On this Day of Remembrance, reach out to a trans person in your life to let them that you see and respect them. If you don’t know a trans person, take some time to find out more about their community, so that ‘they/them’ can truly become ‘us.’ Read more
This week, a draft opinion from the Supreme Court of the United States was leaked in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson. This draft would overturn the Roe v. Wade decision and, in the process, send a message to more than half of all Americans that they cannot control their own bodies; that they are second class citizens, without access to safe, legal abortion. This decision is troubling, and the way it came to light is also troubling. I believe that anyone who can become pregnant deserves access to care – including a safe abortion – as part of their fundamental human rights. I have always supported the right to choose, and I will continue to do so in the Pennsylvania legislature. I often say, that as a representative, it is my role to hear my constituents and amplify their voices, especially on issues where I may be the only person in power listening to them. In a male-dominated legislature, it is my obligation to listen to anyone who may become pregnant; respect what they say about their own health, bodies, and the choices they have to make in all aspects of health care; and give voice to their experiences and needs. On this issue, I stand with all people who assert the need for equal access to the full range of health care, including safe, legal abortion. The leak of this draft decision presents a second threat beyond the very real danger of cutting off health care access and control over a person’s own body. That threat is to the legitimacy of the Read more
The people of Philadelphia are living in fear, and they are looking for answers. The Inquirer recently reported on a Pew survey that found 70% of Philadelphians view community safety as the primary issue affecting the city. Here are some more numbers from the Philadelphia City Controller’s report on gun violence clearance rates and case outcomes that came out in 2020: just 37% of fatal shootings were cleared by the PPD. At the same time, the number of individuals arrested for illegal gun possession increased by more than 100% between 2015 and 2020. While gun possession arrests have drastically increased, conviction rates — the share of cases prosecuted by the District Attorney’s Office that result in conviction — for gun possession declined. Between 2015 and 2020, the share of illegal gun possession cases resulting in conviction fell from 65% to 42%. The bottom line from the facts and figures is that our neighbors all across the city do not feel safe or protected by those of us that are entrusted with their wellbeing. Different communities have different relationships with law enforcement. For some the police mean security. For others cops and the system are something to be feared and distrusted. The solutions we craft need to incorporate these divergent attitudes and combine respect with common sense of change. And make no mistake, we need to provide solutions that are different from what we are doing now. If we don’t, fear will continue to Read more
Last week, Governor Wolf announced funding totaling more than $11 million for 26 apprenticeship programs statewide. The Wistar Institute, in our community, earned one of the 26 awards, netting a $649,551 grant for its work in biosciences. Read more
This week, the House majority passed a shameful bill to deny trans students the right to compete as their true selves in scholastic sports across Pennsylvania. Needless to say, I voted ‘no’ on the bill, even though H.B. 972 passed along party lines. Governor Tom Wolf will undoubtedly veto the bill should it reach his desk, but the House majority Republican political theater was hurtful enough for me to need to say something here. Read more
Pa. state Rep. Joe Hohenstein discusses the inequality that members of the Trans Community face in the Commonwealth. He believes that all Pennsylvanians, especially members of the #TransCommunity, should have the ability to change their identities and names without going through a biased process. Read more
This week, I’d like to share with you information about fishing across PA and in our region. Trout season opened Saturday. Read on for all you need to know to get you excited and prepared for the season! Read more
This past Saturday my office joined with Riverfront North Partnership, fellow Rep. Mike Driscoll, and the Philadelphia 6 th Councilmanic Office to help clean up Lardner’s Point Park on the Delaware River. It was a brisk, cold, early Spring day – the day the PA Fish & Boat Commission designated for the Trout Opener. We did our work in the morning, getting trash from short dumping together and cleaning the area so people can continue to enjoy it. Around about noon, we celebrated the opening of an art installation by Rebecca Shultz of Tacony LAB. The combination of the river’s natural beauty and Rebecca’s artistic grace was something that brought joy to all in attendance. We left our worries and concerns and complaints at the riverside. We simply savored the sweetness of the water, the light sting of the wind, and absorbed the river’s sights and sounds. These are the moments that are the reason I requested appointment to the Fish & Game Committee. People deserve to have the river, the natural world, in their lives and at their fingertips. The 177 th has about four miles of the Delaware Riverfront and after re-districting we will have more than 6 miles. In my great-grandparents’ day, over a century ago, people had access to the river and its creeks and streams. They caught fish, like the prodigious sturgeon, caught in Frankford Creek near Thompson Street, pictured here. Today, we have only a few spaces to Read more
This week in the House, majority Republicans from the Education Committee moved a mean-spirited bill to exclude trans athletes from playing and competing with their peers. Read more
PHILADELPHIA, March 24 – Today, Governor Tom Wolf was joined by Representative Joseph Hohenstein, Senator Tina Tartaglione and local business leaders to call on Pennsylvania’s Republican-led General Assembly to immediately use $1.7 billion in unspent American Rescue Plan Act dollars to help Pennsylvania families and small businesses that are hurting right now from inflation and rising prices. “Families and businesses all across Pennsylvania are facing economic challenges as inflation goes up and prices rise right along with it. People all across Pennsylvania are hurting, but we have the money to help, and we need to spend it now,” said Gov. Wolf. “I am calling on the General Assembly to use Pennsylvania’s unspent American Rescue Plan Act dollars to help Pennsylvanians get back on their feet.” In February, Gov. Wolf proposed his $1.7 billion action plan. Today, he continues to call on the legislature to take immediate action on the proposal to put money back in the pockets of Pennsylvanians and put the commonwealth on the path to prosperity. The governor’s plan calls for $225 million to support small businesses across the commonwealth by recapitalizing the successful COVID-19 Relief Statewide Small Business Assistance Program. The COVID-19 Relief Statewide Small Business Assistance Program would provide grants ranging from $5,000 to $50,000 to small businesses that have been economically impacted by the pandemic. Among Read more
I’m excited later this week to help co-announce a legislative pledge of $225 million to re-capitalize the COVID Relief Statewide Small Business Assistance Program. You can read more in my weekly column here, and I’ll bring you more news as it develops. Read more
My parents are fiscal conservatives. They had to be. In the 1970s, they balanced supporting seven kids on my dad’s teacher’s salary of $35,000. There were many long nights at the kitchen table making ends meet – which bills to pay, which kid would get new shoes. Today’s families have it even tougher because while the cost of everything from childcare, to education, to rent is rising; wages and income stay put. For my neighbors in Philadelphia who have to put together a budget, whether its for their own business or for their own household, it has been raining for more than two years since the pandemic started. The Governor’s proposal to increase funding to the Small Business Assistance Program, the PA Opportunity Program, and other funding for low-income families addresses the fact that so many of us are under water and need a working-class bailout. Last year, Pennsylvania was given an opportunity to help its citizens come in from the rain, but instead they got soaked. The American Rescue Plan (ARPA) funds from the federal government totaled $7.5 billion, and my legislative colleagues decided to stock that away into a rainy-day fund. This year, we still have the chance to fix that, and provide relief to the people and business who deserve it most. I am supporting Governor Wolf’s efforts to take just a fraction of the federal funds, $1.7 billion, and put them to work for us and our local economies, instead of leaving them to rot in a Read more
The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue and Pennie have teamed up to allow uninsured tax filers the ability to get health care coverage outside of Open Enrollment by indicating their interest when they complete their Pennsylvania state income tax return. Read more
Pa. state Rep. Joe Hohenstein's local office is centrally located on Richmond St. in Bridesburg to be able to serve the many communities of the 177th Legislative District. Hohenstein and his staff are available to help with a variety of state services from PennDOT paperwork to utility assistance and so much more. He is working locally and in Harrisburg to lift up the communities of the River Wards and lower Northeast Philadelphia. Read more
I have received numerous calls into my office from constituents (neighbors by another name) asking me to do what I can to help Ukrainians, and to help Poland, Moldova and other neighboring countries as they take in refugees. As an elected official, I cannot show favoritism towards any charitable cause, but I will say that for those looking to make donations and contributions, it is wise to look to organizations with a track record and those connected directly to refugee services. Read more
"Won’t you be my neighbor?" As a kid watching Mr. Rogers, I took this question, and the answer it implied, very seriously. The lesson that everyone can be your neighbor, was ingrained in me from my family, school, and TV (we had a black and white that stopped at Channel 12 so I got a healthy dose of PBS). That lesson is the reason that my neighborhoods mean so much to me. It’s also the reason that events that happen in faraway places like the Ukraine matter to me. Those folks are my neighbors in a bigger sense. In my district, a place where Polish is probably the second language ahead of Chinese Mandarin and Spanish, many of my neighbors are even more connected to what is happening half a world away. I have received numerous calls into my office from constituents (neighbors by another name) asking me to do what I can to help the Ukrainians, and to help Poland, Moldova and other neighboring countries as they take in refugees. As an elected official, I cannot show favoritism towards any charitable cause, but I will say that for those looking to make donations and contributions, it is wise to look to organizations with a track record and those connected directly to refugee services. The requests coming into my office are from people who have personal experiences with the Soviet regime. They know firsthand what tyranny and oppression look and feel like. In the fleeing Ukrainian refugees they see themselves. Seeing someone else and recognizing yourself Read more
A PA ABLE Savings Program account gives individuals with qualified disabilities (eligible individuals) and their families and friends a tax-free way to save for a wide range of disability-related expenses, while maintaining government benefits. The state and federal tax-free investment options are offered to encourage Eligible Individuals and their families to save private funds to support health, independence, and quality of life. Read more
I miss coaching. Of all the changes in my life since I decided to run for public office, saying goodbye to the teams I coached was the hardest. From 2000 through 2016 I coached soccer for NEO, first my children’s teams and then my nephew’s. We won our share of championships. Newts field in Fishtown, was the site of two of our championship games. In the first one, our right-defender, Shay, came to the sideline, with her leg bleeding after a slide tackle. We got out a water bottle, washed it up. I told her she was a real Philly soccer player now because her blood had been spilled on the fabled cinders of Newts. I asked if she wanted to come out. “No, I’m good,” was the reply from this fierce 12-year-old. A few years later, we were back in Fishtown with my nephew’s team. The game went to penalties. My nephew was the goalie and he saved a couple of shots, but the key was when I told him he was taking one of our penalties. “Really?” The doubt was palpable in his voice. “I believe in you,” I told him. His shot hit the back of the net before the keeper even blinked. Newts has seen a lot of historic soccer, but for me, those two games are the most important. Belief in our kids is the point of playing youth sports. They learn lessons from coaches and from each other. Sometimes they teach us lessons. My younger child, Mars, taught me a lesson when they told me they didn’t want to play anymore. It was their choice, Read more
The neighborhoods of the 177th include significant populations from the Ukraine and its neighbors. Many of my constituents feel the harm of the Russian invasion on a personal level. I join them in praying for the wellbeing of their family and friends. We are seeing images of war in Europe we have not seen in several generations. At this time, we must recognize that this is a war of aggression, engineered by an autocrat, Mr. Putin, against a democratically elected government in Ukraine. The annexation of Belarus is less overtly violent, but no less an attack on free, democratic societies. This is the time for us to come together in solidarity with all our eastern European community members, many of whom know the cost of fighting for freedom firsthand. Read more
I am a sponsor of HB279, a bill which calls for Driver’s Licenses for All in Pennsylvania. This is a bill that would make the roads safer and provide an economic boost to our Commonwealth. It would return Pennsylvania law to 2011 and remove any reference to an individual’s U.S. immigration status as a requirement to receive a standard issue Pennsylvania driver’s license. Read more
I am a sponsor of HB279, a bill which calls for Drivers Licenses for All in Pennsylvania. This is a bill that will make the roads safer and provide an economic boost to our Commonwealth. It would return Pennsylvania law to 2011 and remove any reference to an individual’s US immigration status as a requirement to receive a standard issue Pennsylvania drivers license. Applicants would still need to prove their identity and provide either a Social Security (SS) or Tax Identification Number (TIN). It is a designed to open doors to people who already pay taxes and provide them with a degree of security as they pursue the American Dream. To be certain, I am supporting this legislation because of my history as an immigration attorney. During 25 years in active practice, I represented people in various stages of the immigration process. I carried men and women and their families forward from being undocumented to being U.S. citizens. Their paths were as different and varied as their countries of origin and there was no single “right way” to get full legal status. Some spent years in legal temporary status, some never had documents, some had a temporary protection that had to be renewed every year, some had asylum cases that took years to adjudicate, and some would boomerang between lawful and unlawful status based on the most recent decision in their immigration cases. If you are familiar with the concept of Purgatory, that is precisely the place where most Read more
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