STATE PROGRAMS NOW OPEN FOR APPLICATIONS: Pennsylvania Department of Human Services: Solicitation RFA 16-21 Mental Health & Substance Use Disorder Intervention (Funding Source: General Fund) Who May Apply : Nonprofit organizations that provide prevention, intervention, and treatment services to Pennsylvania residents, and their families, with mental health, substance use, and/or behavioral health needs. Use : Prevention, intervention, and treatment services to support individuals with lived experience, as well as their families. Funds : Awards up to $500,000 for Fiscal Year 2021-22. Solicitation Due Date : June 3 More Information : Click on http://www.emarketplace.state.pa.us/Solicitations.aspx?SID=RFA%2016-21 . Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission: Boating Infrastructure Grant Program (Funding Source: Federal Funding) Who May Apply : Public and private operators of open-to-the-public boating facilities, including municipal agencies (cities, towns, counties, etc.), state agencies (State Parks, DNR, Fish & Wildlife, etc.), and other government entities. Use : The construction, renovation and maintenance of transient moorage (tie-up) facilities serving recreational motorboats 26 feet and longer. Transient means staying 10 days or less. Funds : There Read more
HARRISBURG, May 13 – State Rep. Ryan Bizzarro announced Erie County will receive funding for cleaner fuel transportation projects through the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s 2020 Alternative Fuel Incentive Grants. The AFIG Program funds projects that replace older gasoline or diesel-fueled vehicles with cleaner fuel vehicles to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change and improve air quality. “Reducing air pollution from vehicles helps to improve our health,” said Bizzarro, D-Erie. “Transportation is a significant contributor to ground-level ozone, which has been shown to impact the health of children, older people, those with lung conditions and anyone who spends time outdoors. These projects are aimed at helping all of us breathe in cleaner air.” The funded projects are as follows: $256,745 for Ingevity Corp., which will equip 28 vehicles in eight Pennsylvania-based fleets with its adsorbed natural gas technology and install refueling infrastructure at each fleet’s location to study the environmental and economic impacts of using this renewable natural gas technology. Fleets are based in Allegheny, Erie, Lancaster, Philadelphia, and Washington counties. $149,849 for Northwestern Rural Electric to install two direct current fast chargers for electric vehicles for public use at a Country Fair service station in Read more
LEHIGH, May 13 – At a tour of the Lehigh Valley Center for Independent Living, PA House Democrats saw first-hand the strain on nonprofits that provide services to people living with disabilities and shared how the PA Rescue Plan could alleviate some of those challenges with an investment of federal funding. The tour, led by the center’s executive director, Amy Beck, highlighted how empowering people living with disabilities is an integral component of operation. LVCIL is one of 17 centers for independent living in the state. Centers are governed, managed and staffed at all times by a majority of people with disabilities. State Rep. Mike Schlossberg said, “This pandemic has exposed significant injustices and shortfalls in our world. In most of our communities, access to emergency resources starts with the friendly face and compassionate heart of community-based nonprofit organizations. While performing miracles, these organizations have seen their bottom lines take enormous hits. The staff are overworked and underpaid. Volunteers have put their health on the line with no expectation of personal gain. The Pennsylvania Rescue Plan will offer these organizations, serving our most vulnerable neighbors, extra support to offset increased expenses and lost revenue from contributions or events so they can meet demand in our community.” “The PA Rescue Plan provides a unique opportunity for us to invest in humans, not government,” added state Read more
SCRANTON, May 13 – The need for a living wage and improved supports for direct care workers was widely apparent at a House Democratic Policy Committee hearing today where local state Representatives Bridget Kosierowski, Marty Flynn and Kyle Mullins shared House Democrats’ PA Rescue Plan to invest $511 million to train and pay direct care workers. “It’s difficult to hear how hardworking Pennsylvanians are working arduous hours to care for our most vulnerable citizens. They need – and deserve – our support. An investment in training workers and paying them a living wage will improve workers’ quality of life and the level of patient care. It’s a win-win. It’s another prime example of how the PA Rescue Plan will improve the quality of life for Pennsylvanians,” said Policy Committee Chairman Ryan Bizzarro, D-Erie. The committee heard testimony from Jen Partica, floor and administrative nurse, Barbara Coleman, a CNA at Riverside Rehabilitation and Nursing Center and Trish McKinney, registered nurse at Tyler Hospital. Testifiers shared that while the pandemic shed light on their issues, they have long-been struggling with staffing shortages, and low wages. Coleman noted that her staff cares for 16 patients each, without mental health service available to them and knowing they could easily make more working at a gas station; citing that staff dedication to patients often what keeps Read more
HARRISBURG, May 12 – The vital role childcare facilities play in society is beyond apparent and state Rep. Patty Kim hosted a tour of Harrisburg’s Keystone Early Learning Center to highlight how the PA Rescue Plan’s proposed investments could support facilities and their employees. The proposed plan would invest $170 million in onsite childcare startup grants, a facility capital program and a Keystone STARS redesign . “Today’s tour of the Keystone Early Learning Center provided a glimpse at the positive effects targeted investments from the PA Rescue Plan would have on our community, our workers and our children’s education,” said Kim, D-Dauphin. “This should be a bipartisan priority and a step forward to improve Pennsylvania’s future for all families.” At the tour, legislators had the opportunity to see the benefits of onsite child care and the efforts this facility has taken to implement COVID-19 safety measures while providing a quality educational childcare experience for their students. Lana Stitzel, director of the Keystone Early Learning Center, shared the many ways the facility has adapted during COVID-19, but also shared the struggles they have faced in retaining employees and keeping child care affordable. State Rep. Ryan Bizzarro, chairman of the PA House Democratic Policy Committee, added, “We’ve seen how important childcare facilities and their staff and educators are to Read more
ALLENTOWN, May 11 – The pandemic further strained those providing services to our most vulnerable Pennsylvanians and state Reps. Mike Schlossberg and Pete Schweyer will explain how proposed investments of over $350 million via the PA Rescue Plan would close the service gap by helping the helpers provide much-needed services. The media are invited to join members for the tour of Lehigh Valley Center for Independent Living at 1 p.m. Thursday, May 13, followed by a 2 p.m. opportunity to discuss the impact investments with legislators and Lehigh Valley Center for Independent Living. The PA Rescue Plan aims to ensure federal American Rescue Plan funding is invested for immediate impact and long-term success. Additional information about the plan is available at www.pahouse.com/parescueplan . Read more
ERIE, May 11 – State Rep. Ryan Bizzarro, D-Erie, said he was thrilled to welcome House Democratic leadership to Erie for a tour of how Pennsylvania Rescue Plan investments could help generate job opportunities with redevelopment and transportation infrastructure projects. Tina Mengine, chief executive officer of the Erie County Redevelopment Authority, led legislators on the tour of the former Quin-T Paper Company, located at East 16th and French streets; the former Erie Malleable Iron, located at 12th and Cherry streets; and Colony Plaza, Millcreek Township, located at West 8th Street. “Erie is perfectly situated to be a great hub for business and economic development. There is great potential in our community, and we have the chance to capitalize on federal funding to help accelerate pandemic recovery efforts. We are all eager to return to a new normal and the investments would help us recover, restore and reimagine a brighter future for our state. I’m proud to have my colleagues from across Pennsylvania join me at home and see first-hand the opportunities Erie can offer that will have statewide benefits,” said Bizzarro, chairman of the House Democratic Policy Committee. The PA Rescue Plan aims to ensure federal American Rescue Plan funding is invested for immediate impact and long-term success. Additional information about the plan is available at www.pahouse.com/parescueplan . Read more
SCRANTON, May 11 – After a year of so much praise rightly being given to frontline heroes during the pandemic, state Reps. Bridget Kosierowski, Marty Flynn and Kyle Mullins are hosting a hearing to discuss giving our heroes the resources they need to nurse Pennsylvania back to health. The hearing will be held at 9 a.m. Thursday, May 13 at the Dickson City Municipal Building, 901 Enterprise St., Dickson City to discuss how more than $350 million would be invested through the proposed Pennsylvania Rescue Plan and how that funding can help with recruitment and retention and improving health infrastructures for more efficiencies in care. The meeting will end at 10 a.m. with interview opportunities for members of the media. The PA Rescue Plan aims to ensure federal American Rescue Plan funding is invested for immediate impact and long-term success. Additional information about the plan is available at www.pahouse.com/parescueplan . ### ATTENTION NEWS EDITORS/ASSIGNMENT DESKS: The media is invited to attend the hearing. Due to COVID-19 safety efforts, we are requesting an RSVP via this message. While not required, it will help us with logistics and safety measures. Masks are required and efforts to social distance will be taken. Read more
STATE COLLEGE, May 11 – The workers who have been hit hardest by the pandemic need support. The PA House Democratic leadership team is hosting a rally Wednesday to make the case for workers’ rights to a fair wage, hazard pay and paid family and sick leave and how the PA Rescue plan would do just that. The rally will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday, May 12 at The Borough Building, 243 S. Allen St., State College . The media is encouraged to attend. The PA Rescue Plan includes more than $1.5 billion for job training, hazard pay, wage boosts for direct-care workers and job creation efforts to kickstart the economy in communities across the state. The PRP aims to ensure federal American Rescue Plan funding is invested for immediate impact and long-term success. Additional information about the plan is available at www.pahouse.com/parescueplan . Read more
HARRISBURG, May 11 – The PA Rescue Plan would invest $170 million to improve childcare for working parents and Rep. Patty Kim is hosting a tour of Keystone Learning Center to highlight the benefits of onsite childcare and how investments could benefit childcare facilities. The tour will begin at 9 a.m. Wednesday, May 12 at Keystone Learning Center, Room 125, 400 North St., Harrisburg. Following the tour, at 10 a.m., the media is encouraged to attend a news conference to learn more and ask questions about House Democrats’ plan. The PA Rescue Plan aims to ensure federal American Rescue Plan funding is invested for immediate impact and long-term success. Additional information about the plan is available at www.pahouse.com/parescueplan . Read more
PITTSBURGH, May 11 – The need for affording housing is a need only exacerbated by the pandemic and Allegheny County Delegation Chairman Austin Davis today hosted a hearing to discuss how the PA Rescue Plan would invest federal funding to bring relief to homeowners and renters. “Wages have not kept up with the rise in housing costs. With the oldest housing stock in the country and a minimum wage that remains stagnant, Pennsylvanians need us to take action in Harrisburg. Today, we learned how the PA Rescue Plan funding would be helpful and the legislative actions we can take to empower local municipalities so that state and local governments and developers can work together to solve this problem.” Testifiers included Larry Swanson, executive director of Action Housing; and Robert Damewood, staff attorney for Regional Housing Legal Services. Swanson advocated for affordable housing assistance as lender forbearance programs come to an end this summer. Damewood shared that over 299,000 Pennsylvania families cannot afford rent and the state desperately needs expansion of affordable, safe and stable housing. He called on the legislature to apply rights in the Manufactured Homes Community Rights Act to renters across the board. “Housing is a human right, period, and the COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the fact that too many Pennsylvanians can’t afford to stay in their homes, especially in our communities of color,” said House Democratic Read more
READING, May 10 – State Rep. Manuel Guzman, D-Reading, and the Reading Redevelopment Authority showed the House Democratic Policy Committee how an infusion of investment could benefit Reading and how that success could be duplicated in communities across the state. Overcoming post-pandemic concerns for public safety was a point of concern from Reading Economic Development Director Jamal Abodalo. Alvernia University President John Loyack discussed the university’s renovation and small business incubator investments in Reading. “We have the potential to help lift people out of poverty with investments that would revitalize communities, encourage private investment and put people to work, said Policy Committee Chairman Ryan Bizzarro. “We must capitalize on federal funding to help people across the state recover from the hardships of the pandemic.” “Our PA Rescue Plan would get money to local businesses, working people and schools to help them recover and thrive as we make our way through the COVID-19 pandemic,” Guzman said. “In the absence of any plan on the part of the majority party in Harrisburg to direct federal pandemic relief funds to these areas, I am happy to welcome my colleagues to the heart of Reading’s Keystone Opportunity Zone so that we can show the public how the plan I am working to enact would improve cities like Reading and communities throughout the state.” The PA Rescue Plan proposes a $475 Read more
PHILADELPHIA, May 10 – House Democratic Leader Joanna McClinton today hosted a public hearing highlighting her caucus’s proposal to invest federal funding to help Pennsylvania recover, restore and reimagine, starting with investments in green collar jobs. The House Democratic Policy Committee hearing, held at the Community College of Philadelphia, focused on investments in clean energy and how the proposed $50 million investment would get Pennsylvanians back to work in jobs that pay livable wages. The committee heard testimony from: Dr. Donald Guy Generals, president, Community College of Philadelphia; Michael Neill, apprentice training director, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers 98; Brian Myers, assistant apprentice training director, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers 98; and Anna Shipp, executive director, Green Stormwater Infrastructure Partners, Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia. “Green collar jobs are high-tech, high-wage and the fastest-growing career sector in any industry,” said McClinton, D-Phila./Delaware. “By investing in the clean energy industry and supporting job training to get workers on the job, the PA Rescue Plan is creating a greener future in more ways than one.” State Rep. Ryan Bizzarro, chairman of the Policy Committee added, “The last year doesn’t have to cripple our future. We can use federal dollars to help make Pennsylvania a leader in Read more
ERIE, May 7 – People and goods being able to get in and out of Erie businesses is vital to the region’s economy, and on Tuesday it will be the focus of a walking tour led by House Democratic Policy Committee Chairman Ryan Bizzarro. The tour of local Brownfield sites will start at 2 p.m. Tuesday, May 11 . The tour will focus on how money from the proposed PA Rescue Plan can be used in Erie for job creation and transportation infrastructure projects. The media is invited to join state representatives from across Pennsylvania on the tour, which will end at 3 p.m. with interview opportunities for members of the media. Tour stops include: The former Quin-T Paper Company, located at E. 16th Street and French Street. The former Erie Malleable Iron, located at 12th and Cherry streets. Colony Plaza, Millcreek Township, located at W. 8th Street. The PA Rescue Plan aims to ensure federal American Rescue Plan funding is invested for immediate impact and long-term success. Additional information about the plan is available at www.pahouse.com/parescueplan . Read more
PITTSBURGH, May 7 – Making Housing Affordable and mitigating the housing hardships exacerbated by COVID-19 will be the focus of Tuesday’s House Democratic Policy Committee hearing hosted by Allegheny County Delegation Chairman Austin Davis. Read more
State Rep. Ryan Bizzarro’s House Bill 874 that would honor beloved community member John A. Pulice unanimously passed the state House. Read more
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — A new bill about banning vaccine passports in Pennsylvania is causing some controversy, but not in the way you might think. Read more
READING, May 6 – The media is invited to join Rep. Manny Guzman and the House Democratic Policy Committee for a tour of how the PA Rescue Plan would deliver for downtowns. The tour will begin at 1 p.m. Monday, May 10 at Reading City Hall, 815 Washington St., near the heart of Reading’s Keystone Opportunity Zone. Immediately following the tour at 2 p.m., the committee will host a media opportunity for press to discuss the PA Rescue Plan with legislators and participants. The PA Rescue Plan aims to ensure federal American Rescue Plan funding is invested for immediate impact and long-term success. Additional information about the plan is available at www.pahouse.com/parescueplan . READING, 6 de mayo – Se invita a los medios de comunicación a unirse al representante Manny Guzmán y al Democratic Policy Committee de la Cámara de Representantes para una gira sobre cómo el Plan de Rescate de Pennsylvania podría funcionar en los centros urbanos. El recorrido comenzará a la 1 p.m. el lunes 10 de mayo en Reading City Hall, 815 Washington St., cerca del corazón de la Zona de Oportunidades de Reading. Inmediatamente después de la gira a las 2 p.m., el comité presentará una oportunidad para que la prensa discuta el Plan de Rescate de la Pennsylvania con legisladores y participantes. El Plan de Rescate de PA tiene como objetivo garantizar que los fondos del Plan de Rescate Read more
PHILADELPHIA, May 6 – The Community College of Philadelphia will serve as the backdrop for a House Democratic Policy Committee hearing hosted by Democratic Leader Joanna McClinton on The PA Rescue Plan: Powering Green Collar Jobs. The hearing will be held at 9 a.m. Monday, May 10 at the Community College of Philadelphia, P avilion Building,-- located at 1700 Spring Garden St., Philadelphia . Press and attendees should enter in front of the building on 17th St. The PA Rescue Plan aims to ensure federal American Rescue Plan funding is invested for immediate impact and long-term success. Additional information about the plan is available at www.pahouse.com/parescueplan . Read more
HARRISBURG, May 5 – After weeks of gathering public support for the Pennsylvania Rescue Plan to invest federal dollars to do the most good for working families, the House Democratic Leadership team released the following statement on the next steps to discuss the plan and how it would help us recover, restore and reimagine a better future coming back from COVID-19. “Next week more than $7 billion is coming to the Keystone State as part of the American Rescue Plan, and we have to make sure that money is invested properly, not hidden away in a government vault for a rainy day – because it’s hard to imagine a storm that could hit harder than COVID-19. People need help now. “As USA TODAY network coverage noted, House Democrats have a plan that helps schools, workers, businesses, families, renters, landlords and more while Republicans have no plan to distribute the funds. We urge the majority party to get on board and do the right thing for people everywhere. “We’ve received an overwhelming response to the PA Rescue Plan so far, and next week we’ll be taking the plan to the people with a statewide tour – starting Monday in Philadelphia and Reading talking about investing in infrastructure and rebuilding our downtowns, continuing Tuesday in Pittsburgh and Erie discussing housing, Wednesday in Harrisburg and State College talking worker pay, and finishing up on Thursday in Scranton and Allentown to discuss helping Read more
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