HARRISBURG, June 16 – State Rep. Regina G. Young, D-Phila., in a statement today, condemned H.B. 1300, a 150-page bill that would alter voting deadlines, limit early voting, make mail-in ballot procedures more difficult and mandate IDs for all in-person voters, saying that it as assault on voting rights. “House Bill 1300 is 150 pages of drivel and lies outfitted as policy. Its author and supporters have dubbed it with a virtuous name, the Voting Rights Protection Act, but whose voting rights is it really protecting?” Young said, a day after voting no on the bill’s passage in the House State Government Committee. “House Bill 1300 is really the Voting Rights Suppression Act. It only stands to create obstacles in exercising the right to vote. Measures such as stricter voter ID mandates, signature verification requirements for mail ballots, and limiting the availability of drop boxes, are all attempts to deter people from voting and suppress votes. “Another issue with this bill is that it offers no solutions to streamlining the elections process. For months, Republican and Democratic election officials from across the state urged the legislature to revamp our elections code to allow the elections process to run smoother. One unanimous plea was to enact the pre-canvassing of mail-in ballots, a measure the majority party in the committee said they would review. However, the best they could come up with is H.B. 1300—a slap in Read more

HARRISBURG, June 15 – State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, D-Phila., in a statement today, blasted ongoing efforts by the Pennsylvania GOP to undermine Pennsylvania’s elections with their latest elections bill, House Bill 1300, a 149-page bill that would alter voting deadlines, limit early voting, make mail-in ballot procedures more difficult and mandate IDs for all in-person voters. “You have the same people who have been stoking the raging fire that we’re currently seeing burn up the trust in the sanctity of our democratic process now wanting to come and act like they’re the firefighters,” Kenyatta said, following the Republican-dominated House State Government Committee’s approval of H.B.1300 along party lines. “House State Government Majority Chairman State Representative Seth Grove is drumming up support for his H.B. 1300 by posing it as legislation to increase protections of our state’s elections process. However, Grove is the torcher as it is he who led efforts to undermine those protections. It was Grove who organized the letter—endorsed by his Pennsylvania GOP peers—urging Congress to overturn Pennsylvania’s 2020 General Election results on Jan. 6. “It is Grove who was at the helm of the attempt to get subpoena power to seize those ballots. “It was Grove fronting his pack of rogue lawmaker colleagues here in Pennsylvania and in tandem with their GOP peers across our nation Read more

State Rep. Mary Isaacson announced more than $3.3 million in Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement, of PHARE (PHARE) funds, has been awarded to 16 organizations in the 175th Legislative District. Read more

It's always wonderful to share that grant dollars are coming back to our district! This award is one of 54 awarded to organizations through the state. Learn more about all the awards here . Read more

PHILADELPHIA, June 10 -- State Rep. Regina G. Young, D-Phila./Delaware on Wednesday hosted a career fair connecting 125 graduating high school seniors to in-demand trades careers at John Bartram High School in Southwest Philadelphia. During their final graduation rehearsal, the soon-to-be graduates had the opportunity to network with the city’s largest employers, such as SEPTA, the Philadelphia International Airport, the Philadelphia Shipyard, Associated Builders & Contractors, and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 98. “Trades and technical careers have been and continue to be integral to our society. As our economy slowly regains footing in the wake of the pandemic, this ever-expanding field has proven to be sustainable and lucrative, generating opportunities for all,” Young said. “I’m thrilled to see high school graduates celebrating both an end to their high school career and the beginning of a bright future as productive adults in our society. I am especially proud to see this career fair serve as a model in connecting pupils across all 67 counties to the endless career opportunities in trades.” Vice President of Workforce Development at Associated Builders & Contractors Vincent Console expressed delight that 15 graduates have followed up with the offer to join the apprenticeship program. “I wanted to thank Representative Regina Young and Bartram Read more

If you are ever faced with an unwanted or nonviable pregnancy, make no mistake: You have the right to choose how to handle it. The ultimate decision must be yours, and we will fight to ensure that remains true. Read more

HARRISBURG, June 9 – State Rep. Chris Rabb has introduced legislation to fund all public schools throughout Pennsylvania fully and equitably to ensure that every child in the commonwealth can succeed. “Access to a high-quality education is the single best, long-term investment we can make in our children – and for our society – with public dollars,” said Rabb, D-Phila. “That many children throughout Pennsylvania are starting out their life’s path without the resources they need because legislators in Harrisburg haven’t done the work to ensure they have every opportunity for success is unacceptable. My legislation would ensure that public education funding is fully and fairly distributed to districts throughout our commonwealth.” Rabb has circulated a forthcoming bill he has introduced twice before that would require 100% of state funds to be distributed through the fair funding formula effective immediately, acknowledging that our most underfunded school districts need significantly more funding to ensure that they have enough resources to educate their students. The other bill in the package would expand the duties of the bipartisan Basic Education Funding Commission to ensure that the commission consider ways to provide for school funding that is both equitable and adequate, as well as make recommendations for ways to provide increased funding for Pennsylvania’s schools to be reflected in their upcoming Read more

HARRISBURG, June 8 – State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, D-Phila., released the following statement applauding Dr. Jason Wingard on becoming 13 th president of Temple University and the university’s first Black president its 137-year history. Kenyatta also highlighted the importance of activism which led to this historic appointment. “As a proud Temple University alumnus, I applaud Dr. Jason Wingard on his appointment to become the thirteenth president of Temple University and making history as the first Black president in the university’s 137-year history. Dr. Wingard is impeccably qualified and possesses the ability to connect to Black and Brown students and residents of North Philadelphia. “While we applaud Dr. Wingard’s historic appointment, we must also acknowledge the journey of how we got to this point. Activism matters. “I was born and raised here in North Philadelphia, graduated from Temple University and now represent this community in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Through the years, I watched the university prosper at the expense of my neighbors. Since being elected, I constantly challenged Temple University’s mostly all-white leadership on the dire need for diversity among its ranks-- meaningful diversity that mirrors the surrounding communities acknowledges that reality that these predominantly Black neighborhoods have long suffered the effects of economic Read more

HARRISBURG, June 7 — State Reps. Rick Krajewski and Malcolm Kenyatta, both D-Phila., pushed back against the false right-wing narrative regarding voting integrity efforts Monday, instead promoting the need to increase access to voting for all, and especially for those whose voting rights are under attack. “Over the past 18 months, as we have seen unprecedented movements and victories in the fight against police violence, the defeat of Donald Trump, Democratic control of the U.S. Senate and more; we have also seen a steep increase in attempts by the right-wing elite to disenfranchise the marginalized people who have benefited from these achievements,” Krajewski said during the Defending Democracy event he and Kenyatta led. “That is no coincidence. “Government should be by the people, for the people, but as the people have started shaking things up and dismantling the status quo, their rights to choose their elected officials through free and fair elections have come under attack through farcical efforts to question the integrity of our elections,” Krajewski continued. “We will not stand for this misleading misdirection and we wanted to bring this issue into the spotlight so we can examine the ways in which access to voting must be expanded and voting rights upheld.” “Voter suppression tactics have become as American as apple pie, with almost every generation of Black and brown Americans having to combat Read more

HARRISBURG, June 3 – State Rep. Chris Rabb said he will introduce legislation to ban police from using crowd control agents like tear gas, pepper balls, mace and rubber bullets. “Debilitating weapons of war have no place being used against civilians,” Rabb said. “And crowd control agents like tear gas and rubber bullets are exactly that, weapons of war. But even some of those agents were banned for use in warfare by the 1925 Geneva Protocol, so there’s absolutely no reason they should be used on civilians in our communities in Pennsylvania.” Rabb said that until last year, during demonstrations by protestors after George Floyd was murdered by police in Minnesota, police in Philadelphia had not used tear gas in 35 years. His forthcoming legislation would ban the use of crowd control agents by law enforcement in Pennsylvania. As a member of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, I acknowledge this commonwealth exists on the tribal lands of the Erie, Haudenosaunee, Lenape, Munsee, Shawnee and Susquehannock. Read more