Senate Republicans talk up education, economy as priorities in Pennsylvania
By Anthony Hennen | The Center Square
HARRISBURG, PA – Senate Republicans emphasized family-friendly policies and economic growth as they described their agenda for the legislative session on Wednesday.
How much agreement and compromise that will come from a Democratic-controlled House and governor’s mansion, though, remains to be seen.
“Voters also returned this Senate Republican majority,” said Majority Leader Joe Pittman, R-Indiana. “We, too, have an electoral mandate and we embrace that. The voters have sent us divided government, but they did not send us dysfunctional government.”
Republicans spoke of empowering families, creating more jobs and defending freedom.
To that end, Pittman spoke on providing relief for working families from inflation and the rising cost of living, and embracing the commonwealth’s energy resources for economic growth.
“We recognize that cheap energy is critical to keeping inflation under control,” Pittman said. “We have made it very clear that we as a Senate majority embrace our God-given natural resources.”
President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, R-Greensburg, further emphasized the caucus’s family priorities.
“We are focused on putting forward legislation and ideas that help families,” Ward said, pointing to the passage last year of a child care tax credit and hinting that Republicans might favor expanding it. “The Senate has historically pushed for investments in mental health” and “funding for more support staff in nursing facilities and workforce recruitment and retention payments for frontline workers,” she said.
Appropriations Committee Chairman Scott Martin, R-Strasburg, spoke of the commonwealth’s population troubles.
“It’s no surprise to anyone that Pennsylvania, over the last many decades, has lagged from the standpoint of economically versus a lot of our close states, and that this state also has lagged demographically,” Martin said. “Forty thousand people in the last year have left Pennsylvania. In order to turn that around, this caucus really wants to focus on doing things that really attract people here.”
Martin mentioned cutting government red tape – supported by business and labor groups – and overregulation that drives up costs and does little to improve public health and safety.
He also warned that Pennsylvania’s budget in the next few years will be restricted.
“I would caution everyone who claims the commonwealth is in (an) extremely good fiscal position,” Martin said. “Part of our job is to ensure that we don’t break the bank here in Pennsylvania.”
Ward demurred on offering her thoughts as to where conflict might arise with Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, but pointed to education as a potential bright spot for compromise.
“I think we can find common ground on issues like maybe education, on some things that are – child care tax credits, as we mentioned – things that are important to all Pennsylvanians,” Ward said. “This is our chance to govern in the middle, doing what’s right for all of Pennsylvania. I think that’s what we can get done, are things that are not divisive.”
