William O'Boyle: State highlights impacts of 'Back to Work PA' on economy, communities

Mar. 7—Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) Secretary Dennis Davin this week highlighted how Gov. Tom Wolf's "Back to Work PA" plan will help Pennsylvania's workers, businesses, and economy recover from the COVID-19 pandemic through strategic investments in workforce development.

Davin was joined by State Rep. Mike Schlossberg; CEO and master distiller of This Life Forever Russell Fletcher; and Richard Hobbs, president and CEO of Manufacturers Resource Center (MRC) at a news conference.

"While we are on the path toward recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals and businesses across the state continue to struggle with attaining employment or retaining employees," Davin said. "Through the Back to Work PA plan, the Wolf Administration is committed to supporting programs that will provide avenues to family-sustaining jobs, position our economy for recovery, and improve the quality of life in our communities."

Back to Work PA would address several of the major barriers, identified by the bipartisan Keystone Economic Development and Workforce Command Center, that many Pennsylvanians face pre- and post-pandemic. One of the five barriers identified in the command center's study was the lack of workforce development and training available to gain high-quality, good-paying employment and careers in the state.

This limitation, compounded with the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on our economy, speaks to the urgent, swift need for strategic workforce investments to address massive layoffs that have disproportionately impacted marginalized communities and certain industry sectors.

Back to Work PA would invest in Pennsylvania's workforce by improving access to registered apprenticeships, promoting skilled trades, reconnecting displaced workers with good-paying jobs, expanding e-commerce support for historically disadvantaged businesses, and prioritizing re-shoring and supply chain localization projects.

For more than 30 years, Manufacturers Resource Center (MRC) has helped small and mid-sized manufacturers become more competitive, adopt lean and agile processes, strategically grow their companies and invest more effectively in their existing human capital. MRC is a nonprofit organization partially funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce's NIST-MEP program, as well as DCED. MRC is dedicated to creating jobs and economic opportunity in eastern Pennsylvania's Lehigh, Northampton, Schuylkill, Carbon and Berks counties.

The administration is calling for funding for this $3 billion investment to come from a commonsense severance tax on natural gas extraction. Pennsylvania remains the only gas-producing state without a severance tax and trails only Texas in natural gas production.

The proposed severance tax would align with other major natural gas-producing states and prop the commonwealth up with the successes of these other states have seen, like infrastructure improvements, improved educational systems, and lower taxes.

Sen. Toomey: No justification for

$1.9 trillion Dem spending bill

In a speech this week on the Senate floor, U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Lehigh Valley, dismantled the Democrats' claims that their $1.9 trillion spending bill is about COVID-19.

During his speech, Toomey listed off a number of items in the spending bill that have nothing to do with COVID-19, saying:

"$270 million for the National Endowment of the Arts and [National Endowment of the] Humanities: oh, that's COVID related, thank goodness that's there. $91 million for outreach to student loan borrowers: I don't even know what that means. $50 million for environmental justice grants: I have no idea what that means.

"But this one is really rich: there's about $4 billion for 'socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers.' I say 'about $4 billion' because it says 'such funds as may be necessary.' And here's what the money is for: it's going to pay off 120 percent of the debt of these farmers and ranchers. 120 percent."

Toomey also highlighted the following items in the bill:

—$414 billion for so-called stimulus checks for millions of Americans who never lost income;

—$350 billion for state and local governments, after record-high revenues in 2020;

—$86 billion to bail out multi-employer pension plans without any reform; and

—$45 billion primarily to pay insurance companies to cover Americans who already have health insurance.

More excerpts from Senator Toomey's speech include:

"There is no justification for this bill. There's no medical justification, there's pandemic justification, there's no economic justification. This isn't about coming together and doing something about a crisis. This is about a partisan, left-wing wish list. And, of course, Republicans aren't interested in that kind of political gesturing that's going to do economic damage."

Casey pushes to support

victims of gun violence

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Scranton, and U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans, D-PA03, this week introduced the Resources for Victims of Gun Violence Act.

This legislation would establish an inter-agency Advisory Council to gather and disseminate information about the resources, programs and benefits that can help victims of gun violence — including survivors and the families, classmates, coworkers and other associates of individuals affected by gun violence. More than 100 Americans die from gun violence each day and over 230 more are wounded.

"We can't stop pushing for the common-sense measures that will help prevent gun violence from happening," Casey said. "But we must also acknowledge the reality of this public health epidemic and make sure that survivors, families, friends and caregivers have the support they need to recover from gun violence and manage their longer-term needs. This bill would connect gun violence victims with the resources, programs and benefits that can help them. Gun violence is a uniquely American problem and we must address the millions of Americans who have been affected by this issue and have struggled for too long."

Evans said, "I have voted for and continue to support passing legislation to reduce gun violence, like universal background checks for gun buyers and closing the Charleston loophole. We must also help the victims and survivors— often they don't know where to turn or what resources are available to them."

Some 58 percent of American adults, including 68 percent of Black and Hispanic Americans, are survivors of gun violence, either experiencing gun violence themselves or caring for someone who has experienced gun violence in their lives. Victims of gun violence experience persistent mental health problems, including post-traumatic stress, depression, self-harm, anxiety and substance abuse. Further, this public health epidemic has only increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, with surging gun sales putting children, victims of domestic abuse and communities of color at an even greater risk of gun violence.

State: Dog wardens link sick

puppies to veterinary care

Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding this week was joined by veterinarians from the Pennsylvania SPCA and Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association (PVMA) to discuss the risk for sick dogs in breeding operations to go without veterinary intervention if the dog license fee increase isn't adopted by the legislature soon.

"Dollars raised by dog license fees are more than a 'dog tax,' as many refer to them," said Redding. "Dog license dollars are a literal lifeline to the dogs and puppies who live in the nearly 3,000 dog breeding operations in the commonwealth.

"Their veterinary care, or lack thereof, is directly linked to a dog warden having the ability to step foot inside and check on how they're doing."

For Pennsylvanians interested in purchasing a puppy, the health of the puppy over the course of its lifetime is directly tied to its breeding lines, living conditions, and veterinary care, and its mother's, during the time it lived in a licensed kennel.

By law, Pennsylvania dog wardens perform a minimum of two unannounced inspections per year on licensed kennels. These inspections provide an opportunity for wardens to share information with veterinarians or vice versa on dogs being improperly cared for or improperly bred, which leads to congenital defects or infectious disease for the animals. With no other entity legally authorized to enter kennels without a search warrant, these bi-annual inspections are critical to ensuring the dogs can live a healthy life and families don't experience the heartache of losing a dog before it's time.

Private veterinarians, like those who are members of the PVMA, also partner with dog wardens to crack down on illegal kennels based on sick dogs brought into their offices with symptoms or conditions related to improper kennel care and referring owner information to dog wardens.

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