Staff

State Budget

Marijuana Money Can’t Fix the Budget

• Andrew Abramczyk
• September 15, 2020

The dollars involved are small and legalization would create new expenses.

Memo

Federal Ruling: Wolf Admin Not Above the Constitution

• Michael Torres
• September 14, 2020

  W. Pa. Counties Successfully Counter Wolf’s Shutdown Order  Sept. 14, 2020, Harrisburg, Pa.

Press Release

Wolf Proposes Band Aid for Small Business? Broken Leg

• Michael Torres
• September 11, 2020

Sept. 10, 2020, Harrisburg, Pa. — Governor Tom Wolf called on the legislature to provide more taxpayer funding to bail …

Press Release

Energy

Lawmakers Fight Wolf on Cap and Trade Plan

• Kevin Mooney
• September 10, 2020

Governor Wolf is determined to pull Pennsylvania into a multi-state compact that restricts carbon dioxide emissions and raises the cost of power. But thanks to the natural gas revolution Pennsylvania…

Commentary

Op-Ed: To fix Philadelphia’s “bad cops” problem, end special privileges for unions

• Jessica Barnett
• September 9, 2020

Reforms that expose the current system will usher in the transparency and accountability needed to reestablish the trust upon which public safety depends.

Commentary

Education

Ways to Ease Substitute Teacher Shortages?

• Colleen Hroncich
• September 4, 2020

Now more than ever, we need flexible policies to ensure schools have enough substitute teachers. We trust school leaders to keep kids safe and manage large budgets. Shouldn’t we trust them to…

Commentary

Commonwealth Foundation Receives 2020 Biggest Win for Freedom Award

• September 3, 2020

Sept. 3, 2020, Harrisburg, Pa. — The Commonwealth Foundation is honored to have earned the 2020 Bob Williams Award: Biggest Win for Freedom, presented by the State Policy Network.

Press Release

Health Care

Lawmakers Push to Do Better, Rebuild Our Economy

• Elizabeth Stelle
• September 2, 2020

Today the Republicans in the Pa. House attempted to override the Governor’s veto of HR 836, the bill that would end Pennsylvania’s 6-month long state of emergency and the…

Commentary

Send a Note to the Team

• September 2, 2020

If you'd like to share a note or word of encouragement to the team, enter it below. BWA Notes…

Commentary

Op-Ed: ‘Back on Track’ proposal would help parents pay for alternative education during COVID-19

• Kevin Mooney
• September 2, 2020

State Rep. Clint Owlett, a Republican representing District 68, is sponsoring HB 2696, and state Sen. Judy Ward, a Republican representing District 30, is pushing a companion bill, SB 1230. If enacted,…

Commentary

Regulation

Lawmakers Try to Stop Restaurant Catastrophe

• Michael Torres
• August 31, 2020

Bars and restaurants in Pennsylvania are sounding the alarm, warning that mass closures are on the horizon due to unnecessarily strict government regulations. A new report from the …

Media

Public Union Democracy

Biden Would Subject Entire Economy to Unions’ Demands

• Kevin Mooney
• August 28, 2020

If Joe Biden is elected president, he would move to eliminate right-to-work laws now operative in 27 states. The current Democratic nominee for president, would also turn the Naitonal Labor…

Commentary

Taxes & Economy

Wolf Takes More Federal Money, Complains About It

• Andrew Abramczyk
• August 28, 2020

Governor Wolf is focused more on wrangling over unemployment aid than lowering unemployment.

Commentary

Op-ed: Parents Deserve Funding to Get Students Back on Track

• Colleen Hroncich
• August 26, 2020

Back on Track ESAs will enable parents—rather than government bureaucrats—to determine what help their children need. But the benefits don’t stop there. The scholarships will help address many of the education…

Commentary

Always Prepared 2

• August 24, 2020

Commentary

Health Care

Preserving Medicaid: How to Stop Shortchanging Patients and Bankrupting Taxpayers

• August 19, 2020

Pennsylvania is a Medicaid leader in all the wrong ways. Enrollment has skyrocketed beyond population growth, and the state ranks fourth in the share of the state budget consumed by Medicaid.

Report

Op-Ed: Transparency Victory a Call to Action for Lawmakers

• Nathan Benefield
• August 18, 2020

Wolf’s pattern of lawlessness must be stopped—and lawmakers’ transparency victory could be the turning point that reins him in. …

Commentary

Op-Ed: Education Innovation Needed Now More than Ever

• Marc LeBlond
• August 17, 2020

Programs like tax credit scholarships and education scholarship accounts (ESAs) empower families to choose the education options that fit their needs. They help parents afford to look beyond the government-run system to…

Commentary

Always Prepared

• August 15, 2020

Pennsylvania's health care system should be always prepared, no matter the crisis. But regulations block qualified nurses and health professionals from stepping in when they're needed most. By permanently eliminating…

Commentary

Education

Unleashing Educational Opportunity

• August 14, 2020

Applying cautious estimates, this study finds that the two private school choice programs in Pennsylvania are expected to provide billions in long-run economic benefits from higher lifetime earnings, fewer high…

Report

Education

Pa. has $1 billion in CARES aid left. Where should it go?

• Elizabeth Stelle
• August 14, 2020

As the pandemic slows, it’s time to step back and reevaluate Pennsylvania’s remaining needs for coronavirus relief. How can our state government ensure that the citizens and businesses who most…

Fact Sheet