Gov. Wolf visits NEPA to share Pennsylvania’s vaccination success

WILKES-BARRE — Gov. Tom Wolf this week visited Scranton Primary Health Care Center — Lackawanna County’s only federally qualified health center — to tout progress the state is making toward vaccinating eligible Pennsylvanians.

The governor was joined by Rep. Marty Flynn and COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force member Rep. Bridget Kosierowski.

“Pennsylvania is making great progress in our vaccine roll-out,” Gov. Wolf said. “We are committed to getting everyone in Phase 1A vaccinated as soon as possible. We’ve nearly completed vaccinations of our teachers and school staff, and those living and working in long-term care facilities who want a vaccine are getting one.”

Wolf said in the last three and a half months, the state has administered more than 4.6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, and more than 1.6 million Pennsylvanians are fully vaccinated. And another 1.4 million Pennsylvanians have received at least one dose. Approximately 4 million Pennsylvanians are eligible for the vaccine in Phase 1A, and an estimated 75 percent have completed vaccinations.

According to Becker’s Hospital Review, Pennsylvania is ranked number 19 among all states for percentage of COVID-19 vaccines administered. And for the past week, the state ranked number three for number of doses administered per 100,000 residents.

The Department of Health is requiring providers to schedule appointments for all those in Phase 1A by the end of March. And plans continue for all Pennsylvanians to be eligible May 1. The state is also allocating the vaccine supply to the providers most efficient at getting doses into arms.

“We as a state have the infrastructure, have the incredibly talented providers, and the selfless volunteers to get this vaccine into the arms of Pennsylvanians but all of that is limited if there is no physical vaccine to allocate,” Rep. Kosierowski said.

“It is great to be here with the Governor to share the exciting work that Scranton Primary Health is doing to get more vaccinations to more people,” Rep. Flynn said. “We are fortunate to have this pillar of the community as an excellent partner to the commonwealth in this vital effort.”

House Republicans reintroduce

‘Commonwealth’s COVID Comeback’

House Republicans this week unveiled a pro-jobs, pro-families, pro-growth and recovery-focused legislative package designed to achieve a better normal.

The initiative — “Commonwealth’s COVID Comeback” — would incentivize manufacturers and provide protections to small businesses, as well as offer tax and regulatory reform to bring family-sustaining jobs to Pennsylvania.

Rep. Josh Kail (R-Beaver/Washington) said of the initiative, “After the year our job creators and workers have had due to the crisis, we cannot wait any longer to rebuild Pennsylvania. This package of bills is about jobs, families and growth. Taking on these issues now will ensure a stronger future for our children and grandchildren.”

To bring more jobs back to Pennsylvania, Kail’s bill would allow the Commonwealth Financing Authority to designate strategic and targeted zones in the state to be used as the base of operations for manufacturing. Businesses in those zones would receive tax abatements for state and local taxes and would be eligible for targeted job creation tax credits.

The second bill, sponsored by Rep. George Dunbar (R-Westmoreland), would allow job creators to recover and reinvest in Pennsylvania by increasing the net operating loss to 100%. The additional 60% deduction can only be from losses incurred in 2020.

To prioritize workforce development, Rep. Clint Owlett (R-Tioga/Bradford/Potter) drafted legislation that would encourage companies and employers to invest in skilled training and workforce development programs.

Another bill, drafted by Rep. Natalie Mihalek (R-Allegheny/Washington), would provide tax relief to low-income families and foster a climate aimed to assist struggling businesses and attract new business into the Commonwealth by adjusting the special poverty provisions tax exemption thresholds and reducing the Corporate Net Income Tax from 9.99% to 5.99% by Jan. 1, 2025.

Another bill in the package, authored by Rep. Jonathan Fritz (R-Susquehanna/Wayne), would ensure permitting decisions are made promptly and reliably by deeming Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) permit applications administratively complete if accompanied by a professional engineer’s affidavit attesting to the sufficiency of the application. DEP would be required to render a decision on any permit application without an affidavit within 45 days.

The final bill, authored by Rep. Torren Ecker (R-Adams/Cumberland), would help provide for the expedited and efficient resolution of lawsuits arising out of exposure to COVID-19.

Casey, colleagues introduce

bill to protect older workers

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Scranton, Chairman of the Special Committee on Aging, and Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Susan Collins (R-ME) this week re-introduced the bipartisan, bicameral Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act (POWADA).

Casey said enacting POWADA would restore critical protections in the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and make it easier for employees to prove when they are a victim of age discrimination in the workplace. U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA-03), Chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor, introduced a companion bill in the House of Representatives.

In 2009, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Gross v. FBL Financial Services weakened the ADEA by imposing a significantly higher burden of proof on workers alleging age discrimination than is required of workers alleging other forms of workplace discrimination. As a result, workers that allege age discrimination must meet an undue legal burden not faced by workers alleging discrimination based on race, sex, national origin or religion.

“As more Americans are remaining in the workforce longer, we must recognize and address the challenges that aging workers face,” Casey said. “We must make it clear to employers that age discrimination is unacceptable, and we must strengthen anti-discrimination protections that are being eroded. POWADA would level the playing field for older workers and ensure they are able to fight back against age discrimination in the workplace.”

Rep. Boback favors bills assisting

disabled veterans, at-risk youth

Rep. Karen Boback, R-Harveys Lake, this week announced the House passage of bills that would help support disabled veterans and at-risk youth in the Commonwealth.

The bills were previously approved by the House Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee, which Boback chairs.

“One piece of legislation will prevent veterans’ compensation benefits from being counted as income for state programs with income thresholds,” Boback said. “It seeks to offer help to those who have fought for and defended us, which is why I felt it was necessary to reintroduce and push for its passage. I am grateful for the continued support this legislation sees and am eager for its passage in the Senate.”

House Bill 491 amends Title 51 to exclude veterans’ compensation benefits from income calculations for Commonwealth programs. It provides that 100% of a veteran’s disability compensation/pension may not be included as income for any state program. It also extends the exclusion to an unmarried surviving spouse.

House Bill 803 establishes the Keystone State Challenge Academy Account as a restricted receipts account within the General Fund, which may include all monies deposited into the account from appropriations/transfers from the General Fund, private donations and federal funds and appropriated to the PA Department of Military and Veterans Affairs on a continuing basis.

Rep. Toohil’s bill would assist babies

of mothers with postpartum depression

Bipartisan legislation sponsored by Rep. Tarah Toohil (R-Luzerne) that would offer state assistance to the babies of new mothers struggling with postpartum depression (PPD) was overwhelmingly approved by the House Children and Youth Committee this week.

House Bill 200 now moves to the full House for consideration.

Toohil is vice chair of the committee and spoke in support of her bill during the meeting.

“The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that PPD can lead to increased costs of medical care, child abuse and neglect, and can adversely affect a child’s early brain development,” Toohil said. “The academy recommends pediatricians refer the mother and her infant to community services that serve them together. Because of the negative impact of PPD and the risks to infants, this piece of legislation is extremely important.”

Under House Bill 200, mothers at high risk for PPD and their infants who are referred by a physician, health care provider or parent would be automatically eligible for assessment and tracking by Pennsylvania’s Early Intervention programs under the Early Intervention Services System Act. These programs exist in all 67 counties.

Medical experts estimate that 10% to 20% of new mothers experience PPD symptoms, sometimes up to a year after giving birth.