by Christin Brown | June 14, 2016 | News Releases
Harrisburg – June 14, 2016 – A grant of $80,877 has been awarded to the Norris Square Senior Community Center, state Sen. Christine Tartaglione (D-Philadelphia) said today.
“Grants for senior centers help bolster activities and provide critical assistance to seniors in Philadelphia and the surrounding region,” Tartaglione said. “The funding approved today for the Norris Square Senior Community Center will help the center continue providing invaluable service to the area.”
According to the Department of Aging, 43 senior centers from around the state will share in $2 million in grant funding in this round.
The funding helps advance programming for seniors. It also enables senior centers to complete critical projects, improve technology, recruit new members and meet the needs of area seniors. Grants enhance social and recreational activities while providing a safe community meeting place, Tartaglione said.
“The grants are resources that can be used to help seniors stay involved in the community,” Tartaglione said.
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by Christin Brown | June 2, 2016 | News Releases
PHILADELPHIA, June 2, 2016 − State Sens. Christine M. Tartaglione and Shirley M. Kitchen today joined Gov. Tom Wolf for a tour of one of the nation’s leading research centers investigating the causes of drug addiction.
The Center for Substance Abuse Research (CSAR), at Temple University’s Lewis J. Katz School of Medicine, brings together dozens of experts from across Temple campuses to carry out interdisciplinary research to understand the biological basis of drug addiction and other effects of addictive drugs that result in altered states of biological function.
“As we face an opioid overdose epidemic in Pennsylvania, we are fortunate to have the substantial resources of Temple University to approach the problem at the most fundamental level,” Tartaglione said. “It’s inspiring to be in the midst of incredibly talented people doing incredibly important work.”
CSAR recently received a $1 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to develop and implement an educational program called SEADAP (Science Education Against Drug Abuse Partnership) to teach students in grades 6 through 12 about how commonly abused drugs work in the brain to produce addiction.
“While we face this very serious challenge in our community, it’s encouraging to see that we have the tools here that can lead to success,” said Kitchen, who, for years, has worked closely with the recovery community. “We have the talent right here in North Philadelphia that can help transform lives across Pennsylvania.”
The senators joined the governor on a tour of Temple research facilities and took part in a roundtable discussion about the intersection of academic research and public policy.
After the tour, Wolf, who has made mitigating the opioid crisis a priority for his administration, said the facility is “bringing the power of science to bear on drug abuse and drug addiction.”
“The challenge is how we take the good research that’s going on here and turn it into good public policy,” he said.
Kitchen and Tartaglione recently announced support for a legislative package intended to address the opioid addiction crisis from prevention through recovery. To read details of that effort, click here.
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by Christin Brown | October 28, 2015 | News Releases
Harrisburg – October 28, 2015 – At the request of state Sen. Vince Hughes (D-Phila.), the Senate Democratic Policy Committee today held a hearing on the devastating impact that the state’s 120-day budget impasse is having on schools across the state.
“While many of the budget dispute points remain unresolved, what is clear is that the consequences of this impasse are far-reaching,” said Sen. Lisa Boscola (D-Northampton), who chairs the committee. “This hearing gives lawmakers a sense of how schools are handling the funding shortfall, and what problems they’ll face if this stalemate continues to drag on.”
Hughes added, “A growing number of schools have been cornered into borrowing money and taking out credit lines just to keep their doors open. Hopefully, this hearing’s focus on this worsening statewide financial crisis will encourage greater urgency, cooperation and compromise in the ongoing budget negotiations.”
During the hearing, state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale testified that at least 27 school districts have taken out loans totaling more than $431 million. He projected that interest payments will total $30 million if the stalemate reaches mid-November.
Those who testified decried how the impasse has harmed students, depleted reserves and how taxpayers will be needlessly saddled with paying the interest on the growing number of loans and credit lines that schools are obtaining to keep their doors open.
Erie Public Schools Superintendent Jay Badams lamented that his district will need to borrow $30 million just to get through January.
“That’s $114,000 in wasted interest money that could have been used for so many badly needed educational expenses,” Badams said.
Dr. Joseph Roy, who serves as superintendent of the Bethlehem Area School District in Northampton County, added that “choices at the state level continue to hammer school districts.” He said the diversion of funds to charter and cyber schools and a “punitive” approach to public education has blown up school expenditures.
Dr. Rula Skezas, who serves as superintendent of the McKeesport Area School District in Allegheny County, noted that even if the district receives its proposed funding it would still fall short of what it received during the 2011 school year. She said McKeesport has taken out a $5 million line of credit to make it to December. She said the district has already eliminated 110 staff positions to try and make ends meet.
Hughes, who serves as Democratic chair of the Appropriations Committee, said public, charter and private schools are already reeling from years of being underfunded. He noted that the Philadelphia School District has already borrowed $275 million during the impasse. Fran Burns, who serves as chief operating officer for the School District of Philadelphia, testified that the district has struggled to contend with a “structural deficit.”
Lamenting the impact on local working families who fund schools through property taxes, Boscola pointed toward an educational survey conducted earlier this year showing that nearly 75 percent of districts were planning to impose property tax hikes, 30 percent were planning on making additional program cuts, and 41 percent were making more staff cuts. She said the state has withheld approximately $3 billion in school funds since the budget impasse began in July.
Joining Boscola and Hughes at the Capitol committee hearing were Senators John Blake (D-Lackawanna), Jim Brewster (D-Allegheny), Andrew Dinniman (D-Montgomery), Christine Tartaglione (D-Phila.) and Sean Wiley (D-Erie),
Those testifying included:
- The Honorable Eugene DePasquale
Pennsylvania Auditor General
- Fran Burns
Chief Operating Officer, School District of Philadelphia
- Joseph Gorham
Superintendent of Schools, Carbondale Area School District
- Dr. Joseph Roy
Superintendent of Schools, Bethlehem Area School District
- Dr. Jay D. Badams
Superintendent, Erie Public Schools
- Dr. Rula S. Skezas
Superintendent, McKeesport Area School District
- Marjorie Neff
Chair, School Reform Commission
- Anthony Pirrello
CEO, Montessori Regional Charter School of Erie, and Vice President of Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools
- Matt Przywara
Member, PASBO
Chief Financial and Operations Officer, School District of Lancaster
- Bill LaCoff
President, Pennsylvania School Boards Association
- Susan Gobreski
Education Voters of Pennsylvania
- Dr. Pearl English
School Nurse, School District of Philadelphia
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by Christin Brown | January 30, 2014 | News Releases
Philadelphia, Jan. 30, 2014 – Senate Democrats gathered in seven communities across Pennsylvania today to challenge Gov. Tom Corbett to produce a spending plan that is aligned with the needs of Pennsylvanians.
Sen. Christine Tartaglione joined Philadelphia senators here to highlight the negative impact of previous Corbett budgets and describe why the upcoming budget is so important.
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“Pennsylvania’s state budget is an identification of priorities and a strategy for investment,” Sen. Tartaglione said. “We can do better than what Gov. Corbett and his administration have provided.
Tartaglione and Senate Democrats said their budget priorities reflect needs shared by all Pennsylvanians, including job creation, expansion of health care through Medicaid, increasing the minimum wage, repairing the social safety net and restoring education funds.
“Under Gov. Corbett’s leadership, Pennsylvania has fallen to the bottom in job creation and government efficiency, and we must do a better job of identifying policy priorities,” she said. “Senate Democrats have concrete plans to move the state forward and our payment method does not involve a broad-based tax increase.”
Senate Democrats said they will push for the following in this budget:
- Creating jobs by funding targeted water and sewer rehabilitation projects, strengthening school-to-work programs and expanding community economic zones throughout the state;
- Investing in education with a $300 million boost, bolstering funds for early education and committing to a long-term financing plan that restores funding;
- Increasing the state’s minimum wage to at least $9 per hour, indexing the wage to inflation and raising the tipped minimum wage;
- Expanding Medicaid and extending health care to 500,000 Pennsylvania families while generating budget savings of $400 million; and
- Repairing holes in the social safety net by using $85 million in Medicaid budget savings for human services programming such as drug, alcohol and mental health.
Sen. Tartaglione said her priorities for the new budget are for the state to restore education funding and for the governor to finally take the lead on raising the minimum wage.
“Pennsylvania’s minimum wage is currently $7.25/hour,” she said. “That isn’t enough for a person living in this state to pay rent, buy a car or purchase groceries for themselves, much less a family. My legislation will raise the minimum wage incrementally to $9.00/hour by 2015, after which it would automatically increase every year with inflation.”
Without an adequate base wage that is competitive with neighboring states, Tartaglione said educational initiatives, if the governor proposes any, would be moot.
“All the education and career preparation in the world won’t help present and future generations if we don’t ensure access to quality jobs and quality income when they graduate,” the senator said. “Right now, we have too many minimum wage jobs and too many educated, over-qualified, minimum wage workers.
“We need to ensure individuals working full-time jobs are able to support themselves and their family members,” she said.
Senate Democrats said they will provide immediate reaction to the governor’s budget address following his scheduled speech to the General Assembly Feb. 4.
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by Christin Brown | December 10, 2013 | News Releases
Harrisburg – December 10, 2013 – In advance of the governor’s planned mid-year budget briefing, state Senate Democrats today announced details of a plan to generate more than $1 billion in budget savings and revenues they say can be used to make key investments, avoid deep cuts or tax increases in dealing with a projected $839 million budget deficit.
“Senate Democrats have identified ample revenues to not only deal with the significant budget deficit that has developed under Gov. Tom Corbett’s watch, but we’ve also found resources to fund key job creation initiatives, education investments and safety net repairs that are needed as a result of short-sighted administration policies,” Sen. Jay Costa (D-Allegheny), the Senate Democratic leader said.
In a November budget status report, the Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) reported that Pennsylvania was facing a structural deficit of $839 million.
At today’s news conference in the state Capitol, Costa detailed the Senate Democratic $1.091 billion savings and revenue plan. The plan includes the following features and fiscal benefits:
- Expanded Medicaid — $400 million;
- Escheat Reform — $150 million;
- Wine and Spirits Modernization — $125 million;
- Charter School Reform — $85.5 million;
- Capital Stock and Franchise tax phase-out freeze — $75 million;
- Multi-state claims processing for SSP/SSI – $75 million;
- Enhanced tax collection — $55 million;
- Medicaid Managed Care — $50 million;
- Tobacco products tax — $36 million;
- Vendor discount elimination — $40 million.
Senate Democratic Whip Sen. Anthony H. Williams (D-Philadelphia) said Pennsylvanians should not accept the recurring rhetoric from the Corbett administration that they have to cut and slash each and every year due to a revenue shortfall.
“Every year we have heard the same tune from the governor that his hands are tied because revenues are soft and the job market is flat,” Williams said. “For the last three years, Senate Democrats have put forth plans outlining how we can generate budget savings and additional revenues to make key investments without severe cuts.
“The song the governor keeps singing about his budget woes is stale and taxpayers are tired of it. The fact is we need a new more aggressive approach,” he said.
Senate Democratic Appropriations Chair Sen. Vincent J. Hughes (D-Philadelphia) said the reason Pennsylvania keeps having budget deficits and scrambling for money each year is the Corbett administration does not have a comprehensive and coherent job creation strategy.
“Under the governor’s leadership, we’ve gone from eighth in job creation to near last among all states, dead last among all our neighboring states and last among all big states,” Hughes said. “We have a Corbett jobs deficit of 166,000 on top of a Corbett budget deficit of $839 million.
“The reason we can’t move forward is that the Corbett corporate tax cuts of over $1 billion, combined with a lack of attention to the needs of everyday Pennsylvanians in job creation, education and safety net protections, weigh us down.”
Senate Democrats also continued to lament the $1 billion in cuts in education funding authored by the Corbett administrations several years ago. The Democrats said this policy has been counterproductive and costly to the average taxpayers because the state simply shifted the burden.
“We can devise a better approach to budgeting and revenue generation that will not result in our local taxpayers paying more in property taxes and children losing opportunities in school,” Costa said. “The Senate Democratic plan provides a path that is responsible and deals with the Corbett budget deficit.”
In addition to the budget and savings plan, Senate Democrats said they would soon announce their budget priorities for the upcoming fiscal year.
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by Christin Brown | September 13, 2013 | News Releases
WHO:
State Senator Christine Tartaglione, Democratic Chair of Senate Labor and Industry Committee
State Senator Vincent Hughes, Democratic Chair of Senate Appropriations Committee
Elizabeth McLroy, Secretary-Treasurer of Philadelphia AFL-CIO
Mark Price, Labor Economist at Keystone Research Center
Kathy Black, President of the Coalition of Labor Union Women
John Dodds, Executive Director of the Philadelphia Unemployment Project
WHAT: Senator Tartaglione will announce the introduction of new legislation to increase Pennsylvania’s minimum wage from $7.25 to $9.00. She will be joined by Sen. Hughes and advocates who support the bill.
Pennsylvania’s minimum wage is currently set at $7.25 for most hourly employees, which is required by federal law. Eighteen states have passed minimum wage rates above the federal level. Pennsylvania lawmakers have not increased the state minimum wage since 2006.
WHEN: Tuesday, September 17th @ 2pm
WHERE: Philadelphia City Hall, Mayor’s Reception Room (Room 202)
CONTACT: Please contact Ben Waxman via e-mail: [email protected] or 717-787-7112 for more information
by Christin Brown | April 30, 2013 | News Releases
HARRISBURG, April 30, 2013 — Gov. Corbett’s contention that drug use is responsible for Pennsylvania’s high unemployment rate is disturbing, but not the most troubling part of his interview on PAMatters.com, state Sen. Christine M. Tartaglione said today.
“The governor’s disdain for the unemployed and the thousands of families affected is long-held and already well-known,” Tartaglione said. “But the rest of the interview showed a state executive with a poor grasp on Pennsylvania economics and a propensity to freely make statements unburdened by facts.”
Among the glaring misstatements of fact Corbett made in the interview is the contention that “we now have more people working than ever before.”
“There are, in fact, more unemployed Pennsylvanians today than there were the day the governor was inaugurated,” Tartaglione said. “And the size of the labor force is still more than 100,000 short of its peak during the Rendell administration. These are numbers that are easy to obtain by anyone with a computer. It’s stunning.”
In one of the interview’s more eye-opening moments, Corbett questioned the accuracy of the U.S. Labor Department’s employment calculations, saying he recently learned how the unemployment rate is calculated.
Addressing criticism that Pennsylvania has fallen from the top ten to the bottom five among states in job creation, Corbett didn’t dispute the figures.
“What I dispute is the use of statistics,” he said. Corbett went on to misattribute the quotation about “lies, damn lies and statistics” to Mark Twain, who had actually misattributed it himself in a 1906 magazine article.
Corbett also claimed that Pennsylvania’s stubbornly high unemployment rate is due to more people re-entering the workforce after having given up.
Figures released by U.S. Department of Labor this week indicate the opposite, with two consecutive monthly drops in the size of the labor force.
Before making his statement that prospective employees failing drug tests was a chief reason for high unemployment, Corbett also blamed poorly trained Pennsylvania workers who are unable to take advantage of opportunities in the gas drilling industry.
The governor suggested workers need more training through vocational schools and community colleges.
“Year after year the governor has proposed cuts in funding for the types of training he’s suggesting, including for community colleges, which haven’t received a state funding increase since before the gas boom began,” Tartaglione said. “You can’t just talk the talk, you have to walk the walk.”
Tartaglione said Pennsylvania’s 512,000 unemployed should worry that the Corbett administration has not only pushed for cuts in benefits and created havoc in unemployment call centers, but he’s seemingly out of touch with Pennsylvania’s economy.
“The governor needs to look at the statistics and admit they are real. When our chief executive compares the unemployment rate to a ‘damn lie,’ then there is no hope for policy change from the top.”
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by Christin Brown | February 14, 2013 | News Releases
HARRISBURG, February 14, 2013 — State Sen. Christine M. Tartaglione today released the following statement regarding Attorney General Kathleen Kane’s decision to reject the lottery contract with Camelot Global Services:
“The Attorney General used her authority to support what many of us have been saying all along—that the administration’s lottery fire sale was a disturbing overreach of his authority and, quite simply, a lousy deal for workers, seniors and supporters of open government.
It is reassuring to know that there does exist in Pennsylvania a system of checks and balances on executive authority.
The Attorney General used sound reasoning to put a stop to a bad plan that contained illegal expansion of gambling, significant risks to senior programs and foreign control of a highly successful state agency.
More importantly, she made sure the people of Pennsylvania again have a voice in deciding issues critical to their future and their finances. Hopefully, this will end the back-room deal-making and allow state lottery officials and employees chart their own revenue plan under the bright light of public scrutiny.”
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by Christin Brown | February 5, 2013 | News Releases
HARRISBURG, February 5, 2013 – State Sen. Christine M. Tartaglione today released the following statement regarding Gov. Corbett’s proposed budget:
“In two years, Pennsylvania has fallen from the top ten into the bottom third in job creation. If this budget were passed as proposed, that freefall would continue and thousands more Pennsylvanians will be spending their days on hold with the unemployment office.
The governor’s budget takes a ‘wishing well’ approach to the economy by throwing money at corporations and wishing for jobs. The administration has made no attempt to enforce Pennsylvania’s tax laws and shows no support for closing the Delaware loophole, leaving hundreds of millions of dollars flowing out of our state instead of into our schools.
Tying education funding to an ill-advised plan to eliminate thousands of good-paying jobs and millions in profit through the state liquor stores is a cynical, political gimmick that will only delay a reasonable solution to the challenge of educating children for a competitive 21st century economy.
Under this administration, the economy is leaving Pennsylvania behind. Another budget that proposes job cuts and corporate giveaways will only continue our race to the bottom.
School taxes are going up. Corporate taxes are going down. Gas prices are going up. Buying power is going down.
This is not a plan that works for working families.”
by Christin Brown | October 2, 2012 | News Releases
HARRISBURG, June 30, 2012 – Sen. Christine M. Tartaglione today released the following statement on today’s Commonwealth Court ruling:
“I’ve been confident all along that the courts would see the serious flaws and dubious reasoning behind voter ID.
With just over a month to go before the election, we have to switch our focus to making sure that people know they can vote just as they did in the primary and that their votes will be counted.
Unfortunately, the ruling comes after the millions of dollars were wasted trying to get this done in time to affect the presidential election. The effort was a costly mistake and it comes at a time when we’re cutting back on help for families with disabled children and other important social services.
For months I’ve been hearing from frustrated seniors, students and others who didn’t know what the requirements were and the requirements kept changing.
Now, I can tell them that they can express their frustration the way the Founders intended them to: by voting.”
by Christin Brown | June 29, 2012 | News Releases
HARRISBURG, June 29, 2012 – Sen. Christine M. Tartaglione today released the following statement on the final 2012-13 budget:
“I commend the thousands of Pennsylvanians who took the time to come to Harrisburg over the past five months for their persistence and determination in moving this budget from where it started in February to what was passed today.
I also want to thank some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle for recognizing the governor’s proposal for what it was and understanding its potential impact on our most vulnerable citizens.
[hdvideo id=7 ]
Despite the efforts of citizens and the understanding of my colleagues, this budget fails the test put forth a half century ago by the writer Pearl S. Buck who said we ‘must make it right and possible for old people not to fear the young or be deserted by them, for the test of a civilization is the way that it cares for its helpless members.
This budget, along with changes in the welfare code, allows our seniors to fear being deserted by the government they supported throughout their lives.
This budget takes its pain and payment from working families, minimum-wage workers, the nameless, the frail and the seniors who are struggling to live at home.
[hdvideo id=8 ]
This budget makes its promises and payments to the powerful, the privileged and the faceless corporations that live in mailboxes in Wilmington, Delaware.
Even as we claim to have no more money to spend, we are paying for those mailboxes in Delaware.
Our students are paying. Our homeowners are paying. Our college graduates are paying.
This budget lets the previous generation, and the next generation, pay the price for the politics of this generation.”
by Christin Brown | April 3, 2012 | News Releases
HARRISBURG, April 3, 2012 – State Sen. Christine M. Tartaglione joined Senate Democratic colleagues at a Capitol news conference today calling on the Corbett administration to focus budget priorities on jobs and working families.
“Last year’s budget and this year’s proposal put a heavy burden on Pennsylvania’s vulnerable families while large corporations reap the rewards of their political support,” Tartaglione said. “The governor’s priorities have resulted in stagnant employment, spiking property taxes and insolvent school districts. There is still time to shift direction.”
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Tartaglione is the prime sponsor of Senate Bill 679, which would require “combined reporting” for businesses in Pennsylvania and close the “Delaware Loophole.”
“Working families and small businesses are paying the price for the administration’s hands-off approach to corporate taxes,” Tartaglione said.
In addition to combined reporting, Senate Democrats have identified numerous ways the state could raise additional revenue to invest in infrastructure, schools and job creation.
Tartaglione said Senate Democrats would like to add at least $250 million into Accountability Block Grants and higher education along with another $225 million in job creation strategies that include research and development. Senate Democrats are renewing their call to refocus unused cash in the Commonwealth Financing Authority (CFA) for job creation.
by Christin Brown | March 15, 2012 | News Releases
The barricades and the extra police at the end of a Capitol hallway tell you everything you need to know about the administration of Gov. Tom Corbett.
From Day One, the governor, who campaigned bravely about ordinary citizens reclaiming their government, has shown curious fear of those same citizens.
Feeling safer with a small audience of unquestioning supporters, the once-courageous reformer has recently taken to using his massive security apparatus to turn away the unwashed masses.
When a group of citizens in wheelchairs visited the Capitol in February, the former criminal prosecutor who spent a dozen years as a National Guard infantryman, took no chances.
Capitol Police were deployed and barricades were erected to keep the dangerous wheelchair people at bay. This wasnt too difficult. The security detail explained that they were told to not to let people in wheelchairs on the elevators. Blocking the elevators was all it took to keep them on the ground floor, a safe distance from the governors lair.
Meanwhile, lobbyists, pages, pizza drivers and politicians continued to enjoy access as usual.
It was a breathtaking metaphor for the Corbett administration, a policy-as-performance-art moment that wrapped the Corbett fear and loathing in a tidy package.
It might be illegal.
Does that matter?
It should at least matter to the tough, law-and-order prosecutor who boldly took on the entrenched Harrisburg powerbrokers before running off to his Capitol office and blocking the elevators.
And it should matter to the millions of Pennsylvanians that dont have lobbyist credentials and Capitol security badges.
As the new security policy was explained by underlings in the administration, you can not only be banned from the building for causing a ruckus, but you can be banned if the administration thinks you might cause a ruckus. Or if somebody who looks like you has caused a ruckus.
Its scary where this leads. Any justification that can be mustered for a people-in-wheelchairs policy can be rolled out again for race, religion, shoe-size, hair-do or lack of proper manicure.
But there is no justification for the administrations unilateral security actions. No legal justification anyway.
If the governor thinks that the wheelchair people will quietly roll away in deference to his show of force, he doesnt know what the view of the world looks like from this seat.
On the occasions that I have been asked about how my accident changed my life, I often say: It took my legs, but it opened my eyes.
There are more than a million Pennsylvanians who use wheelchairs for one reason or another and Ive met a lot of them. The weakest and most vulnerable among them have shown me more courage than this governor.
Sure, theres a tendency when youre faced with adversity to lock yourself in a dark room, surround yourself with friends and block out the world.
But one day you realize that whatever the adversity, it must be faced directly. Boldly. Courageously.
When the governor sent his security team to stop the wheelchairs, it wasnt just a cowardly overreach of executive authority.
It was also a missed a chance to overcome his own disability: a blindness to the plight of ordinary people.
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by Christin Brown | March 7, 2012 | News Releases
HARRISBURG, March 7, 2012 – State Sen. Christine M. Tartaglione today said Senate approval of a bill requiring photo identification from voters, which comes one week after the Corbett administration barred disabled visitors from public areas of the Capitol, represents a “disturbing trend” for people already struggling under state budget cuts.
“Creating barriers to prevent the disabled from voicing their grievances with their government, either inside the Capitol or inside the polling place, has become a priority with the legislature’s Republican majority and the current administration,” Tartaglione said.
The Senate today passed House Bill 934 along largely party lines, after rejecting a Tartaglione amendment to exempt those with disabilities.
“More than 20 years after implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Pennsylvania is still struggling to make all polling places accessible,” Tartaglione said. “Creating bureaucratic barriers on top of that sends a clear message to more than a million Pennsylvanians that this administration has no interest in hearing from them.”
Last week, Tartaglione wrote a letter to Corbett protesting the closure of Capitol hallways and elevators on February 29, when advocates for the disabled planned a rally.
Signed by the entire Senate Democratic Caucus, the letter cited the action’s “disturbing overtones of discrimination.”
“Such a policy represents an unconstitutional overreach of executive power, and it fosters distrust and alienation between the government and the people it is elected to represent,” the letter said.
The bill, which now heads to Corbett’s desk, is expected to cost as much as $11 million in the first year. Tartaglione said that money would be better used to improve a program that provides loans to disabled Pennsylvanians for purchase of technology that would allow them to return to the workforce.
“Nearly 200,000 Americans were disabled fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Tartaglione said. “Creating barriers to their participation in the government for which they sacrificed is repugnant and shameful.”
Listen to the Senator’s remarks following the floor vote on the Voter ID legislation:[audio:https://www.senatortartaglione.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/voter-id-reaction-sen.tartaglione-03-07-10.mp3|titles=voter-id-reaction-sen.tartaglione-03-07-10]
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by Christin Brown | March 6, 2012 | News Releases
HARRISBURG, March 5, 2011 – State Sen. Christine M. Tartaglione today released the following statement regarding Appropriations Committee action on House Bill 934:
“Tonight’s action in the Appropriations Committee revealed a stark lack of consideration for the thousands of Pennsylvanians who will be disenfranchised by photo identification requirements for voters.
Rejecting attempts to soften the impact through voter education and ensure participation through protections for voting rights, the Republican majority ignored the concerns of seniors, minorities, the disabled, the poor and the poorly educated.
The bill that came out of the committee tonight is another attempt to marginalize Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable citizens and silence their voice.
It’s appalling that the same lawmakers who can’t find a penny to spare for insolvent school districts, or road repairs are willing to waste millions on this appalling attempt to keep people from the polls.”
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by Christin Brown | February 29, 2012 | News Releases
HARRISBURG, Feb. 29, 2012 – Sen. Christine M. Tartaglione released the following statement today regarding yesterday’s budget hearing for the Department of Public Welfare:
“The blind and shortsighted slashing done by this budget creates many small cycles that, when completed, will create budget challenges for future administrations and future generations.
Few are more illogical than reductions in funding for efforts that help people with disabilities gain more independence and find suitable employment. Pennsylvania’s previous efforts in assistive technology have not just made thousands of people more independent and secure, but they’ve also made workers out of people who were not able to find employment because of some physical barrier.
In short, cutting assistive technology efforts reduces the workforce and promotes lives of dependency and welfare.
Today, we heard about the administration’s plans to cut welfare and it makes me wonder where these people have been to form the mindset that produced these decisions.
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by Christin Brown | February 21, 2012 | News Releases
HARRISBURG, Feb. 21, 2011 – Sen. Christine Tartaglione today questioned Pennsylvania’s revenue secretary over why corporate tax loopholes aren’t drawing the same attention as consumers who make purchases on line.
“The governor’s going after getting the Internet loophole closed, which affects individual taxpayers, yet he’s not willing to go after a corporate loophole which affects big business and that’s very sad,” Tartaglione told Revenue Secretary Dan Meuser.
In testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee today, Meuser outlined his department’s plans to force Pennsylvania taxpayers to report Internet purchases from all of 2011 and remit unpaid sales or use tax before the April tax deadline. Under the plan, taxpayers will be required to remember Internet purchases from 2011 and remit the six percent use tax.
But nearly eight years after Pennsylvania’s Business Tax Reform Commission recommended closing the Delaware loophole for corporate income taxes, and nine months after Tartaglione wrote to Meuser about the growing number of Pennsylvana gas drillers with Delaware subsidiaries, the secretary could not detail action taken to enforce tax laws on businesses.
Despite testifying that “companies go way out of their way to avoid paying our tax level,” Meuser said “solutions are being evaluated.”
“Why don’t we just close the Delaware loophole?” Tartaglione asked.
“That discussion certainly has been going on for a while,” the secretary replied. “We’re very focused on it. We’ll see what comes along.”
Tartaglione said the imbalance in tax enforcement is troubling.
“It’s difficult to imagine what is being evaluated,” Tartaglione said. “We have an extensive tax commission report nearly eight years old, and 23 states have already adopted combined reporting to close the Delaware loophole. If the administration would apply the same level of enforcement to corporations as it is to consumers, we could restore hundreds of millions of dollars in budget cuts.”
Tartaglione is the prime sponsor of Senate Bill 679, which would require “combined reporting” for businesses in Pennsylvania to close the “Delaware Loophole.”
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by Christin Brown | February 9, 2012 | News Releases
HARRISBURG, February 9, 2011 – Nearly a year after she introduced the idea in the Senate, state Sen. Christine M. Tartaglione today praised the Corbett administration for embracing her job training plan, but cautioned state labor officials to include provisions from her bill that will prevent violations of federal labor law.
In a letter to state Labor Secretary Julia K. Hearthway, Tartaglione urged the administration to adopt protections contained in Senate Bill 678 that provide for oversight of the “Train to Work PA” program by an advisory panel of business and labor experts.
“Experience in other states has produced a mixed record of success as well as a troubling definition of ‘training’ applied by some participating employers,” Tartaglione wrote. “The oversight of an advisory committee would not only protect workers from possible exploitation, but it would also ensure compliance with federal labor law.”
Senate Bill 678 was introduced in March 2011, as part of Senate Democrats’ “PA Works Now” initiative. The bill was modeled after similar programs in other states where experience has shown that strict oversight is necessary to ensure that workers are being trained and not simply used as free labor.
“Train to Work PA” would allow unemployment beneficiaries to continue receiving benefits while undergoing on-the-job training for a limited period of time, and would use federal dislocated worker funds to reimburse employers for training other unemployed workers.
The state Department of Labor yesterday broadly outlined an initiative called “Keystone Works,” containing the core of Tartaglione’s legislation.
Train-to-work programs have drawn scrutiny from workers’ rights groups and prompted the issuance of guidelines by the U.S. Department of Labor after accusations that some employers were providing little or no actual training.
Tartaglione’s bill sets standards for oversight, prohibits replacement of current staff by trainees and requires a plan for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“Properly supervised and legally implemented, my Train to Work PA program will partner good-faith employers and unemployed workers in adapting to the rapidly changing technology of the workplace,” Tartaglione said. “A program undertaken without such guidance could lead to the exploitation of workers, the marginalization of the disabled and regrettable waste of taxpayer dollars.”
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by Christin Brown | February 7, 2012 | News Releases
HARRISBURG, February 7, 2011 – State Sen. Christine M. Tartaglione today released the following statement regarding the governor’s budget address:
“The budget outlined by the governor today is the result of his long-held and unsupportable distrust of struggling families and an equally inexplicable and unsustainable trust of large corporations.
This shortsighted plan, and many other actions during the first year of this administration, put the blame for economic stagnation on low and middle income workers and give them a disproportionate share of the burden of fixing it.
While Pennsylvania families are being scrutinized for their on-line purchases, their savings and their desire to find work, corporations are being blindly trusted about their income taxes, their commitment to job creation and their concern about the environment.
It’s unlikely that the budget proposed will be the budget passed. But starting the conversation with dramatic cuts to education as Pennsylvania school districts face insolvency and the cost of college rises above the grasp of middle-income families, means that the administration has lost faith in the next generation.
As we go forward, I urge the governor to understand that he represents all of the people in Pennsylvania, from the neighborhoods of North Philadelphia to the rural hilltops dotted with gas wells. The people from my district will have plenty to say about this budget. I urge the administration to listen.
Over the next few months, the families raising that generation will have to prove that they deserve our confidence and our investment in their children and in their communities. This administration does not trust them.
Today’s high school students will have to prove that they deserve the same support for higher education that their elder siblings and their parents received. This administration does not trust them.
School districts will have to prove that early childhood education is a better investment than prisons.
If the governor has his way, Pennsylvania small businesses will continue to bear the burden of high corporate income taxes and will continue in their struggle to compete with big box retailers who enjoy the benefits of one of the world’s most notorious tax loopholes.
It is this fundamental mixture trust and distrust, expressed first by candidate Corbett 18 months ago when he said the unemployed “would rather just sit there” than work, that marks this administration’s vision of Pennsylvania.
Those of us with a different vision will have to prove ourselves. We will show the governor that we will not just sit there. We are ready to work.”
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by Christin Brown | February 1, 2012 | News Releases
HARRISBURG, February 1, 2011 – Sen. Christine M. Tartaglione is happy to announce the approval of a $1.5 million state loan to aid plans to redevelop the site of the former Edison High School on Lehigh Avenue.
The loan will be awarded through the Department of Community and Economic Development’s Business in Our Sites program.
“This is good news for the neighborhood and for the entire city. Reclaiming abandoned properties and returning them to community use is a vital part of our economic development effort,” Tartaglione said. “I’m proud of the partnership between government and private industry that led to this announcement. Edison has been a part of the neighborhood’s history and hopefully the site will be a part of its future.”
The main building, known in the area as “The Castle,” has been abandoned since 2002 and was gutted by fire in August. In June it was sold by the School District of Philadelphia to 701 W. Lehigh Partners. The developer plans to remove what remains of the main building and turn the site into a 36,000-square-foot shopping center. Leases have already been signed with Save-A-Lot, Family Dollar and Burger King.
“The redevelopment of the Edison site will provide new shopping opportunity for neighborhood residents, and it will also create badly needed jobs,” Tartaglione said.
The project is expected to cost $11 million, funded mostly through private financing.
State funds will be used for site preparation, water and sewer improvements, utilities, demolition of foundations, excavation and grading. The loan will be paid back over 20 years at two percent interest.
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by Christin Brown | December 14, 2011 | News Releases
Sen. Christine M. Tartaglione tonight issued the following statement on the decision from the chair to suddenly close voting on a taxpayer-friendly amendment to the Marcellus Shale bill despite requests for reconsideration:
“The cynical and arbitrary actions of the majority on the floor of the Senate tonight will only serve to feed the growing public outrage over the influence of corporations on those who are elected to serve people.
The weight of wealthy energy companies on the regulation of Marcellus Shale drilling — from the formation of the governor’s commission to the unprecedented decision from the chair tonight – led to the collapse of Senate protocol by denying members the right to cast votes as they intended.
In the end, democracy broke.
The implications will be long lasting for our environment, our communities, our taxpayers and our faith in a thorough and fair process of government.”
by Christin Brown | December 7, 2011 | News Releases
PHILADELPHIA, DEC. 7, 2011 – State Sen. Christine M. Tartaglione announced today that she is again hosting a “Toys for Tots” collection box in each of her two district offices.
“All through the recession years, the community has shown its generosity and good will during the holidays,” Tartaglione said. “I’m confident that this year people will continue to share the spirit and support Toys for Tots.”
The mission of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program is to collect new, unwrapped toys each year, and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to needy children in the community.
Since program started more than 60 years ago, nearly 400 million toys have been collected and distributed to millions of needy children at Christmas.
“Many of those who donate were once recipients of Toys for Tots,” Tartaglione said. “Giving back has become a tradition.”
Tartaglione is asking the community to bring new, unwrapped toys to the collection boxes at her district offices at 1061 Bridge Street and 127 W. Susquehanna Ave. The offices are open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Coordinators pick up these toys and store them in central warehouses where the toys are sorted by age and gender. At Christmas, coordinators, with the assistance of local social welfare agencies, church groups, and other local community agencies, distribute the toys to the needy children of the community. The toys will be collected until December 16.
For more information, go to www.toysfortots.org.
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by Christin Brown | November 30, 2011 | News Releases
School is a Successful Model of Education Reform
PHILADELPHIA, November 30, 2011 -State Sens. Vincent J. Hughes (D-Philadelphia/Montgomery) and Christine Tartaglione toured Stetson Middle School today to get a first-hand look at the school’s remarkable turnaround.
“It is an honor to be here today to meet with the faculty, students, and parents of this promising school. Stetson Middle School is a successful model of education reform,” Hughes said. “After years of underachievement, Stetson is now a school with a promising academic future for all students.”
Stetson Middle School, which has a largely Hispanic student body, was one of Philadelphia’s lowest performing schools, until it was taken over by Aspira of Pennsylvania, a Hispanic advocacy group. Since the takeover, the school has produced academic gains, while reducing violence and disruptive behavior.
“In a changing world economy, education becomes more valuable every day,” Tartaglione said. “The success at Stetson proves that with parents, teachers, and administrators working together to help students the future can be bright for any student who wants to achieve.”
Hughes was instrumental, along with Success Schools COO Robert Lysek, in securing 50 iPads for Stetson students and 10 for teachers and administrators. The students use the iPads for remedial math and writing support. Teachers use them to support and facilitate the lessons.
During the tour, Hughes and Tartaglione were updated by student leaders on how Stetson was turned around through targeted education reforms. Many once-disruptive students are now classroom leaders, excelling both academically and socially. The school has seen gains in PSSA scores as well.
The Parent and President School Advisory Council also spoke with the senators about what a great learning environment the school has become.
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by Christin Brown | October 26, 2011 | News Releases
HARRISBURG, Oct. 26, 2011 – State Sen. Christine M. Tartaglione today voted in opposition to a school voucher plan that will spend millions to benefit a narrow group of students while draining resources from already struggling public schools.
“Instead of students choosing schools, schools will choose students. The unchosen will be children with disabilities, children with learning disorders, children with language barriers and children trapped in unstable families,” she said. “In a school system marred by inequality, the Senate today created more.
On a mostly party-line vote, the Senate passed Senate Bill 1, which creates a $200 million voucher program that makes only five percent of Pennsylvania students eligible and gives charter school officials the ability to accept taxpayer money, but deny admission for any or no reason.
“I understand what the supporters of this bill are trying to accomplish because I have seen what innovation can do in our public schools,” Tartaglione said. “But I represent thousands – perhaps tens of thousands – of young people who will be left behind in struggling schools with fewer resources.”
Senate Bill 1 will spend $73 million from the state General Fund in the first year to allow students to leave failing schools to attend charter schools, taking their state subsidy share with them. But the bill contains no provision for transparency in how the money is spent by charter schools or information on how they will choose students.
“The people in my district have struggled too long for civil rights just to waive them for some pretense of education reform,” she said. “It’s unconstitutional and unconscionable.”
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by Christin Brown | October 21, 2011 | News Releases
In response to the unemployment figures released by the state Department of Labor and Industry, Sen. Christine M. Tartaglione released the following statement. Tartaglione, D-Philadelphia, is the Democratic Chair of the Senate Labor and Industry Committee.
“Nearly four months after Republicans pushed through a short-sighted state budget that slashed key funds for job creation and economic development, today’s news of a rising unemployment rate is a clear sign that Pennsylvania needs bold leadership in a new direction.
“The number of unemployed Pennsylvanians has jumped by more than 50,000 since the day Gov. Corbett signed the budget and the legislative majority’s focus on fringe issues and right-wing ideology offers little hope for the coming months.
“The Corbett budget cut more than $1 billion from education programs, reducing local school district employment by more than 14,000 jobs, with more than 2,000 lost jobs in the Philadelphia School District alone. These deep cuts were made while ignoring a state revenue surplus that grew to nearly $800 million by the close of our last fiscal year.
“The result is a stunning downturn after years of weathering the recession better than most states. When that budget was making its way through the General Assembly, Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was 1.7 percentage points below the national average, the best comparison to the national average in more than ten years. Today, that gap has been cut in half, and it’s narrowing.
“Pennsylvania ranked 12th for new job creation in 2010. Today’s announcement means we are moving backward.
“The downturn of our state economy should come as no surprise. Last February, I joined my Senate Democratic colleagues to introduce a sensible job creation plan call PA Works, most of which is still sitting in committee.
“Last week, I voiced support for PA Works Now, our plan to put more Pennsylvanians back to work. We repeated our earlier calls for new investment in infrastructure, job training, and business investments that have clear records of success. The plan outlined a new set of tax credits to encourage small-business owners to make child and elder care available to their employees and to provide new training and internship opportunities for young people.
“My legislation in the package calls for Marcellus Shale drillers to directly invest in training to hire more Pennsylvania workers and create a call center for emergency services that could provide employment for the nearly 15 percent of workers with disabilities who cannot find a job.
“Lawmakers who are distracted by personal priorities and politically-motivated policies that are part of the national Republican political agenda should set aside these hobbies and focus on jobs. Lawmakers intent on eliminating thousands of jobs in our state liquor system should be sobered by today’s announcement and understand that every family sustaining job should have our support and protection.
It is long past time to implement a responsible tax on Marcellus Shale drilling. Also, a reasonable funding plan for transportation investment should be acted without delay. Finally, our priorities must be redirected from risky tax giveaways that reward campaign friends and shifted back to supporting our children, our environment, our schools and our neighbors. ”
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