Dear Neighbor,
This week I’m back in Harrisburg, and the House is officially back to its full complement of 203 members, as newly elected state Rep. Dan Goughnour of Allegheny County was sworn in at the start of yesterday’s session.
Last week, U.S. Senator Cory Booker held the Senate floor for 25 hours to protest the actions of the Trump administration. On Saturday, millions of Americans took to the streets across the country – including thousands right here in West Chester – to protest cuts to essential services and programs.
If these actions have resonated with you, then think about the actions you can take in your own circles. What matters most to you? We all have the ability to do our part to protect our fundamental human rights, our public health and safety, our most vulnerable neighbors, our livelihoods, and our local economies.
Chester County Letter of Support for the Chester County Food Bank
As we shared in our last newsletter, the USDA notified Chester County Food Bank at the end of March that they were canceling $250,000 in food orders for the quarter beginning April 1. Adding to the challenge, the USDA has also withdrawn $145,000 in Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) funding previously allocated for purchasing products from local farmers.
Last Wednesday, nine state legislators representing Chester County joined me in sending a letter to our federal delegation – Senator Dave McCormick, Senator John Fetterman, and Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan – urging them to advocate for the reinstatement and protection of these critical food orders and funding. I am proud to stand with my House and Senate colleagues across Chester County to support the food bank in its mission to fight hunger and help our most vulnerable neighbors, and I am grateful to all who signed on.
Read our letter here.
The response from the community has been overwhelming since our office and other state legislators’ offices first shared the news of these USDA cuts on Friday. Please continue to make your voices heard by contacting our federal representatives and calling for the restoration of these essential programs.
Continued impacts of federal cuts at the local level
In monthly meetings with the Chester County legislative delegation, county officials have raised the alarm about the potential impacts that federal cuts would have on our county programs, particularly those that support housing, public health, and human services.
Yesterday, the Philadelphia Inquirer began a running list of terminated U.S. Housing and Human Services grants in the Philadelphia area. They will update the list every Monday.
While Chester County is not specifically named in this week’s list, many of the terminated state-level grants directly affect programs at the county level, because that funding flows down through county agencies. Those grants include funding for community health services, vaccines and immunizations for children, infectious disease prevention, mental health services, substance abuse treatment and prevention, and more.
View the article and the running list here, and let our federal representatives know how these cuts affect you and your family.
This morning, the Inquirer published a list of funding that was slated for Pennsylvania in this year’s federal budget but became a casualty of the budget fight in Congress. Hundreds of Pennsylvania projects that had been approved for funding in fiscal year 2025 were left out of the Continuing Resolution budget that ultimately passed.
Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan’s district was slated to receive more than $12 million in these Community Project funds, including $2 million for improvements to the Route 30 corridor and $1 million for facility upgrades to Ludwig’s Fire Company. The loss of these funds directly impacts the ability of local governments and nonprofits to pay for important infrastructure, public health, and public safety projects.
Failure to fund these projects at the federal level pushes the costs of essential priorities like roadwork, fire department upgrades, and mental health facilities down to state and local governments. These are your federal tax dollars, which were already paid, earmarked, and set to be allocated for local priorities. And make no mistake: You are not getting this money back from the federal government in the form of lower taxes. Instead, it is being redirected into tax breaks and government contracts for billionaires like Musk and Bezos, while our local taxes go up to cover the costs.
Pennsylvania businesses already feeling the sting of tariffs
Last Wednesday, President Trump announced widespread tariffs on some of our closest trade allies, including Canada, Pennsylvania’s largest trade partner. Pennsylvania imports more than $14.2 billion worth of goods from Canada each year, ranging from industrial products to consumer items, and exports more than $2.56 billion worth of goods to Canada, including motorcycles, cocoa products, coffee, and machinery equipment.
While we’re working hard in Pennsylvania to lower costs and grow our economy, these proposed tariffs are set to drive up costs for businesses and consumers alike. For example, the Trump Administration’s 25% percent tariffs on steel and aluminum will raise costs for Pennsylvania’s craft brewers, forcing them to absorb higher production costs which are then passed on to consumers, resulting in higher prices for craft beer across the Commonwealth. And with 75% of beer now sold in aluminum cans, increased aluminum costs will directly hurt brewers, raise prices, and slow industry growth.
Pennsylvania ranks third in the nation for total number of craft breweries, and second in the nation for number of barrels of craft beer produced in the state. This industry generates $5.4 billion annually in economic impact, supporting Pennsylvania farmers, manufacturers, and businesses, so any increases in production costs would mean drastic cuts to one our state’s biggest economic drivers.
In neighboring Delaware County, car dealerships have expressed concerns about the effects of tariffs:
“If you're selling cars right now, you're going to be negatively impacted… That grand Cherokee out there is assembled in Detroit. But 25% of the parts come from other countries… a $45,000 Grand Cherokee, probably go up $3,000 to $4,000… These are American dealers who employ Americans. They're going to be impacted in a really difficult way.” – David Kelleher, president of David Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep, Ram in Glen Mills
Congress has the power and the authority to stop the tariffs, or to impose tariffs in a more thoughtful, reasonable way, if they so choose. If you’re concerned or already feeling the impact, keep reaching out to your federal representatives to make your voice heard.
What I’m doing at the state level
While the state legislature has no direct ability to stop the actions of the federal government, my House colleagues and I are doing all we can at the state level to create checks and guardrails that will protect Pennsylvanians. Here are just a few of things we are working on at the state-level to keep more money in your pockets:
- With electricity rates expected to skyrocket this summer, I am diligently working on not only the governor’s Lightning Plan, which will bring additional reliable power supply onto the grid while investing in clean energy development, but also on new legislation to require utilities to invest in efficient technologies and do everything they can on their end before passing costs along to consumers.
I have also been working with representatives in our neighboring states on solutions to get new sources of energy connected to the grid faster, which would help to meet growing demand, improve reliability, and keep prices steady.?
- In March, House Democrats advanced four bills that would protect Pennsylvanians’ access to essential health care under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. All four passed the House with unanimous Democratic support and significant bipartisan support.
Now, these bills to save lives, help health care workers, and keep the doors open at hospitals across the commonwealth are in the hands of the state Senate – and we need your help to get the bills passed in the Senate and sent to the governor to become law. Add your voice below and ask a friend or neighbor to join the fight!
- Last year, we expanded the Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program and delivered the largest targeted tax cut for seniors in nearly two decades, increasing the maximum rebate from $650 to $1,000 and expanding access to nearly 175,000 more Pennsylvanians. In 2024, more than 500,000 seniors and people with disabilities received over $302 million in rebates. More than 105,000 of those are first-time filers who were newly eligible this year.