MALVERN, Sept. 28 – State Rep. Kristine Howard, D-Chester, as a member of the Pennsylvania House Human Services Committee, will hear an update regarding the steps taken to improve the care of children residing at Devereux Behavioral Health facilities in the state at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 29 in the Irvis Office Building, Harrisburg. In August, the Philadelphia Inquirer brought attention to abuse of children with special needs at Devereux facilities through a lengthy investigative piece about the abuse of children with special needs at some Devereux facilities. Following its own investigation, the city of Philadelphia announced last week that it will remove the 53 children it had placed in Devereux facilities. “ As a former child abuse investigator, I am greatly distressed by the allegations of the abuse of vulnerable children by Devereux employees who should have been the guardians of their welfare and by the organization’s gross mismanagement which allowed these horrors to repeatedly occur ,” Howard said. “I’m eager to find out what steps Devereux has taken to improve the care of children living in their facilities at the Human Services Committee tomorrow.” Questions can be submitted to RepHoward@pahouse.net or via phone at (484) 200-8271 . Read more
MALVERN, Sept. 24 – State Rep. Kristine Howard today announced that the Horace J. Quann Memorial Park in Malvern Borough has received a $92,500 grant from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The grant money will be used to support the c onstruction of a pedestrian walkway and stormwater management measures, installation of fencing and ADA access, and enhancements of the park’s landscaping and other related site improvements. “Quann Park is a beloved community site in Malvern Borough, where people from all walks of life can gather to participate in a variety of athletic activities,” Howard said. “I’m glad this money will open up the space for walkers and provide ADA access so that more people can enjoy this wonderful park.” Horace J. Quann Memorial Park is 1.6 acres and is known as an active recreation area for residents. It supports baseball and basketball and has an open space for volleyball and other activities. It is located at First and Warren avenues, across from Malvern Borough Hall. The money is from DCNR’s 2020 Community Conservation Partnerships Program grants . The DCNR Recreation and Conservation grant program is funded with a variety of state and federal funding sources including, the Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund (Key 93) which includes Key-Community and Key-Land Trust; the Environmental Stewardship Fund; the federal Land Read more
MALVERN, Sept. 11 – State Rep. Kristine Howard today released the following statement in response the Department of Environmental Protection’s order for Sunoco to reroute its planned pipeline. “Today, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection ordered Sunoco to reroute its planned pipeline route, and further assess, investigate, and restore resources impacted by the Mariner East II pipeline in Upper Uwchlan Township. This is a tremendous first step towards ensuring Sunoco is held accountable,” Howard said. “The administrative order comes in response to a drilling fluid spill, an industrial waste, and the creation of a 15-foot wide by 8-foot deep subsidence, adversely impacting wetlands, two tributaries to Marsh Creek Lake, and the lake itself. “Sunoco has been required to suspend all work related to the horizontal directional drilling (HDD) site that caused the impacts, referred to as HDD 290, until the DEP provides further authorization. Work to prevent erosion and sedimentation, as well as work to prevent additional pollution, will continue. “While the DEP works to hold Sunoco accountable to the fullest extent possible under our current laws and regulations, I will continue seeking legislative means to increase communication efforts, transparency and safety regulations,” she said. Read more
MALVERN, Sept. 4 – State Rep. Kristine Howard, D-Chester, will host a virtual Town Hall at 4:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 14 to discuss voting in the upcoming general election in November with Chester County Commissioner Marian Moskowitz and state Rep. Kevin Boyle, D-Phila. “This virtual Town Hall will explain recent changes in election law, such as mail-in voting, as well as the efforts being taken to ensure a secure election,” Howard said. “Commissioner Moskowitz, state Representative Boyle and I look forward to answering residents’ questions about voting .” The event will be livestreamed at www.PaHouse.com/Howard . Questions can be submitted at RepHoward@pahouse.net ahead of the event or during it. Answers to those questions will be shared during the Town Hall. Read more
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The majority party in the Pennsylvania General Assembly is attempting to make it as hard as possible to vote. Their weapon for achieving this is the recently-passed H.B. 2626, which aims to ban drop-off boxes for ballots, allow out-of-county poll watchers, and set back the deadline for requesting an absentee ballot to 15 days prior to the election, rather than the present seven. House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff, R-Centre County, said, “We should all be focused on making sure we have a secure and efficient election system,” though I am confused as to how preventing a potentially vast number of eligible voters from casting their ballots helps us have these secure and efficient elections. Unless, of course, the secure and efficient reelection of Donald Trump is what he was actually talking about. Assuming that is what we are talking about, let’s call it what it is – vote suppression. This is an odd about-face for a Republican-controlled legislature that passed – overwhelmingly, I might add – Act 77 of 2019, which allowed no-excuse mail-in voting. As Americans, we have the right to vote. Not a privilege we have been granted, but an inalienable, self-evident right. This was the driving force behind Act 77. It’s the reason you should be repulsed by Republican-led efforts to suppress votes. While Rep. Garth Everett, R-Lycoming Count, has said, “People need to know that their ballots Read more
HARRISBURG, Aug. 25 – Chester County’s Democratic state Reps. Dan Williams, Danielle Friel-Otten and Kristine Howard announced that Coatesville Area School District, Chester County Intermediate Unit and 21st Century Cyber Charter School each received grant funding to improve educational services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Awardees are schools designated for Additional Targeted Support and Improvement under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act. Grants were awarded as follows: Coatesville Area School District: North Brandywine Middle School: $68,542. Rainbow Elementary School: $60,320. Reeceville Elementary School: $38,494. Coatesville Area Senior High School: $56,148. Chester County Intermediate Unit: $96,353. 21st Century Cyber Charter School: $38,371. “Ensuring that each student has the tools they need to succeed this academic year will be more complex compared to years prior. I’m proud to see these schools receive this much-needed funding so children can safely continue to learn as we work toward mitigating COVID-19 throughout our community and our commonwealth,” Williams said. “Pennsylvania’s schools were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, and historically underserved students are likely to be the most impacted. I am grateful for this additional funding, which will help ensure a successful, safe and productive Read more
MALVERN, Aug. 20 – State Rep. Kristine Howard, D-Chester, will host a virtual Town Hall at 3 p.m. Monday, Aug. 24 to discuss PECO and its services with a representative from the company. Weather-related outages and the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) Recovery Crisis program will be discussed. “At a time when the pandemic has made people’s ability to pay their bills difficult, I wanted to have a forum where residents could learn how to reduce their utility costs,” Howard said. “In addition to our discussion on the LIHEAP Recovery Crisis program, which ends on August 31, we will also be talking about how PECO is working to improve their treatment of weather-related outages.” LIHEAP helps families living on low incomes pay home energy bills and typically runs November through April. But the LIHEAP Recovery Crisis program runs through Aug. 31 and offers a crisis benefit made directly to utility companies or fuel providers to help offset costs for home utilities. Benefits may be available if a household: • Has their main or secondary energy source completely shut-off. • Is notified that their utility service will be shut off in the next 60 days. • Has broken energy equipment or leaking lines that must be fixed or replaced. • Is in danger of being without fuel in 15 days or less. • Owes funds to a Read more
Malvern, August 18 – State Rep. Kristine Howard, D-Chester, today announced that West Whiteland and Willistown townships were awarded $514,200 to help upgrade small water, sewer, storm sewer and flood control infrastructure. The money will be distributed through two grant programs funded through the Commonwealth Financing Authority . PA Small Water and Sewer grants were awarded as follows: $300,000 to rehabilitate West Whiteland Township’s sanitary sewer collection system. $214,200 to extend public sanitary sewer service in Willistown Township. “This funding will help West Whiteland Township and Willistown Township to develop and strengthen their sewer systems,” Howard said. For more information, contact Howard’s office at (610) 251-1070 . Read more
Energy Transfer Partners have been given ample opportunity to prove themselves, yet time after time, they have not lived up to their responsibilities, and are seemingly incapable of meeting the topographical challenges associated with drilling and digging in Chester County. Their actions put our waterways and streams at risk and have created conditions ripe for the formation of sinkholes and other problems. The drilling fluid spill in Marsh Creek State Park is only the most recent in a long line of mistakes and repeated violations by this operator. I am thankful for Gov. Wolf's responsiveness in taking the important first step of indefinitely suspending the drilling that led to the Marsh Creek incident. Now the experts can conduct a full investigation and review in order to determine next steps. Of course, ETP should be held accountable, and in addition to expeditious cleanup and mitigation efforts, ETP must foot the bill for an independent analysis of the spill’s effect on the local ecosystem. As a legislator, I am focused on forward-thinking ways to increase communication efforts, transparency and safety regulations. But the legislature can only do so much. Diligent oversight is the purview of our regulatory agencies. We must ensure these agencies do their jobs to uphold the Pennsylvania Constitution’s promise of clean air and pure water. I demand accountability and transparency. We all should. It may be that Read more
PAOLI, July 20 – State Reps. Melissa Shusterman, Christina Sappey and Kristine Howard invite constituents to their online panel to bring awareness to human trafficking, with an emphasis on how it can happen anywhere, and to teach people how to identify trafficking situations. The discussion will take place at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 30. A livestream will be available on each of the three representatives’ websites. Anyone who wishes to participate in the discussion by emailing questions to be answered live must RSVP online. Upon submitting an RSVP, the office will send instructions on where to submit questions and introduce the panelists. Shusterman, Sappey and Howard said that they wanted to shed light on this issue after the recent arrests of three Malvern residents for abducting and trafficking a 14-year-old girl. Additionally, the United Nations recognizes July 30 as World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. “Human trafficking happens in every state throughout the nation, yet many people think it doesn’t happen in their neighborhood,” Shusterman said. “Predators often times exploit these feelings of safety and security, which result in tragic, traumatizing losses. We all need to do our part and learn how every one of us can help to shut down these sex trafficking rings that so often target Pennsylvania’s women and girls.” “The issue of human trafficking is so Read more
HARRISBURG, July 8 – State Rep. Kristine Howard, D-Chester, today announced that she is introducing a resolution to create a task force to study the effects of remote learning on students. “The COVID-19 pandemic required schools to provide an extended period of remote learning without the planning necessary to ensure that all students’ educational needs would be met,” Howard said. “Given the extraordinary situation schools found themselves in, they had to deliver remote learning ad-hoc to students of varying means, abilities and circumstances. “The problem is, we don’t know how effective this style of learning is and the areas which need improvement. This is a serious gap in our knowledge that has immediate and long-term effects on our children.” According to Howard, in the coming academic year, many students will once again engage, at least partially, in remote learning. Howard is concerned that since there has been little research done to examine the effects of remote learning on educational outcomes and student wellbeing --including its impacts on students of differing geographic, linguistic and socioeconomic backgrounds—neither schools nor parents can be assured that the students will receive the education they need to advance in school. “Given the uncertainty of how long our schools will be relying on remote learning, we need to act now to identify best Read more
As Pennsylvania – and the United States as a whole – begins the process of reopening, we enter a time of hope. We will leave our homes, see friends and loved ones, reclaim our former lives. In the coming weeks and months, we will move closer and closer to normality. Yet, to borrow an old phrase, we can’t go back there again. The world is irrevocably changed. In the short-term, we must continue social distancing and practicing vigilant hygiene. We should also take comfort in the fact that we are learning for the future, and that we have shown – as a state, a country, and a planet – we can come together to protect each other. As we have learned, there are many things we can all do as individuals to stem the tide of this virus. But there are other protective measures outside the grasp of individuals. Back in February, I sent a letter to members of the U.S. Congress, urging an immediate halt to immigration enforcement activities as we deal with the spread of COVID-19, as those fearing deportation would have a strong incentive not to seek medical care. Subsequently, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) and other prominent senators also sent a letter to the President’s Coronavirus Task Force, expressing their “deep and urgent concern,” and shortly thereafter, Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced its Enforcement and Removal Operations division would “delay Read more
Covid-19 legislation Read more
MALVERN, March 19 – State Rep. Kristine Howard (D-Chester) applauded the decision of U.S. immigration authorities to halt enforcement activities as the nation deals with the coronavirus, an approach Howard proposed to members of Congress in a February 28th letter . “This enormous swath of the population is less likely to seek medical treatment for fear of legal repercussions and deportation,” Howard said. “Allowing people to live in fear not only jeopardizes their own health, but the health of every individual in the state, the nation and the world.” As a direct result of Howard’s outreach, U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) and other prominent senators sent a letter to the president’s Coronavirus Task Force, expressing “deep and urgent concern,” and calling on the Department of Homeland Security to “immediately stop all civil immigration enforcement activities occurring in or around public health departments, hospitals, medical clinics and centers, or coronavirus testing sites or laboratories.” Immigration and customs enforcement officials announced its Enforcement and Removal Operations division will “delay enforcement actions” and use “alternatives to detention” amid the outbreak. ICE is halting enforcement across the nation, with the exception of efforts to deport foreign nationals who have committed crimes or who pose a threat to public safety. “I am Read more
Congress Letter re: ICE Read more
In light of the current COVID-19 pandemic affecting Pennsylvania, we wanted to provide you with the following resources and information to help you and your family in the days ahead. Please note that this webpage will be updated as needed with additional information and resources. State Services and Resources The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has created a COVID-19 guide to assist everyone. It includes information on social distancing, mental health resources, unemployment, food assistance, changes from PennDOT and resources for small business: https://www.pa.gov/guides/responding-to-covid-19/ For individuals : https://www.pa.gov/guides/responding-to-covid-19/#ForIndividuals For families : https://www.pa.gov/guides/responding-to-covid-19/#ForFamilies For businesses : https://dced.pa.gov/resources COVID Support for PA Businesses : The following provides information and and links to federal, state, local and private resources. https://www.pahouse.com/News/?id=113388 **Self-employed, independent contractors, gig economy workers: Apply here for federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits .** https://www.pa.gov/guides/responding-to-covid-19/#ForBusinessesUtilities Information from the PA Dept. of Labor and Industry on the federal CARES Act: https://www.uc.pa.gov/COVID-19/CARES-Act/Pages/default.aspx The following link provides you with Read more
HARRISBURG, March 9 – State Rep. Kristine Howard, D-Chester, is urging the passage of legislation designed to strengthen democracy by improving access to voting, reducing the power of big-money corporate special interests, and ensuring lawmakers put the people’s interests first in Pennsylvania. “A democracy is only as strong as its people, and the people show their strength at the polls,” Howard said. “The people are made up of more than deep-pocketed special interest groups. We must ensure everyone has access to the polls, and that everyone’s voice is heard. Otherwise, ‘a government of the people, by the people, and for the people’ is an empty phrase.” Howard’s sentiments echoed those of House Democratic Leader Frank Dermody, D-Allegheny: “Nothing breaks down the people’s trust in their government and their elected officials like seeing deep-pocket donors get what they want while regular working families are left with nothing but the bill to pay. “It’s time Pennsylvania took a leading role when it comes to honest elections, getting more people to the polls and making sure your voice counts more than special interest dollars.” Dermody noted the Citizens United decision first opened the floodgates of hidden money into U.S. elections 10 years ago, and a combination of partisan gerrymandering, attacks on voting rights and foreign influence on elections has Read more
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