PathWays PA Policy Blog

UPDATE 4/27/17 - Some reports are making the rounds that a vote could be held in the House as early as Friday or Saturday of this week. If you have thoughts on the bill, now is a good time to weigh in. On Capitol Hill today, members of the Freedom Caucus announced their support for the latest version of healthcare reform. An amendment drafted by Rep. Tom MacArthur of NJ would let states opt out of certain ACA provisions. The waivers primarily affect current protections for people with preexisting conditions, a term that covered everything from allergies to cancer. House Majority Leader Ryan says that even with Freedom Caucus support, he is not prepared to hold a vote until the bill has enough support to pass. For more on repeal and replace, check out our blog from a few weeks ago. And, if you want to share your thoughts on the law, call your Representative. Visit http://whoismyrepresentative.com to find contact information for your Representative and make a call today.

The Pennsylvania State House voted yesterday to pass a 2017-2018 budget package that cuts $815 million in spending from the budget proposed by Governor Wolf in February. The final vote was 114-85, with most (but not all) Republicans supporting the plan but no Democratic votes. The bill now moves on to the Senate. Budget cuts could be found across the board, including the human services line items that we follow. Some increases to education made by the governor remain in the budget, although early childhood education is getting a smaller increase than requested. Please take a look at the chart below to see how your budget items fared, or look at the full budget here . Your next steps: Look at the line items that matter to you, and call your state senator to share your thoughts. Should something be getting more money? Less? Tell your senator today. (PS - The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center has a Fair Share Tax proposal on their website that could give you some ideas on how a