Thousands of Pennsylvania working families have fallen into poverty and been forced to access benefit programs because they can't afford health care. This has increased the burden on state and local governments, and on taxpayers.  In addition, in 2011 the Corbett Administration allowed adultBasic to run out of money.  That means that 42,000 working Pennsylvanians lost their health insurance, had to wait until they were really sick, and ended up in very expensive emergency room care.

Overhauling the state’s campaign finance laws is one of my top legislative priorities.  Pennsylvania is one of only five states that have no contribution limits; voting is at an all-time low, I believe in part, because many citizens believe their vote cannot compete with the enormous sums of money that candidates collect from deep pockets.  Restoring public confidence in government is a tall task, but I believe that passing meaningful campaign finance legislation is a step in the right direction.

We need to do everything we can to educate women and their families about the importance of breastfeeding, and to make it easier for women to breastfeed their babies, even when they need to go to back to work.

Breastfeeding carries tremendous benefits for mother, baby and society as a whole.  There are many different ways communities can support mothers and babies to breastfeed, and everyone plays a role.

Across Pennsylvania, bridges are buckling, roads are crumbling, and working people are burning more fuel to go fewer miles.  Delays in necessary repair and maintenance work, coupled with rising prices in materials and reduced revenues yielded the perfect storm we currently face. In 2011Governor Corbett’s Transportation Funding Advisory Commission developed a strategic proposal for addressing the transportation funding needs of Pennsylvania.