Soon after we finished work on the newsletter you received this morning, the Republicans in Congress took to moving the agenda we have been warning about. So we want to follow up with this update. Please see below!
A NOTE FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR—THE OTHER SHOE DROPS
I’m sure many of you have been following the news in the last few weeks from Washington, DC, with anguish, worry, and despair. We have seen President Trump and his factotum, Elon Musk (or is it the other way around?), engage in a series of illegal and unconstitutional acts. We have seen a cut-off of foreign aid that is already leading to deaths abroad. And we have seen an attack on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs that aim to roll back the all-too-little progress we have made in reducing the barriers that stand in the way of women and Black people.
As I wrote in a short blog post last week, Connecting the Dots, as bad as these actions are, they don’t stand alone. They are meant to push forward the Republican plan to make another round of deep tax cuts that mainly benefit the ultra-rich and wealthy corporations.
And to limit the increase in the budget deficit created mostly by the Trump tax cut scam of 2017, the new tax cut scam will be paid for by deep cuts in Medicaid and SNAP (formerly food stamps.) As we explain in our Federal Fightback fact sheet, these cuts will be deeply damaging to millions of Pennsylvania’s children; adults; and seniors who live in assisted living facilities and nursing homes.
Yesterday, the other shoe dropped. The Republican chairmen of the House and Senate Budget Committee put forward budget resolutions that propose both $4 trillion–$5 trillion in tax cuts and the cuts to Medicaid and SNAP we feared. That’s why we strongly encourage you to TAKE ACTION RIGHT NOW by using our online tool to email your member of the House of Representatives and our two senators to ask them to oppose this budget resolution. More details are below and in the above blog post.
Last Tuesday was PA Budget Day 2025!
Governor Josh Shapiro delivered the annual Budget Address to a joint session of the General Assembly, identifying his priorities for Pennsylvania in 2025-26 and a budget to fund this agenda. We released a statement in response, with PPC executive director Marc Stier calling it “a reasonably progressive budget under the circumstances of constrained resources and deep political uncertainty,” but warning that “a fiscal crisis is coming to our state — not a natural phenomenon, but a choice by governors and legislators in the past and present …” Read the statement to find out what that wrong choice is (and how to fix it in 2025!)
In addition to releasing the statement, Penn Policy hosted a virtual panel discussion shortly after the address, featuring champions in the legislature and allies leading the charge for policies that allow ALL Pennsylvanians survive and thrive! Reps. Josh Siegel (HD 22/Lehigh) and Chris Rabb (HD 200/Phila) joined Priyanka Reyes-Kaura (with Children First) and Kristin Volchansky (with Action Together Northeastern PA) to offer initial reactions to the proposed budget and highlight crucial priorities including education, social services, raising wages, and making free-loading billionaires and greedy corporations pay their fair share. A recording of the discussion and the Q&A can be viewed on PPC’s YouTube channel and Facebook page.
Upcoming Online Events: Get Informed. Get Inspired. Get Involved!
If you missed the opportunity to be part of last week’s live virtual discussion, which included questions submitted by attendees in our Zoom room, there are ample opportunities to join us for informative and interactive online forums throughout 2025!
PA Policy Center’s monthly “Policy Action” series offers a closer look at public policies that impact the lives of Pennsylvanians, featuring leading advocates inviting people to get informed and get active! Our next Policy Action meeting is scheduled for 1PM on Thursday, Feb. 20, when we’ll be taking a deeper dive into the proposed 2025-26 state budget. RSVP for the Zoom login link.
Beginning in March, we’re excited to offer TWO “Policy Action” meetings each month, adding a forum on FEDERAL policies and legislation at 1PM on the FIRST Thursday of each month! We’ll be launching the first of these on THURSDAY AFTERNOON, MARCH 6TH! Space is limited, so register here TODAY!
And we’ll continue to host Policy Action meetings at 1PM on the THIRD Thursday of each month, focusing on the state-level policies and legislation, including state budget negotiations, funding for education, health care, and other vital services, and making PA’s billionaires and wealthy corporations pay their fair share! Stay tuned for info and an RSVP link for the monthly State Policy Action meeting on Thursday, March 20, at 1PM!
Wednesday 3/26! Save the Date and Reserve Your Seat!
2025 People’s Budget Summit & Day of Action
Wednesday, March 26th | 10:30AM – 4PM
PA Capitol Complex, Harrisburg
Join us for our 2025 People’s Budget Summit & Day of Action! This event will include workshops, a press conference, lobby training, and a post-event happy hour nearby. More details and registration link to come. Get more information and RSVP here!
SEND A LETTER! Tell Trump and the GOP Congress NO CUTS to Medicaid and SNAP to pay for tax giveaways for billionaires and wealthy corporations!
Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are planning to extend & expand the 2017 Trump-GOP Tax Scam, giving EVEN MORE to billionaires and greedy corporations, and they want to pay for it by making drastic to Medicaid, CHIP, SNAP, and other programs that provide critical support for millions of Pennsylvanians. In PA, Medicaid provides health care to
• more than 2 million adults.
• more than 1.4 million children (including 200,000 served by CHIP).
• more than 1.4 million people who need mental or behavioral health care.
• more than 400,000 seniors who receive care in nursing homes, assisted living facilities or, in some cases, at home.
• more than 300,000 Pennsylvanians with substance use disorder.
Join Your Neighbors!
LEVITTOWN: Pennsylvanians Together Community Conversation: Healthcare, Federal Tax Changes, and Impacts on Working Families- 6PM, Levittown. More details, here!
PEACEFUL PROTEST OPPORTUNITIES on President’s Day!
PHILADELPHIA: The People Demand Change march in Philadelphia – more information here!
HARRISBURG: 50/50/1 Unite for Democracy march in Harrisburg – learn more here!
PARTNER RESOURCES
We are sharing some of the resources that our allies, Make the Road PA and CASA, have shared related to protecting immigrants (and what to do if you see an ICE raid/presence). Check them out, below.
MTR PA – https://www.instagram.com/p/DFqvAnFRBtg/?img_index=1
CASA – https://www.instagram.com/p/DFYqLduzGi2/?img_index=1
DO YOUR OWN ACTION!
Do you want to do your own action by yourself or with friends to influence members of Congress? Whether you want to visit your members of Congress or hold an education event, a rally or a house party, we can help you organize it and recruit people to attend. Someone on our staff can come out and make a presentation as well. Contact our campaign director Dwayne Heisler at heisler@pennpolicy.org.
Get to Know – Erica Freeman, Pennsylvania Policy Center Deputy Communications Director
Hello, everyone! I’m the deputy communications director at PPC and in addition to editing our reports and materials, I do some writing and manage PPC’s websites as well as our presence on external platforms. (I’ve done the majority of the design work on the websites and our PowerPoint presentations but mostly just leave the design work to PPC’s talented resident professional: our deputy design and digital director, Adrienne.)

Erica Freeman
I began work in public policy after a career of fundraising research in various Philadelphia nonprofits, running my own copy editing business, and working as a copy editor at the Philadelphia Tribune, the nation’s oldest, continuously Black-owned newspaper. Over the years, in addition to having done volunteer editing for the Pennsylvania Prison Society, organizing an anti-Klan rally on Independence Mall, and participating in numerous other activist events, I worry (sometime obsessively) about the amount of the suffering in the world and have to keep my remote at the ready when watching TV because I can’t tolerate the promos about abused and neglected animals.
These days, I watch way too much MSNBC but can’t stop myself, eat a lot of comfort food, dabble in visual art, dream about interior design, and read fanatically. Recently, it’s been horror and suspense novels that distract me the most from the world’s troubles, however temporarily. It’s somewhat of a relief when the state of the nation and the world aren’t quite as frightening as what you’re reading on the pages of a book. I’m thankful, though, to be at the Pennsylvania Policy Center because I know that I’m working to make things better every day, which brings me some peace of mind.
We know there is anger, frustration, and uncertainty abounding in our world, and we are glad you’re here to continue to fight for policies that help all Pennsylvanians thrive. Thank you for your support!
In solidarity,
Marc Stier, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Policy Center and the Pennsylvania Policy Center Team of Adrienne, Castin, Dwayne, Erica, Jeff, Levana, and Kirstin