nearly half of Marketplace enrollees could lose access to lifesaving care. Sen. McCormick needs to choose Pennsylvania families over politics â and act.
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Sen. McCormick, Pa. small business owners are depending on you to protect our health care | Opinion
The enhanced tax credits are set to expire at the end of 2025, which might put affordable coverage out of reach.
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3 days ago
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Shocking that the party of Trump, Mastriano & âgrab âem by theâŚâ is suddenly very concerned about how Gov. Josh Shapiro talks to women. PA Republicans attacking a popular, effective Democratic governor to distract from their own failures isn't a plot twist â it's the whole script.
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Senate Pro Tem Kim Ward Says Shapiro âMight Have a Problem With Strong Women"
Ward shared her opinions on working with Shapiro as well as concerns on how he treats female elected officials.
https://buff.ly/FxfuLna
3 days ago
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Thanks to champions like
@repvenkat.com
and Sen. Lindsey Williams, our public libraries are getting a $5M boost â real investment in education, equity, and community spaces that people actually use. Libraries arenât âextras.â Theyâre essential.
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Local lawmakers celebrate $5M increase in funding through state budget benefiting public libraries
The $5 million represents a 7.1% increase in funding for the line item compared to last yearâs budget.
https://buff.ly/osup8jK
3 days ago
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reposted by
Michael Herzing
PA House Majority Policy Committee
3 days ago
People Want Solutions // MAJORITY POLICY POINT
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Unbelievable. HHS choosing to deadname Adm. Rachel Levine isnât âscienceâ â itâs spite.
@repdanfrankel.com
and Rep. Pat Harkins are calling this out for what it is: petty, political cruelty that does NOTHING to improve public health. Levine served with honor.
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Former Gov. Wolf, Pa. Democrats slam deadname of Rachel Levine portrait
Adm. Rachel Levine, assistant secretary of health, was the first transgender person confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve in the federal government.
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3 days ago
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reposted by
Michael Herzing
PA House Majority Policy Committee
3 days ago
âOur public libraries are the beating heart of our communities." -
@repvenkat.com
Lawmakers celebrate $5M increase in funding through state budget benefiting public libraries:
www.wpxi.com/news/local/l...
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Local lawmakers celebrate $5M increase in funding through state budget benefiting public libraries
The $5 million represents a 7.1% increase in funding for the line item compared to last yearâs budget.
https://www.wpxi.com/news/local/local-lawmakers-celebrate-5m-increase-funding-through-state-budget-benefiting-public-libraries/EQZWE3G5WFB4HIPNH7ID2WFDD4/
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Pennsylvanians deserve their fair share. Reps. Pielli &
@reptarikkhan.bsky.social
are right â itâs time to end the shale industryâs corporate giveaway and finally adopt a real severance tax. TX pulls in 10x the revenue we do! Letâs fund our schools, not pad drillersâ profits.
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Representatives Pielli & Khan Introduce Natural Gas Severance Tax
HARRISBURG, Dec. 9 â State Reps. Chris Pielli, D-Chester, and Tarik Khan, D-Phila., have introduced a bill that would establish a severance tax on natural gas production. Specifically, theâŚ
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3 days ago
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AI data centers shouldnât get a free pass while Pennsylvanians face higher bills and unreliable power. Gov. Shapiro is right: consumer voices must be heard before FERC gives hyperscalers like Amazon & Google the green light.
penncapital-star.com/briefs/shapi...
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Shapiro urges feds to consider comments on data centers connecting to PJM grid ⢠Pennsylvania Capital-Star
The Data Center Coalition and PJM Power Providers Group argued the case would be âa distraction and a waste of time."
https://penncapital-star.com/briefs/shapiro-urges-feds-to-consider-comments-on-data-centers-connecting-to-pjm-grid/?oref=cspa_firstread_nl&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CSPA%20First%20Read%20-%20December%2012%2C%202025&utm_term=newsletter_cspa_firstread
3 days ago
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A federal judge attending a Trump rally the week after being confirmed? Ethics experts say this is textbook âappearance of impropriety.â Judges are supposed to be impartial â not cheerleaders.
www.inquirer.com/politics/nat...
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Philly federal court judge Emil Bove attended Trumpâs Poconos rally. Now he faces an ethics complaint.
The complaint alleges Bove, who serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia, violated the code of conduct for U.S. judges.
https://www.inquirer.com/politics/nation/emil-bove-federal-court-ethics-complaint-20251211.html?oref=cspa_firstread_nl&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CSPA%20First%20Read%20-%20December%2012%2C%202025&utm_term=newsletter_cspa_firstread
3 days ago
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If SCOTUS guts Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, itâs not just Louisiana â minority communities across the country, including PA, lose a key tool to fight voter suppression. Democracy isnât just about voting. Itâs about having a say that counts.
www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/12...
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How Supreme Court review of a Voting Rights Act case affects PA
The outcome of a major U.S. Supreme Court case could make it harder for Pennsylvaniaâs Hispanic voters to fight for representation.
https://www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/12/pennsylvania-redistricting-voting-rights-act-capitol/
3 days ago
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In Trump's world, miners and other working people know their station in life, and aren't ungrateful enough to wish for more.
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3 days ago
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Three grand juries. Zero indictments. The DOJâs politically motivated vendetta against AG Letitia James has failedâŚagain. Justice isnât a game, but Trumpâs retribution campaign keeps trying to play one. Spoiler: the house always wins.
add a skeleton here at some point
4 days ago
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After decades of âcraters,â East Hills Drive is finally repaired thanks to $250K in state funding and the leadership of state Reps. LaâTasha Mayes and Joe McAndrew. Community voices + state partnership = real results on the ground.
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After years of disrepair, road upgrade restores key link between Penn Hills, Pittsburgh's East Hills
Local officials and East Hills community members cut a ceremonial ribbon and celebrated the completed paving of East Hills Drive.
https://www.wesa.fm/politics-government/2025-12-09/penn-hills-east-hills-road-repair
4 days ago
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reposted by
Michael Herzing
PA House Majority Policy Committee
4 days ago
Childcare costs are skyrocketing nationally, and keeping good staff is a big part of the problem. In the new budget,
@pahousedems.com
included a $450 bonus for childcare workers as an incentive for them to stay on the job.
www.pennlive.com/politics/202...
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Pa.âs $450 childcare worker bonus: Will it help the industryâs crisis?
As childcare costs skyrocket nationally, the Pennsylvania budget tried to address funding gaps in the state.
https://www.pennlive.com/politics/2025/12/pennsylvanias-450-childcare-worker-bonus-will-it-help-the-industrys-crisis.html
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Pennsylvania just took a major step toward protecting families from dangerous fracking pollution â and Republicans + gas lobbyists are furious. Kids living near wells are getting sick. Studies show higher cancer risks. The public wants action.
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Pa. will study a plan to keep new natural gas pads farther from homes, schools and hospitals ⢠Pennsylvania Capital-Star
Pennsylvaniaâs environmental regulator will study a plan to sharply increase the distance between new natural gas drilling sites and homes, schools and hospitals.
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4 days ago
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Electric bills are soaring nationwide â and families are feeling the squeeze. While Democrats push for rate freezes, energy assistance, and real accountability, Republicans call affordability a âcon jobâ and side with utility profits.
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Rising electric bills lead to state scrutiny â but little relief for residents ⢠Stateline
The last time the Maine Public Utilities Commission considered an electricity price hike, the proposal received fewer than 90 comments from the public. Three years later, amid skyrocketing energyâŚ
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4 days ago
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The Senate just let health care subsidies for millions expire. Republicans offered a coupon for basic insurance while blocking Democratsâ plan to protect families. This isnât politicsâitâs peopleâs lives on the line.
add a skeleton here at some point
4 days ago
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Republicans had 7 years to come up with an Obamacare alternative â and now, days before ACA subsidies expire, theyâre at war with each other again. Democrats are fighting to keep health care affordable. GOP is fighting⌠GOP. Americans canât wait while they relive 2017.
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4 days ago
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Trump flew into PA to tell working families that affordability is a âhoax.â Tell that to anyone buying groceries. Democrats are focused on lowering costs â Trump is focused on denying reality. Pennsylvanians deserve leaders who actually listen, not 90-minute rants.
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Pennsylvania politicians react to President Donald Trumpâs Poconos speech, economic claims
(WHTM) â President Donald Trump visited northeast Pennsylvania Tuesday night to tout the work he says his administration has done to lower costs. Heâs selling his economic agenda ahead âŚ
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4 days ago
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Bills are moving to overhaul PAâs little-used EDGE tax credit, including state Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler's HB1556, which would boost clean, recycled-materials manufacturing. With the budget done, lawmakers are pushing to modernize EDGE and attract real investment.
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4 days ago
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âOur generation has grown up during economic crashes, school shootings, endless wars, and now weâre watching our parents and grandparents struggle to retire with dignity.â â state Senate challenger Chris Thomas
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Pennsylvania Democrats are beginning their efforts to flip the state Senate in 2026 with this suburban Philly seat
Chris Thomas, the former executive director of the Montgomery County Democratic Committee, launched his bid to challenge State Sen. Tracy Pennycuick, a first-term GOP senator.
https://buff.ly/7WE6GjY
4 days ago
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Trump is in PA claiming âinflation is goneâ while 46% of Americans â including over a third of his own voters â say the cost of living is the worst they can remember. Democrats are actually talking about affordability. Trump is too busy spinning excuses and picking fights.
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Trump economy could be election liability. Can he sell it in PA trip?
Trump's speech Dec. 9 at the Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mount Pocono comes as Republicans struggle with their response to affordability concerns.
https://buff.ly/stypV5w
5 days ago
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America doesnât need surprise military stunts for headlines; we need diplomacy, stability, and leaders who donât treat foreign policy like reality TV.
add a skeleton here at some point
5 days ago
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Trumpâs racism has never been subtle â from calling Mexicans ârapistsâ in 2015 to now smearing entire Somali communities as âgarbage.â These are our neighbors, teachers, parents, citizens. Dehumanizing language isnât just ugly â it puts real people in danger.
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Trump says Somalis are âgarbageâ and wants them to leave America. No one should be surprised by his ignorance. | Jenice Armstrong
Most of Minnesotaâs foreign-born Somalis are naturalized U.S. citizens. They have every right to live in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. They vote. They pay taxes. Trump is their president too.
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5 days ago
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Josh Shapiro just said what every American knows: leaders must condemn all political violence, not only when itâs convenient. While Trump fuels division daily, Shapiro and even GOP Gov. Spencer Cox are modeling what moral leadership looks like.
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5 days ago
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Republicans spent years trying to kill the ACA â now their own voters are about to get slammed with double premiums because the GOP let enhanced subsidies expire. In PA, some people will pay 114% more. In some areas, itâs 178%. This is Trump & Republicans' real âhealth care plan.â
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Swing district Republicans brace for political fallout if health care subsidies expire
House Republicans in key battleground districts are working to contain the political fallout expected when thousands of their constituents face higher bills for health insurance coverage obtainedâŚ
https://buff.ly/hQuEd6a
5 days ago
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reposted by
Michael Herzing
PA House Majority Policy Committee
5 days ago
The Liar in Chief says youâre not having trouble making ends meet - the high cost of everything is a hoax.
www.wgal.com/article/pres...
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Trump says inflation is no longer a problem while addressing affordability concerns at PA rally
President Donald Trump told supporters in Pennsylvania that inflation is no longer a problem and that Democrats are using the term "affordability" to harm his reputation.
https://www.wgal.com/article/president-trump-pennsylvania-rally-affordability-concerns/69684005?fbclid=IwQ0xDSwOmeW9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEe6BBz0ufcs1nUPwhRfoYfmoXg-HF1BP3325fVv-2N1KqcGq-YHz2Gbc8sw8A_aem_YVMnxf-vzsgxFBV1ywflvg
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Republicans want to kill mail-in voting when states like Oregon have used it securely for decades. 46 MILLION Americans voted by mail in 2024 â seniors, workers, people in rural counties, soldiers overseas. Ending it isnât about âfraud.â Itâs about shrinking the electorate.
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Voting by mail faces uncertain moment ahead of midterm elections ⢠Pennsylvania Capital-Star
Across the United States, voting by mail faces a moment of uncertainty ahead of the midterm elections next year.
https://buff.ly/cFMO0Hz
5 days ago
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Republicans blamed Gov. Shapiro for a âCDL scandalâ â but todayâs hearing made one thing clear: it was federal agencies under Trump that greenlit the driver. PennDOT checked DHS. DHS said âapproved.â Twice.
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PennDOT blames feds for allowing some questionable truck drivers to have licenses
Bureaucratic delays and a "lack of attention to detail" appeared to be the root cause of truck drivers having dubious credentials, but Trump blames Democrats.
https://buff.ly/Pr2TPxk
5 days ago
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Pennsylvania is moving toward a statewide directory of legal vape products to help crack down on illicit sales. The Senate passed HB1425 (42â4), which Rep. Jeanne McNeill championed to boost accountability, protect young people, and ensure law-abiding retailers arenât undercut.
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5 days ago
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reposted by
Michael Herzing
PA House Majority Policy Committee
5 days ago
Addressing Economic Issues // MAJORITY POLICY POINT
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Nearly half of Americans canât afford groceries, healthcare, or housing. While Trump gives himself an A++++, families are skipping prescriptions, doctor visits, and vacations. Itâs time for leaders who actually fight for working people, not their own ego.
www.politico.com/news/2025/12...
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New poll paints a grim picture of a nation under financial strain
Rising costs are crushing Americans â and they're running out of room to adjust.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/10/poll-affordability-cost-of-living-00678076?nid=00000150-1596-d4ac-a1d4-179e288b0000&nname=illinois-playbook&nrid=bdff17b3-e238-4fd6-89a0-84499d1562ca
5 days ago
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In PA, for every new Obamacare enrollee, two people are dropping coverage as enhanced subsidies expire. 450,000 Pennsylvanians face higher premiums next year â many will skip care, risk debt, or go uninsured.
shorturl.at/ffpbf
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Expiring Obamacare subsidies prompt thousands to drop Pennie health insurance
For every new enrollment, two Pennsylvanians are dropping Obamacare coverage as steep government subsidies are set to expire at year’s end. About 38,000 people who have Affordable Care Act cover...
https://triblive.com/news/pennsylvania/expiring-obamacare-subsidies-prompt-thousands-to-drop-pennie-health-insurance/?oref=cspa_firstread_nl&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CSPA%20First%20Read%20-%20December%2010%2C%202025&utm_term=newsletter_cspa_firstread
5 days ago
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Trump is dismantling the Department of Education and handing control to states, claiming itâs a ârenaissance.â Meanwhile, rural schools, students of color, students with disabilities, and those experiencing homelessness risk losing vital funding, programs, and protections.
shorturl.at/6thrU
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Pa. education advocates brace for upheavals as Trump unwinds US agency
Rural schools' federal funding may be at risk as the U.S. Department of Education is unraveled, according to the Education Law Center.
https://www.yorkdispatch.com/story/news/education/2025/12/08/education-advocates-brace-for-more-upheavals-as-trump-unwinds-federal-agency/87572916007/
5 days ago
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Childcare workers in PA earn ~$15/hr with little to no benefitsâwhile parents pay up to $444/week and sit on years-long waitlists. The new $450 bonus is a start, but families and providers need real, long-term investment.
@repdavidson.com
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Pa.âs $450 childcare worker bonus: Will it help the industryâs crisis?
As childcare costs skyrocket nationally, the Pennsylvania budget tried to address funding gaps in the state.
https://buff.ly/Kh8t4LE
5 days ago
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Trump came to PA to talk affordability â then spent the night ranting about Ilhan Omar, smearing Somali immigrants, bragging about âMerry Christmas,â and teasing a 3rd term. Meanwhile, prices are up thanks to his tariffs and policies.
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5 days ago
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Pennsylvaniaâs new move to cut
#Medicaid
coverage for GLP-1 weight-loss drugs could create real barriers for low-income patients.
@repvenkat.com
warns the policy may increase severe illness, not prevent it.
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Pennsylvania restricts Medicaid coverage for GLPâ1 drugs
Starting Jan.âŻ1, 2026, Pennsylvania will limit GLPâ1 weightâloss drugs under Medicaid â threatening access for thousands of lowâincome patients.
https://buff.ly/9heXrtW
6 days ago
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