Awesome move from gubernatorial candidate, Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz (D. PA-13):
http://www.pennlive.com/...
As state lawmakers haggle over how to fund the commonwealth's infrastructure needs, U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz may have stolen a march Friday toward helping repair Pennsylvania's crumbling roads and bridges, according to a new release.
Schwartz, D-Montgomery County, co-authored a bipartisan bill introduced Friday that would provide $1 billion in matching bonds and tax credits toward state transportation projects for each state across the nation.
The Transportation and Regional Infrastructure Project [TRIP] bonds legislation would allow individual states to issue bonds for transportation infrastructure projects over a six-year period.
“This bipartisan legislation provides an efficient way to finance much-needed infrastructure investments that will sustain millions of jobs and maintain our nation’s strength in the global marketplace,” Schwartz said in the release.
The release also noted that a 2010 study by the American Society of Civil Engineers found that nearly 25 percent of commonwealth bridges are “structurally deficient,” and 19 percent are “functionally obsolete.”
As Schwartz is a declared gubernatorial candidate, her involvement in a federal transportation funding initiative could be read as a shot across Gov. Tom Corbett's 2014 re-election bow.
Though Corbett's own transportation study group urged $2.5 billion in annual funding, he proposed a $1.8 billion annual funding scheme earlier this year.
The state Senate responded by passing a $2.5 billion plan this month, and the House transportation committee approved a $2 billion plan Thursday. It remains unclear if both chambers will come to consensus on a dollar figure and the funding plan.
If passed, Schwartz's bill – co-authored by Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-KY, and U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-OR, and John Hoeven, R-ND – would provide transportation funding independent of any amounts Corbett and the legislature approve. - The Patriot-News, 6/28/13
This is an incredibly smart move on Schwartz's behalf. She'll be able to make the case to Pennsylvania voters that she can work with Democrats and Republicans and get stuff done. Unlike Corbett who just can't seem to get his agenda passed:
http://www.pennlive.com/...
But while Republican governors in other states have enjoyed steady or revived approval ratings since adjusting their politics, Corbett's numbers have languished far below 50 percent for most of his 30 months in office.
That voter aversion, a confrontational relationship with the legislature that's persisted since his 2010 campaign, and Corbett's reticence to boss the Capitol have combined to complicate his chances of success this week and for his re-election effort in 2014.
“Our budget problems were severe here and he balanced the budget,” said Franklin & Marshall University political scientist Terry Madonna. “But he's hamstrung by a Republican legislature that can't reach compromise, and can't figure out a way to move his agenda.”
But with four days remaining before the scheduled summer break, GOP legislative leaders are looking very busy doing very little on the governor's “big three” agenda items.
And why wouldn't they?
Many Republican incumbents see cozying up to a low-poll governor with an agenda hanging tenuously in the balance no different to signing on to a sinking ship. Distancing themselves from Corbett, many reckon, could be the posture that leads to another term in office. - The Patriot-News, 6/26/13
Even though she's running for Governor, Schwartz (D. PA-13) is still trying to do good in the House before she moves into the Governor's Mansion come 2015:
http://www.fedsmith.com/...
Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-PA) has introduced legislation that would potentially boost the salaries of hourly wage federal employees. It is being co-sponsored by Reps. Tom Marino (R-PA), Bob Brady (D-PA), Chaka Fattah (D-PA) and Allyson Schwartz (D-PA).
The Locality Pay Equity Act (H.R. 2450) aims to solve a local labor market boundary issue that has resulted in wage computation disparity between wage scale or hourly employees and general schedule (GS) or salaried employees. The government treats hourly and salary employees who work in the same location as if they worked in different locations when it comes to calculating local pay rates.
At Tobyhanna Army Depot in Pennsylvania for example, hourly employees are in the Rest of U.S. locality whereas General Schedule employees are in the New York City regional locality, giving them a 25% higher pay differential.
The legislation aims to correct this discrepancy when it arises. Even though the Pennsylvania Congressmen are sponsoring it to support constituents at Tobyhanna, it would apply nationally if signed into law. - Fed Smith, 6/24/13
The bill has the backing of the American Federation of Government Employees. Schwartz is also pushing a bill aimed to help Seniors and disabled:
http://www.ktvz.com/...
Reps. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) and Allyson Schwartz (D-Penn.), along with 19 other co-sponsors, introduced bipartisan legislation Wednesday to ensure that seniors and disabled citizens have timely access to home health services under Medicare.
The Home Health Care Planning Improvement Act of 2013 will allow physician assistants (PA), nurse practitioners (NP), clinical nurse specialists, and certified nurse midwives to order home health services for Medicare beneficiaries.
“This common-sense bill will reduce unnecessary and duplicative burdens on health care providers and patients in need of home health services,” Walden said. “Particularly in rural areas like central, southern, and eastern Oregon where physicians are scarce, these clinicians play an increasingly important role in the delivery of primary health care services. Not only are they serving on the front lines of primary care, but also in many areas they are the only option readily available.”
“We have a responsibility to provide America’s seniors with high quality, cost effective health care. A key part of that is ensuring they have timely access to health care services in the privacy, comfort and security of their own homes,” Schwartz said. “These highly-skilled health care professionals play a central role in the delivery of primary care, particularly in medically underserved areas, and are crucial to coordinating team-based care.”
Currently, Medicare recognizes PAs, NPs, clinical nurse specialists, and certified nurse midwives as authorized providers who are able to perform many services for Medicare beneficiaries, including ordering nursing home care and prescribing medicine. - KTVZ, 6/26/13
Schwartz also recently praised President Obama's speech on climate change:
http://www.pennlive.com/...
Montgomery County Congresswoman and presumed 2014 Democratic gubernatorial frontrunner Allyson Schwartz applauded President Barack Obama's climate change speech Tuesday as a “commonsense” approach.
“The president unveiled commonsense proposals to help us build the cleaner economy of the future right now,” Schwartz said in a released statement.
“I have long championed efforts to increase energy efficiency, develop renewable energy and reduce our dependence on foreign oil,” she added. “I look forward to working with the Administration to ensure that Pennsylvania continues to play a leading role in the clean energy transformation that is vital to our economic development, national security and environment." - The Patriot-News, 6/25/13
And even though Pennsylvania still has a ban on same-sex marriage, Schwartz advocates marriage equality all over the country:
http://cumberlink.com/...
Despite the Supreme Court's decision Wednesday, gay marriage bans still stand in Pennsylvania and roughly three dozen other states. Pennsylvania's constitution, however, does not ban gay marriage.
Every other state in the northeastern United States allows same-sex marriage except New Jersey, and it allows civil unions. Pennsylvania doesn't allow civil unions, and a spokesman for Republican Gov. Tom Corbett says he supports a state constitutional ban on gay marriage.
Two Democrats running for governor, John Hanger and Tom Wolf, say it's time for Pennsylvania to allow gay couples to legally marry. Another Democrat running for governor, U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz, says every American should have the legal right to marry who they love. - The Sentinel, 6/26/13
Hopefully under Governor Schwartz we can lift the same-sex marriage ban, especially with the Supreme Court ruling that DOMA is unconstitutional. I am sure though that things can only get better with Schwartz as Governor. And I am feeling pretty good about our chances:
http://www.politicspa.com/...
One of the nation’s top political scientists has some bad news for Tom Corbett. Larry Sabato, the director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, says Pennsylvania is the state with an incumbent governor most likely to lose in 2014.
He is the only Governor in the country who Sabato rates as likely to lose as opposed to toss-up.
Said Sabato in his “Crystal Ball”:
While it is uncommon to classify any incumbent governor as an underdog at such an early point in the cycle, Corbett is a rare case: His numbers are dreadful, and he seems to us to be a particularly maladroit politician, prone to painful gaffes, who is also probably too conservative for his state. A recent Quinnipiac poll sums up his problems: His approval rating is stuck at an awful 35%, and he trails his largely unknown potential opponents by about 10 percentage points (more on Corbett below). How bad is it for Corbett? Even an internal GOP poll shows him struggling mightily. - Politics PA, 6/20/13
In the article, Sabato states that the Jerry Sandusky/Penn State sex abuse scandal is what will make Corbett a one term Governor. Even still, we need an exciting candidate who can get voters out to the polls and Schwartz is that candidate. pennsylvania voters won't pass up the opportunity to make history again by making Schwartz the first female Governor of Pennsylvania. If you would like to donate or get involved with Schwartz's campaign, you can do so here:
http://www.allysonschwartz.com/...