Education
Lowering the Cost of Living Key To Winning Keystone State
Originally published at Newsweek What will it take for Donald Trump or Kamala Harris to win Pennsylvania—arguably the most important state in the 2024 election? The answer is simple. They must…
Read More: Lowering the Cost of Living Key To Winning Keystone StateMany Pennsylvanians face chronic unemployment, welfare dependency, and the cycle of poverty. This happens because labor incentives have been overridden by bad policies that keep millions out of the workforce and enact excessive red tape. We can reverse this trend by ending the practice of waiving work requirements on able-bodied Pennsylvanians with no dependents, removing barriers to employment for those seeking a fresh start, and creating a healthcare system without burdensome regulations.
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Criminal Justice Reform
Pennsylvania’s Overspending Problem Still Proving Costly
To balance last year’s budget, Gov. Wolf and lawmakers agreed to dedicate a portion of Tobacco Settlement Fund payments to cover a $1.5 billion bond issuance. This decision to…
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Read More: Pennsylvania’s Overspending Problem Still Proving CostlyCriminal Justice Reform
Criminal Justice Reforms Continue to Benefit Pennsylvanians
Pennsylvania’s bipartisan criminal justice efforts are continuing to pay dividends. According to statistics released by the Department of Corrections (DOC), the state’s prison population fell by 863 inmates—the…
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Read More: Criminal Justice Reforms Continue to Benefit PennsylvaniansHealth Care
Poll: Voters Overwhelmingly Support Medicaid Work Requirements
In other states, thousands of Americans previously dependent on government programs have transformed their lives and achieved independence thanks to work requirements. But Pennsylvania’s human services system still traps people…
Press Release
Read More: Poll: Voters Overwhelmingly Support Medicaid Work RequirementsHealth Care
States Get Green Light to Propose Medicaid Work Requirements
It's official: The Trump administration has formally endorsed the policy of work requirements for healthy Medicaid recipients. For years states have sought this flexibility to help beneficiaries of Medicaid—government-run health insurance…
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Read More: States Get Green Light to Propose Medicaid Work RequirementsTaxes & Economy
Lawmakers Seek to Restore Dignity of Work
In the first press conference of 2018, House Republicans introduced a package of bills aimed at breaking generational poverty. Rep. Tobash urged reform given the desperate state of…
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Read More: Lawmakers Seek to Restore Dignity of WorkHealth Care
Obamacare Exchanges Continue To Dissapoint
Open enrollment for Obamacare exchange plans ends on December 15. It is convenient to blame the new administration and efforts to repeal the law for dwindling choices, disappointing enrollment, and…
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Obamacare Creates Another Round of Premium Hikes
Governor Wolf announced exchange insurance premiums will increase by 30 percent next year thanks to President Trump and Congress. The problem is insurance rates have increased every year under…
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Read More: Obamacare Creates Another Round of Premium HikesHealth Care
Restoring the Dignity of Work
The benefits of work are widely known. Yet major welfare programs treat work as a burden instead of the pathway to prosperity. Restoring work in food stamps alone could improve…
Report
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Wolf’s Wrongheaded Veto Threat
Governor Wolf intends to veto Pennsylvania’s welfare code (HB 59) due to a reform contained within the bill—even though the reform can reduce poverty and stimulate economic growth. The modest reform instructs the…
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Five Medicaid Work Requirement Truths
Work leaves families better off. To ignore this fact and urge people to trust a failing Medicaid system is nothing short of a moral scandal.
Fact Sheet
Read More: Five Medicaid Work Requirement TruthsHealth Care
Higher Liquor Prices Just the Latest Hit to Pennsylvania Families
The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board announced it would be arbitrarily raising prices on 422 wine and liquor products. This increase is a result of the “liquor modernization” efforts—which have…
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Read More: Higher Liquor Prices Just the Latest Hit to Pennsylvania FamiliesTaxes & Economy
SNAP Reform Shows Promising Results
Innovative work requirements have the potential to transform the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) from a program perpetuating poverty, to one fostering prosperity. Now, data released by the…
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Read More: SNAP Reform Shows Promising ResultsHealth Care
Obamacare Continues to Destabilize Health Insurance
Obamacare repeal efforts have included transformative Medicaid reform, but retained many of the regulations responsible for collapsing individual markets. On Friday, the Pennsylvania Insurance Department released shocking individual insurance rate requests…
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Read More: Obamacare Continues to Destabilize Health InsuranceState Budget
News Release: State House Promotes Pathway to Independence in Welfare Code
House lawmakers yesterday passed significant welfare reforms to reinforce the safety net for those most in need while helping more Pennsylvanians escape the cycle of poverty and move from dependency…
Press Release
Read More: News Release: State House Promotes Pathway to Independence in Welfare CodeHealth Care
Four Game Changing Welfare Reforms
The 2017-18 spending plan is now law, but officials still must find a way to pay for it. The latest version of the human services code bill includes a host…
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Meaningful Welfare Reform Included in State Budget
State lawmakers are scrambling to create a revenue plan that can balance the $32 billion dollar spending plan passed by the legislature last week. While talks of tax hikes, borrowing…
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Read More: Meaningful Welfare Reform Included in State BudgetRegulation
Policy Memo: Ideas to Balance the 2017-18 Budget
With a spending plan in place, lawmakers should focus their efforts on reinventing state government to balance the budget, including ending horse racing subsidies.
Memo
Read More: Policy Memo: Ideas to Balance the 2017-18 BudgetCriminal Justice Reform
How to Revamp Pa.’s Criminal Justice System
Pennsylvania can reduce its prison population by more than 1,000 people while saving approximately $108 million over five years, according to a Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI) Working Group Report.
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Read More: How to Revamp Pa.’s Criminal Justice SystemHealth Care
Welfare Reform Efforts Gain Traction
Tax hikes or spending reforms? That's the question before lawmakers as the annual scramble to the June 30th budget deadline proceeds. So it's no surprise lawmakers are turning their attention…
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Read More: Welfare Reform Efforts Gain TractionHealth Care
What the Senate ACA Repeal Plan Means for PA
A draft of the U.S. Senate GOP plan to repeal and replace Obamacare is out in the open. Overall, the bill is a step in right direction. The plan fundamentally…
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Read More: What the Senate ACA Repeal Plan Means for PAHealth Care
One Step Towards Redesigning Human Services
Governor Wolf’s proposal to merge four state agencies into the Department of Health and Human Services has the potential to benefit taxpayers and beneficiaries by eliminating bureaucratic redundancies and providing…
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