Bill O’Boyle: Gov. Wolf announces funding to support affordable housing across Pa.

Jun. 13—WILKES-BARRE — Gov. Tom Wolf this week announced recipients of a new round of funding for housing programs made available through the Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement (PHARE) fund.

The governor named 245 housing and community development initiatives in 67 counties that will share a portion of the total $48.4 million in PHARE funding for fiscal year 2021-22. The PHARE fund is managed by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency.

"This program ensures that communities are able to preserve existing housing and create new housing so all Pennsylvanians have access to affordable, safe housing statewide," said Gov. Wolf. "This funding will ensure that the money is applied where the need is greatest and can accomplish the most good."

Funding for these PHARE awards comes from two main sources. Since 2012, the program has received a portion of the impact fees collected from natural gas companies operating in the state with the goal of addressing the housing shortage caused by the impact of drilling. That is supplemented with funding provided by a portion of the realty transfer tax. The PHARE fund is often referred to as the state's Housing Trust Fund.

PHFA anticipates that today's PHARE funding will impact Pennsylvania households through a variety of affordable housing efforts including:

—249 units rehabilitated/preserved through the funding of 4% tax credit projects.

—71 new single-family homes to be created.

—419 potential new homebuyers to receive down payment and closing cost assistance.

—More than 12,000 families/households to receive housing counseling and financial education.

—74 housing units created or rehabilitated specifically for households in danger of homelessness.

—5,289 affordable housing units to be preserved/rehabilitated.

449 new, affordable housing units to be created with PHARE funds.

—More than 12,600 households in danger of homelessness to be assisted by PHARE-funded programming.

Luzerne County recipients

—City of Nanticoke First-Time Homebuyer Program City of Nanticoke, $300,000

—Homeowners' Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program, Commission on Economic Opportunity, $ 25,000

—Shelter Expansion Project, Domestic Violence Service Center, Inc. $ 150,000

PHFA staff report that at least 69% of the $48.3 million allocated today will be used to fund housing projects benefiting households with incomes below 50% of the area median income.

Rep. Meuser backs

nearshoring bill

U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Dallas, has joined with a bi-partisan group of lawmakers to co-sponsor a bill that would allow companies to move their operations to a nearby country — making the United States less dependent on Chinese manufacturing and aiding with economic growth in Latin America and The Caribbean.

HR 7579 — "The Western Hemisphere Nearshoring Act" — aims to return manufacturing to countries near America, addressing the root causes that drives migration to the United States and reducing the supply chain's dependence on Chinese manufacturing.

It creates a low interest loan program to incentivize companies to move their factories from China to the Western Hemisphere.

Funding will come from Chinese tariffs, with no cost to taxpayers.

The legislation was crafted by members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, including Meuser, and immigration attorneys.

—The bill creates an ultra-low-interest loan program run by the Development Finance Corporation (DFC), leveraging private investment and financed by our existing tariffs on China

—Eligible companies would move manufacturing property or assets from China to Latin America or the Caribbean

—Companies approved would get duty-free trade with the US for 15 years (if their products aren't already covered under an FTA)

—They would also get tax benefits in the form of 75% accelerated depreciation

—The Company or country would be provided technical assistance on connecting/establishing an energy grid

—Expedites exports of unused nuclear reactors in US, such as micro-reactors

—The bill also directs USTR to pursue free trade negotiations with our LAC allies whom we don't have an FTA with yet

—If companies don't want to receive a DFC loan, they would still be eligible for the bill's other benefits if they meet the established criteria

—The bill exempts totalitarian states Cuba and Nicaragua

Sen. Casey, Rep. Cárdenas introduce

legislation to limit youth incarceration

U.S. Senator Bob Casey, D-Scranton, and U.S. Rep. Tony Cárdenas, D-California, are introducing the Prohibiting Detention of Youth Status Offenders Act to keep more children out of detention facilities.

Casey said every year, thousands of kids are incarcerated for "status offenses" — acts that would not be considered crimes if they were committed by an adult — like truancy, breaking curfew or running away from home.

This incarceration is allowed through the use of the "valid court order" (VCO) exception. The Prohibiting Detention of Youth Status Offenders Act would phase out and then prohibit use of the VCO exception to prevent states from detaining youth for status offenses in favor of responses that better support youth.

"Thousands of children are locked up every year for minor offenses like skipping school," Casey said. "This disproportionate, dated response is hurting young people and does nothing to address underlying issues. With this legislation, we can change the trajectories of young lives, create safer communities and better support young people going through a difficult time."

Toomey demands DOE address

states' failure to protect students

U.S. Senator Pat Toomey, R-Lehigh Valley, this week called for action from the Department of Education after the department released their report on state policies to protect students from educators who engage in sexual misconduct.

Under Section 8546 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) — which Senators Toomey and Manchin originally introduced — states receiving federal education funding must enact policies or procedures to prevent academic institutions from allowing an educator who sexually abused a child from moving to another academic institution.

This practice, commonly known as "passing the trash," allows an educator to seek other educational jobs and continue the practice of assaulting students.

"While I appreciate that the Department of Education has finally fulfilled its obligation to investigate whether states have implemented policies, laws, or regulations to stop the heinous practice of 'passing the trash,' I am deeply concerned with these findings," Toomey said. "Any educator who engaged in sexual misconduct with a child should be barred from ever teaching in a classroom again, yet too many states do not have policies to ensure that is the case. Releasing this report is only the first step—the department must hold states accountable and use the tools at its disposal to enforce the law."

Seven years after the passage of this provision:

—Only nine states have laws to address all four of the most significant factors to reduce the cover up of teacher sexual assault.

—Sixteen states have no provision beyond a background check to prevent passing the trash.

—Sixty percent of states have failed to ban the confidentiality and resignation agreements that endanger students by allowing predators to continue as educators.

—Only eighteen states monitor school district enforcement of laws related to aiding and abetting.

—More than a third of states expressed the need for more support and guidance from the Department of Education.

Sen. Casey urges VA to make websites

accessible for people with disabilities

U.S. Senate Aging Committee Chairman Bob Casey, D-Scranton, this week led a bipartisan, bicameral group of committee leaders in sending a letter to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Denis McDonough, urging the agency to improve VA website accessibility for disabled veterans.

The letter was signed by the Ranking Member of the Senate Aging Committee and the Chairs and Ranking Members of the Senate and House Veterans Affairs Committees, among others.

Chairman Casey is also releasing a recent report from the VA that shows only 10% of VA websites are fully accessible for people with disabilities, as required by law, posing barriers to deaf, blind and paralyzed veterans.

This report was required by Chairman Casey's bipartisan VA Website Accessibility Act, which became law in 2020, and mandates that the VA issue reports to Congress on the accessibility of its websites, along with a plan to make them accessible.

Veterans use VA websites to access a range of benefits, including health care, disability claims, education and training, housing assistance and more. VA employees also use VA websites to serve veterans. Without full accessibility of all its websites, veterans face barriers accessing the benefits they earned through their sacrifices to our country, and disabled VA employees face barriers in effectively providing those benefits.

Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.