Harrisburg, Pa. – July 29, 2019 – Members of the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Caucus sent a letter to the state’s congressional delegation, urging that the federal Department of Agriculture does not end automatic eligibility for Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. This change would impact 3.1 million Americans; 120,000 living in Pennsylvania.
The caucus urged the Congressional delegation to stand united in opposition to this devastating rule change that would strip food from Pennsylvania families in need.
Writing jointly in its letter, the caucus wrote:
This proposal is heartless, callous, and Pennsylvanians cannot afford it.
Feeding America estimates that more than 1.5 million Pennsylvanians are food insecure. Worse, 1 in 6 of Pennsylvania’s children struggles with hunger. These numbers are staggering enough without the addition of 200,000 more who could soon be without SNAP. The current rules allow those food insecure individuals who are single parents, disabled veterans, victims of domestic violence and individuals with a disability to receive vital benefits that allow them to put a healthy, fresh meal on their table.
Societies are judged by how they treat their most vulnerable; if we let this change to SNAP go unchallenged, we will fail that judgement.
Our caucus will oppose the rule change in every way that we are able, and we ask that our federal representatives join us in that fight. We, and our constituents, thank you for the advocacy you have already undertaken.
Download Letter →
PITTSBURGH, PA – July 15, 2019 – Today, Senator Jay Costa announced the award of federal grants to local elementary schools to fund healthy, fresh food programs for students.
“Our young students can’t learn properly if they aren’t properly fed,” said Senator Costa. “A healthy meal means so much to a hungry child, and these grants are going to schools that have demonstrated a need in their students’ diets.”
Funding priority is given to the schools with the highest rates of students eligible for free and reduced-price meals. Grantees are required to spend a majority of their grant on the purchase of fresh fruit and vegetable and must develop a plan to establish partnerships to reduce other costs. Schools are also required to provide nutrition education to students, but cannot use FFVP funding to purchase nutrition education materials.
The Woodland Hills School District will receive $60,490; Wilkinsburg schools will receive $28,014; West Mifflin Area Schools will receive $42,607.50; Propel Charter Schools will receive $139,897.50; Pittsburgh School District will receive $92,805; Penn Hills Charter School of Entrepreneurship will receive $17,940; and Penn Hills School District will receive $69,402.
The funding was awarded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP). The program’s goals are to create healthier school environments by providing healthier food choices, expand the variety of fruits and vegetables students experience, increase fruit and vegetable consumption, and positively impact students’ present and future health. FFVP was first implemented in Pennsylvania in 2004 and expanded to all 50 states in 2008.
“Fresh fruits and vegetables provide vital nutrients to growing children,” said Education Secretary Pedro A. Rivera. “These grants are another way to help address food security in our schools while also providing an opportunity to teach students how to make smart and nutritious choices.”
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Harrisburg – July 11, 2019 – More than $1.2 million in funding for a wide range of critical housing projects in Allegheny County was approved by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA), Sen. Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) said today.
“The dollars approved for these projects will serve as the foundation for improving our housing stock, creating greater accessibility to services and enhanced security for vulnerable populations,” Costa said. “These are incredibly important funding streams that will help change lives and generate opportunities.”
Costa said that the PHFA approved the Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement (PHARE) funds and tax credits for the following:
- Emerald Hills Retirement Residence in Penn Hills will use tax credits of $1.2 million and $949,081 in PHARE Funds for construction of a building of 52 units for those 62 years of age of above;
- HEARTH, A Safe Place Matters, will receive $50,000 to provide safe affordable housing to vulnerable populations, focusing on women with children after surviving domestic abuse;
- Advantage Credit Counseling Services, Financial Empowerment for Veterans, are slated to use $15,000 in PHARE funds to provide financial counseling and coaching for 150 veterans;
- Allegheny County, Housing Counseling for Allegheny County Save Your Home Program, will use $100,000 to provide counseling to homeowners facing foreclosure. The Save Your Home Program is a joint effort between the Court of Common Pleas, sheriff’s office and the Allegheny County Department of Economic Development; and
- Oakland Community Land Trust will use the $100,000 in PHARE funding to provide affordable housing opportunities for low-to-moderate families. The trust rehabilitates blighted, abandoned and at-risk homes to make them move-in ready.
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Contact: Hugh Baird
Phone: 717 787-5166
Email: Hugh.Baird@pasenate.com
Harrisburg – July 9, 2019 – Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) today applauded the swift action by Gov. Tom Wolf and his administration to fund essential county voting security upgrades via the issuance of up to $90 million in bonds.
The bond funding issued by the Pennsylvania Economic Development Financing Authority (PEDFA) would be used to reimburse counties for 60 percent of the cost of voting system replacement.
“This is an important action related to voting system security,” Costa said. “New voting systems will include secure paper records and heightened security against hacking.
“Given the attempts made during the last presidential election to influence our elections, plus the need to create paper voting records for recount and auditing purposes, this action by the governor is welcomed.”
The Wolf administration said that it will permit counties who use older voting systems will be able to receive an extension until June 2021 to replace obsolete voting systems. To spur quicker county action, financial incentives will be offered to implement new voting systems by the 2020 primary election.
Last week, the governor vetoed a measure (Senate Bill 48) that included funding to replace county voting systems because it was a “missed opportunity to enact meaningful voting reforms,” according to the veto message.
“Senate Democrats have been leading the effort to enact sweeping voting reforms, campaign finance reforms and to ease voting access for all Pennsylvanians,” Costa said. “Funding the replacement of voting systems and enhancing security is a significant step forward.”
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Contact: Hugh Baird
Phone: 717 787-5166
Email: Hugh.Baird@pasenate.com
Harrisburg – July 1, 2019 – The just-passed state budget for Fiscal Year 2019-20 included a large increase in funding for the Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement Fund (PHARE). Several members of the Senate Democratic Caucus championed this issue.
As part of this year’s just enacted state budget the Senate Democrats ensured that an additional $15 million per year, for a total of $40 million, will be dedicated to this important program.
PHARE was established in 2010 to assist with the creation, rehabilitation and support of affordable housing throughout the Commonwealth. The fund receives money from the Marcellus Shale Fund and the Realty Transfer Tax Fund. Since 2012 the oil and gas fee has directed $5 million per year for developing affordable housing in the counties where producing gas wells are located. In 2015 the fund began receiving up to $25 million per year from the realty transfer tax.
This funding goes to the entire state and provides resources for projects including affordable housing development and rehabilitation, rent assistance, energy efficiency and weatherization improvements to homes, senior housing renovations, and blight mitigation. In Allegheny County alone in 2017, the state used $1.9 million on 7 projects. The increases in this year’s budget will increase the benefits that this program bring to the Commonwealth.
“Our goal should be investing in initiatives such as the PHARE program, which helps provide quality, affordable housing for Pennsylvanians in need,” Senator Hughes said. “We must be deliberate in our efforts to address poverty and economic insecurity in the commonwealth. Ensuring that our people can maintain stable living situations is an important step in the right direction.”
“Additional money for affordable housing is desperately needed, and I am pleased my bipartisan legislation with Senator Elder Vogel, Jr. (R-Beaver/Butler/Lawrence) was included in this year’s budget,” said Senator Haywood. “During the four-stop Poverty Listening Tour, a man from Lock Haven described living in his car with his siblings before he could afford a bad apartment in the city. This affordable housing plan will provide more housing units for residents in Lock Haven and across the Commonwealth.”
“This program has been a priority for our caucus since it was initiated,” said Senator Costa. “We’ve seen the money to these organizations doing this work grow as the need has grown; and without the General Assistance program, PHARE is all the more important.”
“We appreciate the legislature making this additional funding available for creating and retaining affordable housing across Pennsylvania,” said Brian A. Hudson Sr., PA Housing Finance Agency Executive Director and CEO. “Through the Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement (PHARE) fund, we’ve been able to help municipalities statewide save affordable housing that might otherwise have been lost. This additional funding will help PHARE do even more.”
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Harrisburg – June 27, 2019 – Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa, Jr. voted in support of the Fiscal Year 2019-20 General Appropriations budget which is now headed to Governor Tom Wolf’s desk; Senator Costa looks forward to returning to session in the fall to tackle unfinished business.
“This year we passed a responsible budget that funds some of our top priorities, including investments in education from early learning through our institutions of higher learning, as well as funding for school safety and anti-violence initiatives,” said Senator Costa. “But we left much undone. We should have increased the minimum wage about the poverty-level of $7.25 per hour, done substantive work on renewable energy standards, and instituted a tax on natural gas drilling.
“I’m not calling this budget mission accomplished; I’m calling it mission begun. We’ll be back in the fall to tackle these policy initiatives that we know have the support of the majority of Pennsylvanians.”
The final budget passed the Senate with a bipartisan vote of 42 to 8; it spends a total of $33.997 billion, and the process included a variety of other legislative pieces.
One of the biggest bipartisan, bicameral accomplishments was the creation of a state exchange for health insurance. It will strengthen health care in Pennsylvania and reduce health care premiums by as much as ten percent.
In the “Code” bills that provide the mechanism to disburse funds from the budget, there was an increase of $15 million to the Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement Fund (PHARE) to assist with the creation, rehabilitation and support of affordable housing; $5 million for the Film Tax Credit that incentivizes the movie industry in Pennsylvania; and $1 million to the mixed-use tax credit for construction and rehabilitation projects.
As part of the budget package, the General Assembly also passed a Farm Bill that added $1.5 million to the Agriculture Excellence program, increased the Nutrient Management fund by $3.5 million, boosted PA Preferred by $2.6 million, and added $250,000 to the Agriculture Promotion, Education and Exports initiative to expand hemp farming.
A G.I. Bill was also part of the package of legislation and will expand benefits to the family of members of the Pennsylvania National Guard.
Other highlights of this budget include:
Basic education
- $160 million increase to basic education funding (K-12 public schools)
- $50 million increase to special education funding
- $25 million increase to for Pre-K Counts
- $15 million increase in Early Intervention initiatives
- $5 million increase to Head Start funding
- $500,000 provided for capital and maintenance costs for the Pennsylvania Chartered Schools for the Deaf and Blind
Higher education
- $37 million increase for student grants
- A 2 percent increase in funding for state-owned PASSHE schools, state-related universities, community colleges and related appropriations under the Department of Agriculture
Human services funding:
- A 10 percent increase for domestic violence and rape crisis programs
- $8 million increase to day-one incentive payments for nonpublic nursing facilities
- $2.6 million funding increase for additional inspections and licensing of personal care homes
- $5 million for expansion of home visiting programs
- $518,000 increase to services for the visually impaired
Home and community care investments:
- $23 million to provide services to an additional 1,380 people with physical disabilities
- $17.1 million to provide Attendant Care to 40 people through the Department of Aging and 840 people through the DHS
- $15 million to move people with intellectual disabilities off of waiting lists
- $3.5 million to provide services to an additional 300 seniors through LIFE programs
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The Office of the Attorney General received $1 million in additional funding for general operations as well as:
- $5 million for Drug Law Enforcement (including local Drug Task Forces and Strategic Response)
- $2.5 million for the Joint Local-State Firearm Task force
- More than $1 million for School Safety and the Safe2Say program
More information on the budget, as well as video reactions from members of the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Caucus can be found at www.pasenate.com/budget
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