PITTSBURGH, PA – Today, the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PENNVEST) held a Board Meeting to award loan and grant funding for the latest round of applicants.
Together, Senators Jay Costa, Lindsey Williams, and Wayne Fontana announce that The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority was awarded a loan of $10,285,765 and a grant of $23,214,235, for a total of $33,500,000. This is anticipated to be Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority’s last residential lead service line replacement project; thus, it will include the remainder of all residential locations in the project water service area. Approximately 828 public and 884 private lead service lines will be replaced in about 3,274 homes.
The work is expected to take place in the neighborhoods of: Garfield, Shadyside, Point Breeze, Squirrel Hill North, Regent Square, Greenfield, Swisshelm Park, Brighton Heights, Manchester, Duquesne Heights, Allentown, South Side Flats, and Mt. Washington.
- FINANCIAL IMPACT: This is an existing system and serves 70,061 residential customers with a population of 303,255. This application evaluated the impact on the 1,712 residential customers affected by the project. The population impacted by this project has a median household income level below the state median household income level. Without the PENNVEST grant of $23,214,235 and extended term on their PENNVEST loan of $10,285,765, user fees would expect to increase by an additional 149 percent. The PENNVEST low-interest loan funding will provide the grant-equivalent of $5,725,494 over the life of the loan.
- PUBLIC HEALTH: Lead service lines will be replaced in a system where the 90th percentile of the sample data from lead-sampled sites is at or below the Lead Action Level.
- INFRASTRUCTURE HEALTH: Lead service lines will be replaced along with the utilization of risk mitigation measures.
- COMMUNITY HEALTH: This project proposes to increase water availability and remove lead from the water system.
- COMPLIANCE: The project will ensure the Authority’s compliance with Lead and Copper Rule regulations.
- SOURCE WATER PROTECTION: This water system has a Source Water Protection Plan approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
“Today’s PENNVEST funding announcement is an important step toward guaranteeing that Allegheny County residents have dependable access to clean, safe water,” Senator Costa said. “Investments like this show how state government can deliver real, practical improvements for working families across Pennsylvania. I’m excited to see these resources translated into on-the-ground progress soon.”
“The Pennsylvania Constitution guarantees us all the right to pure water, and that includes our drinking water at home. Replacing aging and dangerous water infrastructure like lead pipes is critical to ensuring that our water is clean and safe,” said Senator Lindsey Williams. “I applaud Pittsburgh Water for working to replace all of its residential lead lines, and I’ve been happy to provide ongoing support for state investments in these projects. Without these PENNVEST loans and grants, customer fees could go up almost 150%, which is unsustainable, especially as utility bills are at an all time high. This is a win for our health and our wallets.”
“I am gratified to see PWSA approaching the conclusion of its project to replace all residential lead service lines,” said Senator Wayne Fontana. “When my legislation became law in 2017 to allow local municipal authorities to access state funding for water pipe replacement, the goal was to provide communities with financial flexibility to ensure our drinking water is safe without relying on rate increases to achieve that. This impactful state investment will directly improve our communities and I was proud to support it.”
Learn more about the PA Senate Democrats’ commitment to thriving communities for every Pennsylvanian here.
The $50.85 billion 2026-27 Pennsylvania Budget Builds on Four Years of Targeted Investments in Affordability, Safety, and Education
HARRISBURG, PA − July 12, 2026 − On Sunday, July 12, Senate Democrats joined House Democrats in the Governor’s Reception Room to participate in the signing of the 2026-27 Pennsylvania Budget, a $50.85 billion spending plan that passed the House and Senate along bipartisan lines. This year’s budget makes critical investments in key areas affecting the lives of Pennsylvanians, including:
- $8.3B for Basic Education, including $565M for adequacy and equity education funding
- $1.5B for Special Education
- $40M for student teacher stipends
- $30M for childcare worker retention bonus
- Over $200M in tax relief for Pennsylvanians under the Working Pennsylvanian Tax Credit
- $23.7M for investment in historically disadvantaged businesses
- $62.15M for Violence Intervention and Prevention Programs
- $24.1M for rape crisis centers
- $7M for chip-enabled EBT cards
- $10M for Pennsylvania fruit growers who were impacted by an April freeze
Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa of Allegheny County offers the following statement in celebration:
“I am very pleased with the 2026-27 Pennsylvania Budget, which continues the Senate Democrats’ strong trajectory of supporting spending plans that benefit every Pennsylvanian. Our caucus has successfully championed investments in public education, economic development, community safety, and family affordability.
“This budget builds on the incredible momentum we have built over the past three years by committing dollars to equity and adequacy funding for our schools, recruitment and retention support for childcare workers, relief for farmers, improvements for our roads, and innovation in life sciences research.
“Additionally, Senate Democrats at last secured a long overdue cost of living increase in this budget for our retired teachers, police officers, and firefighters, who served our communities dutifully and deserve a dignified retirement. While there is still more work to be done, I am happy to have supported this commonsense, responsible budget, and I look forward to celebrating these dollars at work in all 67 counties.”
Senate Democratic Appropriations Chair Vincent Hughes of Philadelphia and Montgomery Counties offers the following statement:
“This is a strong budget that will improve our schools, lift up local economies, and help address Pennsylvania’s affordability crisis. This plan delivers a third year of adequacy funding to our schools, ensuring the General Assembly meets its constitutional responsibility to fix our broken education funding system. This budget provides a much-needed cost of living increase on pensions for retired teachers, police, and firefighters. It includes major investments that will spark job growth. And this budget maintains tax relief programs that will put significant money back in people’s pockets.
Senate Democrats remain acutely aware that every dollar counts, especially as families continue to struggle with the rising costs of housing, utilities, groceries, gas, childcare, and healthcare. As the President turns his back on struggling Pennsylvanians, we are proud to deliver a state budget that puts the people of Pennsylvania first.
We say it every year, but the negotiation process between a divided government requires compromise. There is unfinished business that we are ready to solve. While the work is clearly not done, we can’t ignore the substantial investments we’ve secured in this year’s budget.”
Senator Costa’s floor remarks on this year’s budget are accessible here.
Senator Hughes’ remarks are available here.
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HARRISBURG, PA: Today, Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) made a motion to force the Senate to vote on whether to take up his June 10 discharge petition, which would force HB 2189 out of committee and onto the full Senate calendar. This was not a vote on the discharge petition, but a vote on whether to bring up the discharge petition for a vote.
Senate Democrats voted unanimously to bring the discharge petition on HB 2189, a Representative Dawkins Bill to raise Pennsylvania’s minimum wage to $15/hour over three years, to a floor vote. Senate Republicans, meanwhile, voted unanimously not to bring the discharge petition up for a vote.
In urging Senate Republicans to take action and address the affordability crisis head-on by raising pay for thousands of workers, Senator Costa releases the following statement:
“On the 20th anniversary of the last time the Pennsylvania Legislature voted to raise the minimum wage, Senate Republicans went on record voting against even considering a minimum wage boost, denying thousands of PA workers a pay raise. The disdain Senate Republicans showed for workers making under $15/hours is astounding and disgraceful. Today’s vote made it absolutely clear that Senate Democrats stand on the side of families struggling to navigate an affordability crisis, while Senate Republicans sit on their hands and allow workers to suffer. Our caucus will never stop fighting for the pay increase our constituents deserve.”
Read more about the Senate Democrats’ Affordability Action Plan here.
HARRISBURG, PA − June 24, 2026 − Members of the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Caucusgathered in the Main Capitol Rotunda today to champion bills, initiatives, and investments that will bring down the cost of housing for Pennsylvanians and empower renters.
“As the cost of housing and utilities continue to climb and burden Pennsylvania’s working families, Senate Democrats are keenly focused on fighting for a safe, affordable place to call home for every Pennsylvanian,” said Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa. “Senate Democrats have been leading the way in the housing space, and we continue to advocate strongly for our colleagues across the aisle to join us in tackling the housing crisis facing our Commonwealth.”
Senators drew attention to the myriad successes the caucus has secured in the housing space over the past few years, including the creation of the Housing Opportunities Program, dramatic increases in funding to the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, the creation of the Whole Home Repairs Program, and the passage of a Pittsburgh Longterm Owner Occupant Tax Exemption Program (LOOP).
However, despite these successes, Pennsylvania continues to lack the necessary affordable housing stock to ensure a safe, affordable home for every Pennsylvanian. As a part of the Governor’s Housing Action Plan, the Department of Community and Economic Development estimates that Pennsylvania will need to build 450,000 new housing units by 2035 to meet projected demand, but without a change in the rate of construction, will fall short by nearly 185,000 homes. Additionally, renters and manufactured homeowners continue to face skyrocketing costs and fees with hardly any legal protection from exploitation.
As of this morning, President Trump is withholding his signature from the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Bill, a landmark, bipartisan affordable housing bill in an attempt to disenfranchise millions of voters and rig future elections in his party’s favor.
As such, Senate Democrats highlighted bills at the state level that would remove barriers to homeownership, increase Pennsylvania’s affordable housing stock, and support renters. Some of those bills include:
- SB 549, which would seal or limit access to eviction records for PA tenants
- SB 1203, which would tackle “tangled titles” and remove barriers to homeownership
- SB 294, which would remove the cap on housing projects currently in the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) law, allowing the program to better support the housing needs of the Commonwealth and make significant progress on closing our housing unit gap.
- SB 746, which would protect residents of manufactured home communities from unjustified lot rent and fee increases, especially from private equity companies
“Affordable housing is really at the core of Pennsylvania’s affordability crisis,” said Senator Vincent Hughes. “Senate Democrats understand the need and we have solutions. Now it’s time for Senate Republicans to join us in getting those solutions over the finish line. We have the opportunity to lift up entire communities by securing these affordable housing investments and implementing commonsense policies that protect our homeowners.”
“The need for action is clear and urgent: hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvania homes are estimated to need critical repairs, and nearly 17,000 people remain on program waitlists,” said Senator Nikil Saval. “Add on top utility bills and insurance rates, and it’s no wonder so many homeowners are struggling to afford repairs. The Pennsylvania Home Preservation Program is a major step toward disrupting the ongoing cycle of unaffordability and disrepair, speculation, and community displacement. We need to move this bill, pass it, and fund it for years to come.”
“Housing is a cause of angst for everyone from young families to seniors. No sector of our housing market is immune from steep price increases, including manufactured home communities,” said Senator Judy Schwank. “We have commonsense proposals to protect manufactured homeowners, most of whom are seniors, veterans, and folks with disabilities, from price gouging. This budget is a tremendous opportunity to take action and show Pennsylvanians that we are serious about finding solutions to our housing crisis.”
“One of the most important ways we can address the housing crisis is by cutting red tape and removing barriers to home ownership,” said Senator James Malone. “I introduced SB 1203 to help counties streamline small property title changes to help families of modest means more easily establish legal ownership of homes passed down to them. I’m proud to present this alongside Governor Shapiro and my colleagues’ other proposals, which will work on the housing crisis from multiple angles.”
Learn more about how Senate Democrats are fighting for safe, affordable homes for every Pennsylvanian at PASenate.com/Housing.
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HARRISBURG, PA − June 10, 2026 − Today, Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) filed a discharge petition for House Bill 2189, introduced by Representative Dawkins. Passed along bipartisan lines in March, this bill would increase the minimum wage to $15 over the course of three years. The bill has languished in the Pennsylvania Senate for months awaiting action.
In urging Senate Republicans to take action and address the affordability crisis head-on by raising pay for thousands of workers, Senator Costa releases the following statement:
“It’s long past time to raise Pennsylvania’s pitiful minimum wage and deliver a meaningful wage increase for thousands of hard-working Pennsylvanians. We are an island among our neighboring states in our $7.25/hour minimum wage, and it’s a downright disgrace. The time is now to do the right thing, the smart thing, and the popular thing by raising Pennsylvania’s minimum wage. By filing today’s discharge petition, Senate Democrats are standing in solidarity with every worker earning less than $15/hour in demanding family-sustaining wages for every Pennsylvanian.”
Earlier today, Senator Costa offered remarks at a Raise the Wage press conference, forcefully calling upon the Senate Republicans to move HB 2189.
Read more about the Senate Democrats’ Affordability Action Plan here.
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