Pennsylvania Policy Center 2026 State of the Union Statement
By Felicity A. Williams, Esq., Executive Director, Pennsylvania Policy Center
Last night, President Trump delivered his State of the Union address and declared that prices are “plummeting,” that the economy is “stronger than ever,” and that America is “winning.” But for working families across Pennsylvania, the real state of the union looks very different. In our analysis, grounded in data and in the voices of communities across the Commonwealth, we see rising costs, shrinking supports, and growing uncertainty, not the prosperity described from the podium.
Affordability and the Economy
The President claimed that prices are falling. In reality, the Consumer Price Index rose 2.7% over the last year. Food prices increased by 3.1%. In the Philadelphia region, energy costs rose 10.6%. For a family already stretched thin, that means higher grocery receipts at checkout, higher heating bills in the winter, and less room in the budget for anything unexpected. It means choosing between filling a prescription and filling a tank of gas.
Gas is not below $2.30 in Pennsylvania. As of this week, Pennsylvanians are paying an average of $3.127 per gallon.
Housing costs remain high. SNAP participation is declining, not because families no longer need help but because new paperwork burdens and policy changes are pushing eligible people off assistance. Nearly 2 million Pennsylvanians rely on SNAP today, and roughly 144,000 are projected to lose food assistance under recent changes.
For health care, the situation is even more alarming. After enhanced ACA premium tax credits expired and new administrative barriers were enacted under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, 85,000 Pennsylvanians dropped coverage during Pennie’s Open Enrollment Period. Those who remain enrolled saw average premiums rise by 102%.
Medicaid changes could result in between 375,000 and 576,000 Pennsylvanians losing coverage. These are hundreds of thousands of people in our communities who could lose access to cancer screenings, insulin, mental health care, and pediatric visits. Rural hospitals would face greater financial strain, and providers would be forced to absorb uncompensated care, putting entire local health systems at risk.
That is not affordability. That is instability.
The President may describe an economy thriving for everyone. But when grocery prices are rising, premiums are doubling, and food assistance is shrinking, we cannot allow rhetoric to replace reality.
Strong economies are measured by whether working families feel secure, not by applause lines or stock market headlines.
Immigration
The President once again framed immigration primarily through fear and criminality and called for new federal crackdowns, including renewed attacks on so-called “sanctuary cities” and new restrictions on states.
Pennsylvania communities are strengthened by immigrant families, who are workers, entrepreneurs, caregivers, and taxpayers. Policies that increase fear and instability discourage people from reporting crimes, seeking medical care, or engaging with schools, public institutions, and other aspects of everyday life.
Public safety is not improved when families are pushed into the shadows. It is improved when communities trust institutions and have stable access to work, health care, and education.
We should be focused on pragmatic, humane immigration policy that supports economic growth and respects due process, not policies that destabilize families and local governments, as well as spread fear throughout entire communities.
Voting Access and the SAVE Act
The President repeated claims of rampant voter fraud and called for new proof-of-citizenship requirements through legislation, such as the SAVE Act.
Noncitizen voting in federal elections is already illegal and extraordinarily rare.
What is not rare are the barriers that proof-of-citizenship requirements create for eligible voters. What the SAVE Act would do is require Americans to present documentary proof of citizenship in person when registering to vote or updating their registration. That means millions of eligible voters who register by mail, update their information online, or change addresses could face new bureaucratic hurdles or be forced to navigate complex documentation requirements.
In Philadelphia alone, 478 name-change petitions were processed in 2023. Many married women have last names that do not match their birth certificates. Pew Research finds that 79% of wives in opposite-sex marriages take their husband’s last name.
An estimated 21.3 million American citizens of voting age do not have ready access to documentary proof of citizenship.
Low-income voters, older adults, voters of color, and transgender Pennsylvanians would be disproportionately burdened. In practice, this legislation risks blocking eligible citizens from voting in the name of solving a problem that evidence shows is extraordinarily rare.
The right to vote is the foundation upon which our democracy was founded. Safeguarding elections must never become a pretext for restricting eligible voters’ access to the ballot.
The Real State of the Union
When billionaires receive massive tax breaks, while working families face higher health care premiums or lose coverage entirely, rising grocery bills, and new barriers to the ballot, that is not accidental. It is a set of policy choices.
In Pennsylvania, those choices have real consequences. They show up at kitchen tables, in rural hospitals, in child care centers struggling to hire staff, in small businesses when customers are forced to spend less, and in state budgets bracing for federal cost shifts. The real State of the Union is happening in communities from Allentown to Aspers, Erie to Eagleville, and Pottstown to Pittsburgh—all across Pennsylvania. It is happening in households that are doing everything right and still struggling to keep up.
At the Pennsylvania Policy Center, we are committed to advancing policies that
- protect and expand access to health care.
- ensure families can put food on the table.
- invest in strong public schools.
- secure a livable wage for all.
- advance tax fairness so everyone pays their fair share.
- protect and expand access to the ballot for eligible voters.
- build an economy that works for all of us, not just those at the very top.
The question after last night isn’t about what was said from the podium. It is: What we are willing to do next?
On Thursday, March 5, at 1:00 p.m., we will convene advocates, community members, and policy experts from across Pennsylvania and the nation for our March Federal Policy Action Call: “The REAL State of the Union.”
We will cut through misinformation, provide a clear federal legislative update, expose how billionaire-driven tax and spending priorities are shaping these outcomes, and outline concrete steps to take action through Pennsylvanians Together: For Our Common Wealth.
Because the truth does not live in a speech. It lives in the experiences of the people of Pennsylvania, and we intend to continue lifting those voices.
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