HARRISBURG – October 29, 2020 – Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa and Senate Democratic Appropriations Chair Senator Vincent Hughes and members of the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Caucus today slammed House and Senate Republicans for recessing the General Assembly until mid-November without passing legislation to drive out Pennsylvania’s remaining $1.3 billion in federal CARES funds to Pennsylvanians suffering the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.
Earlier this year, Pennsylvania received nearly $4 billion from the federal government’s Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act. In May, Democrats and Republicans worked together to drive out $2.6 billion of the federal funds to provide much needed aid to struggling Pennsylvanians. Since that time, Senate Democrats have strongly advocated for driving out the remaining $1.3 billion and released their own proposal for spending the remaining funding to provide additional relief. Unfortunately, Republican leadership in the House and Senate refused to act on another round of funding before recessing Oct. 21.
“It is unconscionable that Harrisburg Republicans would adjourn the General Assembly and leave town without acting on another round of CARES funding for Pennsylvania families and businesses,” Sen. Costa said. “For months Senate Democrats have been pressing for the release of the remaining $1.3 billion in CARES funds. I’d say House and Senate Republicans ignored us, but the reality is they ignored hurting Pennsylvania families. They ignored Pennsylvania’s small business owners that are hanging on by a thread. They ignored our hospitals, our schools, and our social service providers. Republican inaction is going to lead to more unnecessary suffering and lengthen Pennsylvania’s economic recovery. It’s shameful.”
“At a time when Pennsylvanians need real, bipartisan leadership, Harrisburg Republicans have failed miserably,” Sen. Hughes said. “House and Senate Republicans have been singularly focused on criticizing Governor Wolf for his handling of the pandemic, but when they had a chance to make an impact, they did nothing. They left $1.3 billion sitting in the state treasury and went home. Now, that money will sit there for weeks as more small businesses close, more child care providers struggle to stay afloat, and more families stay up at night wondering how they will pay their bills. It didn’t have to be this way.”
Similar inaction on a federal level has ended all talks of stimulus aid before the Nov. 3 election, leaving families, small businesses, front-line workers and many other vulnerable populations without much-needed aid. Costa and Hughes pointed to politically-motivated federal inaction and severely misplaced priorities by House and Senate Republicans, who the entire summer and fall politicizing the pandemic and Pennsylvania’s response to it rather than working with Democrats to drive out CARES funding.
“Throughout the summer and fall, we’ve watched House and Senate Republicans hold partisan hearings, pass politically-motivated legislation, and waste precious time on veto overrides that they knew would fail,” Sen. Costa said. “If they spent even a fraction of that time focused on helping people, I have no doubt we would have reached a consensus on spending the remaining $1.3 billion in CARES funds. Instead Republicans opted for political theatre.”
“All summer Republican Senators and Representatives stood at press conferences with small business owners and organized rallies to protest Pennsylvania’s response to the pandemic,” Sen. Hughes noted. “But when the press conferences and rallies ended, and the time came to help these same folks they claimed to be fighting for by driving out $1.3 billion, Republican legislators did nothing. They got their press release or their TV clip and the folks that stood with them were left without any help. Again. We cannot wait any longer to push out aid. Our plan must be on the agenda in November.”
The Senate Democrats again shared their plans in hopes that the Republican-controlled General Assembly would understand the immediate need of providing aid to vulnerable Pennsylvanians immediately. The Senate Democratic plan includes:
- $125 million for individual and family relief with utility bill assistance
- $575 million for business assistance, specifically for:
- Nonprofit assistance
- Main Street and Historically Disadvantaged Businesses
- Barbers, salons, personal care industry
- Tourism
- Bars, taverns, restaurants, private event spaces and hospitality
- $15 million food security
- $125 million for high Medicaid hospitals
- $141 million for higher education
- $75 million for child care
- $100 million for hazard pay in existing programs, and expanded programs for pharmacies
- $150 million for property tax relief
- $25 million for public safety
If you missed the press conference, you can watch the full event here. For more information on the Senate Democratic proposals for the first or second allocation of CARES funds, please visit pasenate.com/pacares.
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Harrisburg − October 16, 2020 − Members of the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Caucus today outlined a plan to spend the remaining $1.331 billion in CARES money that Pennsylvania received as part of a federal assistance package earlier this year.
The money must be spent by December 31st on COVID-19 related needs or the state loses the authority to use it at all.
“When we passed our original spending plan for these dollars, we withheld a portion of our allocation to see where what would happen with COVID-19 through the summer and fall. We waited for more assistance from the federal government that never came. Washington has failed but here in PA, we have found that families, small businesses, and many other institutions need additional assistance for recovery,” said Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa, Jr. “We’ve been allocated these funds to help with recovery; it’s time to spend them. Folks need help now. I urge our Republican colleagues to add this to the agenda for our session days next week.”
“We are a long way from recovering what has been lost during the pandemic and sitting on $1.3 billion does nothing to help people who are hurting right now,” Sen. Hughes said. “We must drive dollars out to our existing and proven methods of distributing CARES funding immediately. Our families, workers, small businesses owners, and so many others are still struggling to get through this pandemic. They do not have the luxury of a wait-and-see approach, which is why we must act now. Furthermore, we need the federal government to enact a spending plan that helps states do more to help the people through the greatest crisis of our lifetimes.”
The Senate Democratic plan includes:
- $125 million for individual and family relief with utility bill assistance
- $575 million for business assistance, specifically for:
- Nonprofit assistance
- Main Street and Historically Disadvantaged Businesses
- Barbers, salons, personal care industry
- Tourism
- Bars, taverns, restaurants, private event spaces and hospitality
- $15 million food security
- $125 million for high Medicaid hospitals
- $141 million for higher education
- $75 million for child care
- $100 million for hazard pay in existing programs, and expanded programs for pharmacies
- $150 million for property tax relief
- $25 million for public safety
For more information on the Senate Democratic proposals for the first or second allocation of CARES funds, please visit https://www.pasenate.com/pacares/
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Allegheny County, Pa. − September 15, 2020 − Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa, Jr. today announced the award of $475,000 in grants for economic development projects in the 43rd senatorial district.
The grants are part of the Gaming Economic Development Tourism Fund and are dispersed by the Redevelopment Authority of Allegheny County.
“2020 has provided more than its fair share of bad news, so I am very pleased to announce the award of these grants to our district,” said Senator Costa. “Each of the projects that are funded through this program will provide valuable improvements to assets in our community from the Music Hall at the Carnegie Library of Homestead, to basic improvements to our streets and sidewalks in Shadyside.”
Grants for the 43rd district will go to:
- The Carnegie Library of Homestead, $100,000, for the installation of a new ADA compliant passenger elevator that will provide wheelchair access from the exterior walkways to the lobby balcony and basement restroom levels of the music hall.
- The City of Pittsburgh’s Shadyside neighborhood, $100,000, for renovations to Walnut Street including sidewalks and lighting.
- Munhall Borough, $125,000, for improvements to the North Parking Lot area, and improvements to the North and South Campuses.
- The Frick Museum, $150,000, for lighting enhancements.
For more information on the GEDTF grant program, please visit this page from Allegheny County.
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Pittsburgh, PA − September 15, 2020 − Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa, Jr. today announced the award of $1,654,233 in cultural grants for the 43rd senatorial district.
Today’s grants are funded by money allocated to the state in the CARES Act, a federal recovery program dedicating dollars to the industries impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“COVID-19 has impacted every aspect of our lives, and that includes those folks in the arts, and those who work tirelessly to preserve the expansive history and culture across our state,” said Senate Democratic Leader, Jay Costa (D- Allegheny). “This is not just about the arts and institutions in our big cities like Pittsburgh, Philly, and Erie. This is about preserving these institutions in all our communities. The arts enrich our lives, financially and beyond. We have to protect the institutions that support arts and culture in this state if we want them to succeed in recovering from this pandemic.”
Institutions in the 43rd district that received grants today include:
- The Carnegie Museum of Art: $359,472
- Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum Trust: $56,214
- Frick Art & Historical Center: $215,257
- Carnegie Library of Homestead: $27,915
- The Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh: $25,000
- Rivers of Steel Heritage Corporation: $78,091
- Carnegie Museum of Natural History: $392,284
- Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens: $500,000
The grants were approved in a vote by the Commonwealth Financing Authority. For more information, visit DCED’s website here.
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Harrisburg – September 14, 2020 – The Senate Democratic Policy Committee today held a virtual public hearing to focus on issues impacting the arts, cultural and historical institutions across Pennsylvania.
“COVID-19 has impacted every aspect of our lives, and that includes those folks in the arts, and those who work tirelessly to preserve the expansive history and culture across our state,” said Senate Democratic Leader, Jay Costa (D- Allegheny). “This is not just about the arts and institutions in our big cities like Pittsburgh, Philly, and Erie. This is about preserving these institutions in all our communities.”
“It is imperative that we as lawmakers do all we can to help every industry in Pennsylvania make its way through this dual-threat of public fears about COVID-19 and government directives aimed at encouraging social distancing,” said Sen. Lisa Boscola (D-Lehigh/Northampton), chair of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee.
Pennsylvania has had over 140,000 positive cases of COVID-19, and there have been almost 8,000 deaths attributed to the virus. Medical experts have advised that mitigation measures, like proper social distancing and mask wearing, are the best defense against COVID-19 — and will save lives.
Many theaters, museums and cultural centers in Pennsylvania were forced to close their doors when the statewide stay-at-home order was put into place by Governor Tom Wolf in April. As the restrictions eased from Red, to Yellow, to Green, there are have been easements to limitations, but many institutions are still struggling to make ends meet and properly adhere to proper social distance and precaution guidelines.
“Pennsylvania has such a rich history of preserving the story of our nation and fostering art and culture along the way,” said Sen. Larry Farnese (D- Philadelphia). “Necessary closures due to COVID-19 have devastated the historical tourist and world-renowned cultural institutions in my district. Those who work in these fields deserve a just recovery too.”
Governor Tom Wolf allocated $2.3 million of federal CARES Act money to go towards grants for those in the artistic, cultural and historic preservation communities to support staff salaries, fees for artists or contractual personnel, and facilities costs. Announcements for the recipients of these grants will be released tomorrow, Sept. 14, 2020.
James Cuorato, President & CEO, Independence Visitor Center Corporation in Philadelphia said that his organization has already submitted an application to the Commonwealth’s Cultural and Museum Preservation Grant Program. “If successful, it will enable us to continue operations and serve our community. I commend the Wolf Administration for recognizing the dire needs of nonprofit-run attractions such as ours and designing a program to get us through these extraordinarily tough times.”
The U.S. Dept. of Commerce estimates that arts and cultural economic activity, adjusted for inflation, accounted for 4.5 percent of gross domestic product or $877.8 billion in 2017. In Pennsylvania, the sector contributed $25.8 billion to the state’s economy and employed 176,000 workers.
“Annually, the Kimmel Center welcomes over 1.2 million visitors and generates $585 million in regional economic impact. Last year, our operations generated $7.1 million in city tax revenue and $6.8 million in state tax revenue,” said Stan Applegate, Executive Vice President & CFO, Kimmel Center, Inc. “We have been the grateful recipient of various Commonwealth grants since the Kimmel Center’s inception, and we are proud to report that for every dollar the Commonwealth invested in the Kimmel Center, it has earned back approximately $2.15. We support 5,000 jobs annually, and each month the Campus remains closed puts 2,380 jobs and $5.3 million in household income at risk.”
Applegate said that the Kimmel Center is projected to lose $29 million dollars in gross revenue through December 31st, with the potential loss of $51 million if we remain closed through our fiscal year, ending June 30th, 2021.
Gail Harrity, President & COO, Philadelphia Museum of Art, said that despite the museum’s best attempt to maintain their operations and full staff. In July, the Philadelphia Art Museum had to reduce staff by 23% – 85 staff, 56 who held part-time positions and 25 staff who held full-time positions. This is after substantial salary reductions, the cancelation of exhibitions, programs and other cuts to non-compensation expenses at the museum.
Harrity also said that the American Association of Museums published a survey in July suggesting that a third of the nation’s museums – 12,000 institutions – might not survive the pandemic and its aftermath.
“In its nearly 150-year history, the Philadelphia Museum of Art has survived financial collapses, wars, pandemics and other catastrophic events. While COVID-19 has drastically changed the way that we operate, our staff, trustees and volunteers remain committed to stewarding our world-class collections and landmark building through these current challenging times,” said Harrity. “As has been critical to the museum’s survival in the past, the public-private partnership and support of elected and civic leaders at the city, state and federal levels is necessary to keeping the museum afloat.”
Applegate, of the Kimmel Center, also said that his organization was very grateful for the passage of House Bill 2484, which allows organizations to take out up to 10% of their annual endowment, as opposed to the previous limit of 7% annually.
Boscola said that while state law has been amended to allow arts institutions like the Kimmel Center the and the Philadelphia Art Museum to tap into more of their endowment funds to make ends meet, this has not always been enough to save jobs, and will impact these institutions into the future.
Alex Fraser, Producing Director at Bucks County Playhouse, said that he was very grateful to be a part of hearing, and to his state Senator, Steve Santarsiero (D- Bucks), for participating in the hearing and advocating for their Bucks County community.
“Financially, we’re looking at a loss of $5 million of revenue for 2019 and have cut our full-time staff from almost 60 to 28, most of whom are running our restaurant. Our monthly payroll in July 2019 was $196,000; this July it was down 75% to $46,000,” said Fraser. “I am proud to say we are half-way there, but we have still have mountains to climb.”
The following testified at today’s hearing:
- James J. Cuorato, President & CEO, Independence Visitor Center Corporation
- Gail Harrity, President & COO, Philadelphia Museum of Art Stan Applegate, Executive Vice President & CFO, Kimmel Center, Inc.
- Matías Tarnopolsky, President & CEO, The Philadelphia Orchestra
- Denise Smith, Vice President of Development, State Theatre Kassie Hilgert, President & CEO, ArtsQuest
- Jeanne Ruddy, Executive Director, Performance Garage
- Jenny Hershour, Managing Director, Citizens for the Arts in Pennsylvania
- Mitch Swain, CEO, Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council
- Melia Tourangeau, President & CEO, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
- Sara Jane (Sally) Elk, President & CEO, Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site
- Kyle McKoy, President & CEO, Mercer Museum & Fonthill Castle
- Alexander Fraser, Producing Director, Bucks County Playhouse
Senators Sharif Street (D- Philadelphia) and Lindsey Williams (D- Allegheny) also participated in today’s hearing.
The Senate Democratic Policy Committee has already held many hearings related to COVID-19, including the status of restaurants during COVID-19, the reopening of schools, the impact on nursing and veterans homes, food supply chain disruptions, the disproportionate effect of COVID-19 on the African American Community, maternal mortality during COVID-19, pandemic-related funding for childcare centers, and assuring that protective equipment and other support is accessible for all frontline workers.
A full recording of this hearing, and links to all previous hearings, are available at senatorboscola.com/policy.
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