Ending the year in a sprint

Rep. Lisa Borowski December 5, 2025 | 7:06 PM

PA Representative Lisa Borowski banner image

Happy December, 168th!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year – except for the cold, I really could do without the bone chilling cold. ??

As we all spend the next few weeks gathering and celebrating, I want to celebrate and thank all those working in healthcare.

Over the past few weeks, my dad has been in and out of the hospital and is now in skilled nursing. I can’t thank everyone at Bryn Mawr Hospital enough for their care and compassion not just toward my dad but to my mom, sister, and I. The physicians, nurses, PAs, technicians, blood bank, infusion team, transport, dietary, environmental services, social work, palliative care team, and security have been tremendous during a time when the hospital is just bursting at the seams.

We could not be more grateful to our healthcare heroes, and I send this gratitude out to all who are working in healthcare, especially over the holidays.

While our healthcare resources continue to be stretched in our county and needs only continue to grow, you all show up for your patients and are working to give them your very best. Thank you – you are quite literally saving lives every day, and we are grateful.

Speaking of healthcare, we continue to work to move House Bill 1460, the Health System Protection Act, through the Senate and get it onto the governor’s desk. This legislation has hit some roadblocks since I introduced it, and will require compromise to move forward – but it came out of the House with bipartisan support, and I am hopeful our conversations with the Senate will be successful. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s veteran PA government reporter just wrote an update on the legislation; you can read it here.

This week, I participated in several sessions regarding data centers and how demand for data storage can be met with minimal community impact. I continue to learn more and am convinced we must put very strong guardrails while educating our local elected officials on what these will mean for communities. We need to give our municipalities more tools to work with when it comes to the development and hold developers accountable for producing their own energy to power these centers, which may not have significant economic impacts for communities, but will impact quality of life for their residents.

I also attended a program about clean energy and the impacts of the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill legislation. Did you know that even before OBBBA, uncertainty over clean energy and manufacturing tax credits had already cost 10,000 jobs? After the law’s passage, job losses could reach hundreds of thousands. The loss of clean energy tax credits will also raise electricity prices nationwide with an expectation that wholesale power will rise by up to 74% by 2035 as clean energy buildout slows. Household energy costs are expected to increase $130/year by 2030 and $170/year by 2035.

This combined with the increased demand from data centers is creating a perfect storm of rising costs. We are working on ways to help minimize costs, including a provision to strengthen Pennsylvania’s oversight on electric load forecasting that was included in the new state budget.

House Bill 1924 by my colleague from Philadelphia, Rep. Danilo Burgos, addresses recent reports from PJM Interconnection that electricity demand across the PJM footprint – including Pennsylvania – is projected to grow significantly due to data centers, electrification of vehicles and buildings, and other large load additions. Burgos’ bill allows the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to review and validate load forecasts submitted by Pennsylvania utilities to PJM, coordinate with PJM and other state regulators to ensure accuracy, and access all relevant materials necessary to carry out this oversight. This is just a first step in trying to better regulate the cost of power to the consumers.

There is still so much work to be done. But we are up to the challenge.

I wish you all a great weekend and hope to see you at our open house next week! If you are coming, bring some diapers…we are still collecting through the end of next week and are so grateful for all the donations received so far.

Take care and go Birds!

Gratefully,

Special Office Hours

In this edition:

Harrisburg Update

- Hearing on hearing aids in Aging & Older Adults Committee

- Funding infusion for SEPTA

In the District

- Supporting UFCW workers

- Lunch with Newtown Square Business Association

- DCARO Legislative Breakfast

My Events

- Holiday Open House & Unclaimed Property Search (Dec. 10)

FYI

- LIHEAP season has begun

- 2026 Fishing Licenses, Permits, & Gift Vouchers are available

- Property Tax/Rent Rebate deadline is approaching

- Middletown residents: Free StreamSmart home evaluation

Community Events & Announcements

- RIGHT NOW: Tree lighting in Wayne!

- DCVM's Toy, Food, & Clothing Drive (Dec. 6)

- Radnor Memorial Library Elves for the Shelves 5K Fun Run (Dec. 6)

- Christmas in Wayne (Dec. 6-7)

- Middletown Twp Tree Lighting (Dec. 7)

- Newtown Township Tree Lighting at St. Albans Circle (Dec. 7)

- Deer hunt at Ridley Creek State Park (Dec. 11)

- Edgmont Twp Holiday Tree Lighting (Dec. 12)

- 'Light Up Wayne' Hanukkah Festival & Menorah Lighting (Dec. 14)

- Holiday Guest Bartender Night at Casey's (Dec. 16)

- Santa comes to Middletown Twp. (Dec. 21)

- "Once Upon a Run" Festival & 5K benefitting Newtown Public Library (April 19, 2026)

- Main Line Health's Winter 2026 Free Smoking Cessation Program schedule

Harrisburg Update

Hearing on hearing aids in Aging & Older Adults Committee

While in Harrisburg, I attended a hearing of the Aging and Older Adult Services Committee where we discussed PA House Bill 1670 by my colleagues Rep. Liz Hanbidge and Rep. Joe Hohenstein.

HB 1670 mandates that insurers provide coverage for hearing aids under Medicare and Medicaid. This legislation aims to ensure that individuals with hearing impairments have access to necessary hearing aids, which are covered by these health insurance programs. The bill is part of a broader effort to improve access to healthcare and support for individuals with hearing aids.

As the daughter of a father who wears hearing aids, I understand how important these are to address social isolation and improve understanding and communication. I welcome the dialog, and I hope we can move this legislation forward.

Funding infusion for SEPTA

Governor Shapiro recently directed PennDOT to allocate $219.9 million in additional capital funding to SEPTA so it can make urgent safety upgrades and infrastructure improvements.

His action follows orders from two federal transit authorities concerning the safety of SEPTA’s Regional Rail cars. As a result, SEPTA will be able to comply with their orders and accelerate repairs to maintain reliable service for the 800,000 commuters who rely on SEPTA every day.

In the District

Supporting UFCW workers

We took it to the streets with United Food and Commercial Workers International Union 1776 to call on Amazon Whole Foods to come to the table and bargain in good faith. These workers deserve fair treatment, fair wages, and good healthcare. It’s time to take care of the whole person, Whole Foods!

We heard from the inspirational Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta as my colleagues Rep. Dan Williams, Rep. Napoleon Nelson, Rep. Andre D. Carroll, and Rep. Tarik Khan joined the workers fighting for their rights! I even ran into the 168th’s own Carter Young, who is working with UFCW!

Lunch with Newtown Square Business Association

Marie joined fellow members of the Newtown Square Business Association at their annual holiday luncheon on Thursday. This year we were so generously hosted by Dawn Counard and her team at the new AC Hotel at the Ellis Preserve!

It was a wonderful celebration of the diverse small business community in Newtown Square.

Association President and Vice President, Sheila Turner-Hilliard and Paul Seligson presented the owners of everyone’s favorite local spot, Casey’s, with an award for their beautiful landscaping and decoration. Make sure to shop Newtown Square this holiday season!

DCARO Legislative Breakfast

This morning Marie got an update on the amazing work being done by the Delaware County Advocacy and Resource Organization and their partners to give more autonomy to people with intellectual and development disabilities in PA. They advocated for proposed resolutions to study the creation of a registry of those guilty of abusing vulnerable populations to disrupt harmful patterns in home and community based services.

DCARO also presented their new investigative services which allows their trained investigators to conduct independent investigations for providers when issues arise. There is a ton of work being done at the state and county level to improve services including a pilot program for more independent housing from the DHS Office of Developmental Programs and funding support from Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council.

My Events

FYI

LIHEAP season has begun

The Department of Human Services announced that the 2025-26 Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) season is now taking applications. Normally opened in November each year, the program was delayed due to the federal government shutdown. The 2025-26 season is scheduled to run from December 3 through April 10, 2026.

To protect Pennsylvanians during the delay, Governor Josh Shapiro worked with the Public Utility Commission (PUC) and utility providers to start the winter shutoff moratorium earlier on November 1, 2025 (it usually begins in December each year). This ensured that Pennsylvanians who could not access LIHEAP in November because of the shutdown did not risk having their heat or electricity shut off as temperatures dropped.

LIHEAP assistance does not need to be paid back and is available in the form of cash or crisis grants. The minimum 2025-26 LIHEAP cash grant is $200, and the maximum cash grant is $1,000. Individuals and households may receive one cash grant per LIHEAP season. Click here for more information.

2026 Fishing Licenses, Permits, and Gift Vouchers are available

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is pleased to announce that fishing licenses, launch permits and gift vouchers are available for purchase! Click here for details. Happy Holidays and “tight lines” from the PFBC!

Property Tax/Rent Rebate Deadline is Approaching!

The last day to apply for your Property Tax/Rent Rebate is December 31st! Stop by to pick up the forms or make an appointment with us for assistance in completing the paperwork. All you need to get started are your county, municipal, and school tax bills or your lease, along with proof of income. Get it done before the holiday rush begins!