DemCast

Pennsylvania Member of Congress Tracking Report 5-10-2020

Kierstyn Z

Graphic by Kelly Pollock.

Pennsylvania Member of Congress Tracking Report – 05.10.20

This is a 100% volunteer effort brought to you by a handful of progressive Democrats and Independents who share a vision of an informed electorate.  We want to offer a big thank you to Pennsylvania Statewide Indivisible and Demcast organizations who host our report and help us share it out to the residents of our Commonwealth!

Tracking Congress in the Age of Trump

Member of CongressThis week’s scoreChange from last report
Senator Bob Casey (D)29.8%0.0%
Senator Pat Toomey (R)87.9%0.0%
PA-01 Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R)64.5%0.0%
PA-02 Rep. Brendan Boyle (D)13.3%0.0%
PA-03 Rep. Dwight Evans (D)12.2%0.0%
PA-04 Rep. Madeleine Dean (D)4.2%0.0%
PA-05 Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D)6.7%0.0%
PA-06 Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D)5.6%0.0%
PA-07 Rep. Susan Wild (D)8.0%0.0%
PA-08 Rep. Matt Cartwright (D)20.4%0.0%
PA-09 Rep. Dan Meuser (R)98.6%0.0%
PA-10 Rep. Scott Perry (R)89.7%0.0%
PA-11 Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R)95.7%0.0%
PA-12 Rep. Fred Keller (R)95.2%0.0%
PA-13 Rep. John Joyce (R)98.6%0.0%
PA-14 Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R)95.7%0.0%
PA-15 Rep. Glenn W. Thompson (R)98.2%0.0%
PA-16 Rep. Mike Kelly (R)96.4%0.0%
PA-17 Rep. Conor Lamb (D)23.7%0.0%
PA-18 Rep. Mike Doyle (D)15.2%0.0%

Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight website assesses the voting records of our MoCs to provide this index, by comparing any bills where President Trump has stated a position, and comparing the vote of the legislator to that opinion. FiveTHirtyEight has not scored votes since late March.

Want to see exactly what votes went into giving your MoC the numbers above?  Click on the name of any legislator and you will be brought to their 538 webpage, where all of the positions that went into the index are listed in an easy-to-read format.

Votes of Interest  

A Failure to overturn a Trump veto on asserting Congressional War Powers on Iran Hostilities 

Senate Vote to overturn a veto on S.J.Res. 68: A joint resolution to direct the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran that have not been authorized by Congress

Back in February a bipartisan group of four senators (Time Kane of Virginia, Dick Durbin of Illinois, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Mike Lee of Utah) introduced a joint resolution to limit the president’s ability to direct an offensive strike against Iran.  The resolution is built around the opening statement of “Congress has the sole power to declare war under article I, section 8, clause 11 of the United States Constitution.” The measure goes on to affirm that the United States Congress has NOT declared war on Iran, and notes that “more than 100 members of the United States Armed Forces sustained traumatic brain injuries in the Iranian retaliatory attack on the Ain al-Assad air base in Iraq despite initial reports that no casualties were sustained in the attack.”  The closing portions of the resolution read (emphasis added by MoCTrack):

(a) Termination – Pursuant to section 1013 of the Department of State Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1984 and 1985 (50 U.S.C. 1546a), and in accordance with the provisions of section 601(b) of the International Security Assistance and Arms Export Control Act of 1976, Congress hereby directs the President to terminate the use of United States Armed Forces for hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran or any part of its government or military, unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or specific authorization for use of military force against Iran.

(b) Rule of construction – Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the United States from defending itself from imminent attack.

The Senate passed this with a 55-45 vote on February 20, 2020. The House passed this with a 227-186 vote on March 11, 2020 (Pennsylvania MoCs split on party lines).  But President Trump vetoed this resolution on Wednesday, May 6, 2020, and the Senate was unable to get the ⅔ vote needed to overturn that veto.

Vote date: Thursday, May 7, 2020 Vote Tally: 49-44 (failed, ⅔ needed)

Party Breakdown: All Democrats and Independents present voted YES.  They were joined by seven Republicans –  Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Todd Young of Indiana, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, and Mike Lee of Utah. Jerry Moran of Kansas, who had supported this measure in February, was not present for the vote this week.

Additional Reading:

Bob Casey voted YES to overturn the veto and Pat Toomey voted NO to support President Trump.

Senate Confirmation #1 

Senate Confirmation Vote on William R. Evanina to be Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center

William R. Evanina has been filling the position as Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center since the Obama Administration, but he was not officially confirmed until this week.  President Trump nominated him to officially in June 2018, but one senator was holding up the process.  Iowa’s Chuck Grassley had put a hold on this confirmation because the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and the Attorney General had not responded to his oversight requests.  As per The Hill, Sen. Grassley made this statement:

If [they] had simply respected legitimate congressional oversight and their agreements with me and the Judiciary Committee from the beginning, Mr. Evanina would have been confirmed long ago… Let this also be a reminder that when it comes to congressional oversight, I will use all the tools at my disposal to get to the truth of the matter and get access to the records that I believe are necessary to advance my investigations.

But before anyone gets excited about the idea of a Republican senator exerting congressional oversight, know that the documents that Senator Grassley was seeking from the intelligence apparatus before he would lift his hold pertained to… the texts between Peter Strzok and Lisa Page.  Apparently, there were some mentions of Mr. Evanina in those text messages, and Sen. Grassley placed the hold, at least in part, to find out more about how Mr. Evanina was involved with that maligned couple (he wasn’t.)

Vote date: Wednesday, May 6, 2020 Vote Tally: 84-7

Party Breakdown: The seven NO votes were all from Democrats

Additional Reading:

Both Bob Casey and Pat Toomey voted YES

Senate Confirmation #2 

Senate Confirmation Vote on Robert J. Feitel to be Inspector General, Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Mr. Feitel was confirmed to the Inspector General, or oversight watchdog position, at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the body that oversees all of our nation’s nuclear power facilities.  He was nominated last October, after serving for over two decades at the Federal bureau of Investigation and the department of Justice.

THe unanimous vote shows that he is a non-controversial nominee to this position.  Any partisan exchanges over this confirmation vote pertained to why MitchMcConnell was bringing the Senate back into session for the week for a confirmation like this, when the Phase Four coronavirus negotiations and bill writing were  left untouched.

Vote date: Monday, May 4, 2020 Vote Tally: 87-0

Party Breakdown: This was unanimous.


Additional Reading:

Editor’s Note – in general MoCTrack does not like to use the Washington Times in our additional reading recommendations, as it is rated as a  right-of-center “questionable source” by the Media Bias/Fact Check website. But the only other coverage of this confirmation was either paywalled or a press release, so there were few alternatives for those who want additional information.

Both Bob Casey and Pat Toomey voted YES

Unanimously passed legislation

The following concurrent resolution was passed through unanimous consent. There were a handful of other items passed unanimously, but it is the practice of MoCTrack to exclude matters related to post offices, stamps, memorials, awareness weeks and other ceremonial activities.

What coronavirus-related or -adjacent legislation are our MoCs supporting?

Our lawmakers have made many statements about the sort of legislation they want to see, but there’s a big difference between statements and the process of introducing, sponsoring and co-sponsoring bills.  Below you’ll find a rundown of the coronavirus legislation that our lawmakers have put their names on.

The chart below is an attempt to reduce the following 12 pages into a single image. You’ll find that there are many bills out there attempting to tackle those 20 different broad topics listed below, so a lot of detail is lost in the translation. But it should paint a picture of the sort of topics that are attracting our MoCs.

🔵 Senator Bob Casey:

Senator Casey has introduced a handful of new bills related to the coronavirus, the current pandemic or pandemic preparedness:

There are also several pandemic related bills that Sen. Casey has co-sponsored:

🔴 Senator Pat Toomey:

Sen. Toomey has not sponsored any of his own legislation related to the coronavirus, the current pandemic or pandemic preparedness. He has, however, co-sponsored one of his colleague’s legislation on those topics:

🔴 PA-01’s Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick:

Rep. Fitzpatrick has introduced a pair of bills to address issues related to the pandemic:

There are also several pandemic related bills that Rep. Fitzpatrick has co-sponsored:

H.R.6797 – To increase support for State Children’s Health Insurance programs during the COVID-19 emergency (text not available at MoCTrack Report time) Introduced by Rep. Susan WIld (D-PA)

🔵 PA-02’s Rep. Brendan Boyle:

Rep. Boyle has not sponsored any of his own legislation related to the coronavirus, the current pandemic or pandemic preparedness. He has, however, co-sponsored a pair of his colleagues’ legislation on those topics:

🔵 PA-03’s Rep. Dwight Evans:

Rep. Evans has introduced a bill to address issues related to the pandemic:

There are also several pandemic related bills that Rep. Evans has co-sponsored:

🔵 PA-04’s Rep. Madeleine Dean:

Rep. Dean has introduced a bill to address issues related to the pandemic:

There are also several pandemic related bills that Rep. Dean has co-sponsored:

🔵 PA-05’s Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon:

Rep. Scanlon has not sponsored any of her own legislation related to the coronavirus, the current pandemic or pandemic preparedness. She has, however, co-sponsored a number of her colleagues’ legislation on those topics:

🔵 PA-06’s Rep. Chrissy Houlahan:

Rep. Houlahan has introduced a pair of bills to address issues related to the pandemic:

There are also many pandemic related bills that Rep. Houlahan has co-sponsored:

🔵 PA-07’s Rep. Susan Wild:

Rep. Wild has introduced a pair of bills to address issues related to the pandemic:

There are also MANY pandemic related bills that Rep. Wild has co-sponsored:

🔵 PA-08’s Rep. Matt Cartwright:

Rep. Cartwright has introduced one bill to address issues related to the pandemic:

There are also several pandemic related bills that Rep. Cartwright co-sponsored:

🔴 PA-09’s Rep. Dan Meuser:

Rep. Meuser has not sponsored any of his own legislation related to the coronavirus, the current pandemic or pandemic preparedness. He has, however, co-sponsored a pair of his colleagues’ legislation on those topics:

🔴 PA-10’s Rep. Scott Perry:

Rep. Perry has not sponsored any of his own legislation related to the coronavirus, the current pandemic or pandemic preparedness. He has, however, co-sponsored a few of his colleagues’ legislation on those topics:

🔴 PA-11’s Rep. Lloyd Smucker:

Rep. Smucker has not sponsored any of his own legislation related to the coronavirus, the current pandemic or pandemic preparedness. He has, however, co-sponsored one of his colleague’s legislation on those topics:

🔴 PA-12’s Rep. Fred Keller:

Rep. Keller has introduced one bill to address issues related to the pandemic:

There are also several pandemic related bills that Rep. Keller co-sponsored:

🔴 PA-13’s Rep. John Joyce:

Rep. Joyce has not sponsored any of his own legislation related to the coronavirus, the current pandemic or pandemic preparedness. He has, however, co-sponsored a few of his colleagues’ legislation on those topics:

🔴 PA-14’s Rep. Guy Reschenthaler:

Rep. Reschenthaler has introduced two bills during this time of pandemic that don’t directly relate to the health response, but one was clearly influenced by the needs of social distancing, and the other by the political messaging desires of President Trump:

There are no pandemic related bills that Rep. Reschenthaler co-sponsored. However, he has joined onto this bill which seems to be directly influenced by the Republican Party’s strategy of diverting attention from the Trump Administration’s disastrous handling of the pandemic by throwing blame at China

🔴 PA-15’s Rep. Glenn W. Thompson:

Rep. Thompson has introduced two of his own bills to address issues related to the pandemic:

There are also several pandemic related bills that Rep. Thompson co-sponsored:

🔴 PA-16’s Rep. Mike Kelly:

Rep. Kelly has not sponsored any of his own legislation related to the coronavirus, the current pandemic or pandemic preparedness. He has, however, co-sponsored one of his colleague’s legislation on those topics:

🔵 PA-17’s Rep. Conor Lamb:

Rep. Lamb has not sponsored any of his own legislation related to the coronavirus, the current pandemic or pandemic preparedness. He has, however, co-sponsored many of his colleague’s legislation on those topics:

🔵 PA-18’s Rep. Mike Doyle

Rep. Doyle has not sponsored any of his own legislation related to the coronavirus, the current pandemic or pandemic preparedness. He has, however, co-sponsored many of his colleague’s legislation on those topics:

MoC Twitter Action

Courtesy of contributor Helen a.k.a. @ElastigirlVotes

Twitter Action – Pandemic

🔵 Senator Bob Casey, @SenBobCasey, 05/07/20:

“Reminder that the President and Republicans in Congress are STILL trying to dismantle the Affordable Care Act and rip away pre-existing condition protections – in the middle of a public health emergency. #DropTheLawsuit #ProtectOurCare”

🔴 Senator Pat Toomey, @SenToomey, 05/07/20:

“Our nation’s nursing homes face extraordinary challenges right now. See@SenBobCasey’s & my op-ed in the @mcall on what we must do to protect the lives of nursing home workers & residents.” Tweet includes link to article in The Morning Call.

🔴 PA-01’s Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, @RepBrianFitz, 05/08/20:“Community First. I am fighting for our local community hospitals to have access to Remdesivir, to allow our local healthcare professionals to provide the best possible treatment for those who have tested positive for #COVID19 in our community.” Tweet includes link to Bucks County Courier Times article.

🔵 PA-02’s Rep. Brendan Boyle, @CongBoyle, 05/03/20:“The CDC just added to the list of official #COVID19 symptoms. In response, Philadelphia has expanded the parameters that qualify people for a test. You can learn more below.” Tweet includes link to CDC website.

🔵 PA-03’s Rep. Dwight Evans, @RepDwightEvans, 05/08/20:

“The virus doesn’t care how anyone FEELS.

AMERICA.

NEEDS.

TESTING!”

🔵 PA-04’s Rep. Madeleine Dean, @RepDean, 05/08/20:“We are battling a pandemic that claimed more than 75,000 lives. Yet Trump is pushing to suspend healthcare for 20M Americans. People are dying, Mr. President, throw out your case, there could not be a worse time to tear down the ACA & its protections.” Tweet includes link to a Washington Post article.

🔵 PA-05’s Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, @RepMGS, 05/07/20:

“I know that this has been an incredibly challenging time filled with uncertainty. We have compiled a list of resources available to constituents during #COVID19 below. If you have any questions, please call our office at 610-626-2020. We are here to help.”Tweet includes link to Medium article.

🔵 PA-06’s Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, @RepHoulahan, 05/04/20:“I’m proud to support @UNFPA and grateful for their efforts to protect women and girls around the world from increased rates of gender-based violence during this pandemic.” Tweet includes link to Forbes article.

🔵 PA-07’s Rep. Susan Wild, @RepSusanWild, 05/05/20:

“My mask protects you, your mask protects me.Making sure all workers have access to the PPE (masks, hand sanitizer, thermometers, etc.) they need to stay safe is critical Get connected with Pennsylvanians who can lend a hand (or in this case, a mask)” Tweet includes link to Pennsylvania website.

🔵 PA-08’s Rep. Matt Cartwright, @RepCartwright, 05/04/20:“There are now over 20 #COVID19 testing sites in northeastern Pennsylvania. Each has their own guidelines on how, where and when you can get tested, so be sure to call ahead or check online before visiting. “ Tweet includes link to a Times-Tribune article.

🔴 PA-09’s Rep. Dan Meuser, @RepMeuser, 05/07/20:

“ATTN PA Nursing Homes: @fema

 is coordinating two shipments totaling a 14-day supply of PPE to more than 15,000 nursing homes across the nation. The first shipment is being sent this week, while the second is expected to begin in early June.” Tweet includes link to FEMA website.

🔴 PA-10’s Rep. Scott Perry, @RepScottPerry, 05/07/20:

“On this #NationalDayOfPrayer, we continue to seek guidance from God – especially in these times of challenge and strife. We pray for the souls lost to sickness, and all on the frontlines of the battle against those who wish to do us harm. May God continue to bless and keep you.”

🔴 PA-11’s Rep. Lloyd Smucker, @RepSmucker, 05/09/20:

“Many Americans have received their Economic Impact Payments. However, some have been delivered to family members that have died. Click Q.10 & Q.41 to learn how to rectify the issue with the IRS. For a full list of answers to questions visit https://irs.gov/coronavirus/economic-impact-payment-information-center.”

🔴 PA-12’s Rep. Fred Keller, @RepFredKeller, 05/09/20:

“The small business owners, their employees, have really built this economy that we had before the invisible enemy struck…If we give them the guidance and the guidelines, they’ll be able to do it and make sure they are operating safely.” Tweet includes link to The Daily Review.

🔴 PA-13’s Rep. John Joyce, @RepJohnJoyce, 05/03/20:

“After weeks of costly sacrifices to protect our neighbors, Pennsylvanians have done our part to stop the spread of #coronavirus and to save lives. It’s time for @GovernorTomWolf to let us get back to work.”

🔴 PA-14’s Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, @GReschenthaler, 05/09/20:

“COMING UP: I will be joining America’s News Headquarters with @LelandVittert to discuss reopening Pennsylvania’s economy and China’s role in #COVID19. Tune in at noon on 

@FoxNews”

.

🔴 PA-15’s Rep. Glenn W. Thompson, @CongressmanGT, 05/01/20:

“While I’m pleased the Governor is moving many counties from red to yellow status, there needs to be a concerted effort to reopen businesses in those counties that have not experienced new #COVID19 cases in weeks.”  Tweet includes link to Governor Wolf’s website.

🔴 PA-16’s Rep. Mike Kelly, @MikeKellyPA, 05/06/20:

“Happy #NationalNursesDay to all nurses. We are grateful for all that you are doing to help those struggling with COVID-19 and all you did before this pandemic and will do after it passes. Thanks for selflessly serving our families, friends, and neighbors!”

🔵 PA-18’s Rep. Mike Doyle, @USRepMikeDoyle, 05/05/20:

“Many families don’t know where to turn for help during #COVID19.@NEXTPittsburgh has compiled a guide to finding food, housing, financial, and health assistance in #PGH that you may find useful.”  Tweet includes link to Next Pittsburgh.

Twitter Action – Corruption/ Pandemic Malfeasance 

🔵 Senator Bob Casey, @SenBobCasey, 05/05/20:

“The complaint raises serious concerns that the Trump Administration is playing political games with the health of the American people. If confirmed, these allegations involve the worst kind of cronyism—that which puts human life in jeopardy.”

🔵 PA-02’s Rep. Brendan Boyle, @RepBrndanBoyle, 05/07/20:

“We should be strengthening #SocialSecurity, not giving a payroll tax cut to corporations. I’m proud to join @RepJohnLarson on the Emergency Social Security Benefits Improvement Act to help our seniors during the #COVID19 crisis. #ExpandSocialSecurity”

Tweet includes link to Bloomberg article.

🔵 PA-03’s Rep. Dwight Evans, @RepDwightEvans, 05/04/20:

“We could use this money for things like:

✅ Testing

✅ PPE and hazard pay for frontline workers

✅ Help for small businesses

✅ Aid to state & local governments & the Postal Service”

🔵 PA-04’s Rep. Madeleine Dean, @RepDean, 05/08/20:

“Instead of focusing on getting the country through this pandemic, the President and AG Barr are corruptly focused on helping their friends. 

Gen. Flynn pled guilty to lying to the FBI. It is an assault on our rule of law to drop the charges. I’ll say again, AG Barr should resign

This is a blatant attempt to rewrite the history of this administration’s wrongdoing. But, history has a way of remembering it accurately. Historians write history, not “winners.””

🔵 PA-05’s Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, @RepMGS, 05/07/20:

“Michael Flynn lied to the FBI.

Michael Flynn admitted it. 

Michael Flynn is not above the law…unless he broke the law for Donald Trump.”

Tweet includes link to New York Times article.

🔵 PA-06’s Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, @RepHoulahan, 05/06/20:

“I encourage everyone to listen to today’s Supreme Court Case. Our 

@JoshShapiroPA is working to protect the #AffordableCareAct. It is critical, especially in a pandemic, that we fight for every American to have access to affordable and quality health care.”

      Tweet included live link to Supreme Court oral arguments.

🔵 PA-07’s Rep. Susan Wild, @RepSusanWild, 05/06/20:

“Endangering the health care of millions in the middle of a pandemic is pure politics > policy. Millions of Pennsylvanians rely on ACA protections & in this extreme hour of need they cannot be ripped away. 

This lawsuit needs to be dropped.”

Tweet includes link to Representative Wild’s website.

🔵 PA-08’s Rep. Matt Cartwright, @RepCartwright, 05/07/20:

“In a pandemic, *voluntary* safety guidelines for workplaces are not enough, especially as #COVID19 outbreaks have temporarily shuttered food production facilities across the U.S., including in #NEPA. Today, my colleagues and I called on @OSHA_DOL to step up their enforcement.”

🔵 PA-17’s Rep. Conor Lamb, @RepConorLamb, 05/05/20:

“.@CMSGov needs to immediately increase the frequency of inspections in nursing homes & long-term care facilities. Today my colleague @USRepMikeDoyle joined me in a letter to urge prompt action. #PA17”  Tweet includes link to Representative Lamb’s website.

🔵 PA-18’s Rep. Mike Doyle, @USRepMikeDoyle, 05/06/20:

“Our nation needed a strong federal response to #COVID19. @POTUS assigned a team of inexperienced volunteers to buy emergency medical equipment. They ignored established suppliers and pursued leads from cronies and political allies of @realDonaldTrump”Tweet includes link to Washington Post article.

Tweet of the Week

🔵 Senator Bob Casey, @SenBobCasey, 05/08/20:

“Today Ahmaud Arbery should be celebrating his 26th birthday. His family deserves full accountability and justice for a life lost too soon.”

🔴 Senator Pat Toomey, @SenToomey, 05/06/20:

“We are currently experiencing technical difficulties, but will be live again in a minute.”

🔴 PA-01’s Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, @RepBrianFitz, 05/05/20:

“Yesterday, I led a bipartisan effort w/ @HouseForeign Chair @RepEliotEngel, RM @RepMcCaul & @RepStephMurphy calling to extend the Iran Arms Embargo. The @StateDept must renew the embargo & travel restrictions on those aiding Iran’s proliferation pursuits.”Tweet includes link to Radio Farda article.

🔵 PA-02’s Rep. Brendan Boyle, @CongBoyle, 05/08/20:

“This #NationalNursesWeek, I stand in solidarity with nurses across the nation as they demand the protections they need to do their jobs safely during the #COVID19 crisis. We need more PPE to #ProtectNurses who are on the front lines of this global fight.”Tweet includes link to Business Insider Article.

🔵 PA-03’s Rep. Dwight Evans, @RepDwightEvans, 05/08/20:

“Children in #Philly can visit any City Health Center to receive immunizations, even without an appointment: https://phila.gov/services/mental-physical-health/city-health-centers/ 

Here’s information on why keeping kids’ vaccines up to date is important:

https://vitals.lifehacker.com/why-you-need-to-keep-your-kids-vaccines-up-to-date-righ-1843170208”Tweet includes link to City of Philadelphia website.

🔵 PA-04’s Rep. Madeleine Dean, @RepDean, 05/07/20:

“I will not stop pushing for direct support for small businesses in our next relief package. 

In the meantime, I am thankful the @MontcoPA commissioners announced $5M in economic development funds for small businesses. “

Tweet includes link to Montgomery County website.

🔵 PA-05’s Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, @RepMGS, 05/06/20:

“Reproductive rights are human rights. 

Period. 

Grateful to @PAAttorneyGen for defending these rights. 

#HandsOffMyBC”

🔵 PA-06’s Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, @RepHoulahan, 05/06/20:

“I was grateful to spend a couple hours volunteering with them last week and assist with their effort to #GetGrowingChesterCounty.

Even in dark times, there are always moments of light, reminding us we will get through this by being #InThisTogether”

🔵 PA-07’s Rep. Susan Wild, @RepSusanWild, 05/07/20:

“Today, I was happy to join @PPLElectric as the keynote speaker for their Mental Health Lunch. 

#MoreThanEverBefore, our mental health deserves the same attention as our physical health. It’s okay to ask for help when you need it. We all do better when we see we are not alone.”

🔵 PA-08’s Rep. Matt Cartwright, @RepCartwright, 05/08/20:

On this 75th anniversary of the Nazi surrender in Europe, we honor those who fought to deliver this victory. In this challenging time, let it also be a reminder of what we can do when we put our differences aside and work together in pursuit of a common and worthy goal. #VEDay75

🔴 PA-09’s Rep. Dan Meuser, @RepMeuser, 05/08/20:

“Today marks the 75th anniversary of VE Day. We humbly and gratefully thank the great Americans that defeated tyranny and evil and delivered democracy and freedom to their future generations!”

🔴 PA-10’s Rep. Scott Perry, @RepScottPerry, 05/06/20:

“Thank you to our NURSES – our heroes – for their compassion, care, and tireless dedication to keeping our communities safe. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for all that you do for us, our communities, and our families. #ThankYouNurses #NationalNursesWeek”

🔴 PA-11’s Rep. Lloyd Smucker, @RepSmucker, 05/07/20:

“Today, lets pray for the doctors, nurses, senior living facility staff and everyone fighting COVID-19. We will get through this and the power of prayer will help us. May God bless America.”

🔴 PA-12’s Rep. Fred Keller, @RepFredKeller, 05/08/20:

“I’ll be on Tipping Point with @Liz_Wheeler on @OANN tonight in the 9:00 p.m. ET hour talking about the D.C. swamp being exposed for trying to tear down President @realDonaldTrump by any means necessary just because he wanted to take their power and return it to the people! “

🔴 PA-13’s Rep. John Joyce, @RepJohnJoyce, 05/06/20:

“As we kick off #NursesWeek, I am grateful for the tireless dedication of the nurses in Pennsylvania and across the country – not just during this coronavirus outbreak, but every day. Thank you for your hard work to serve American patients!’

🔴 PA-14’s Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, @GReschenthaler, <date>:

“Today I joined @RealDonaldTrump, @GOPLeader & other @HouseGOP members at the White House. I thanked him for holding China and WHO accountable for their role in #COVID19. Additionally, I spoke to the problems we’re having with Gov Wolf’s one-size-fits-all shutdown of our economy.” Tweet includes video.

🔴 PA-15’s Rep. Glenn W. Thompson, @CongressmanGT, <date>:

“The positive impact nurses have on our communities cannot be overstated. They risk exposure to care for our loved ones and we are indebted to them for their sacrifice. I’m grateful for their service always, particularly during #COVID19. #NursesWeek2020”

Tweet includes link to The Bradford Era article.

🔴 PA-16’s Rep. Mike Kelly, @MikeKellyPA, 05/04/20:

“Thank you to @CommerceGov for opening a 232 investigation of imported electrical steel products. As the last electrical steelmaker in the U.S., Butler, PA-based AK Steel is crucial to our national security. My statement on @SecretaryRoss’ announcement: 

https://kelly.house.gov/press-release/rep-kelly-commends-department-commerce-opening-232-investigation-imported-electrical”

🔵 PA-17’s Rep. Conor Lamb, @RepConorLamb, 05/05/20:

“Thank you to all of the #PA17 teachers who are going above and beyond to serve their students during these challenging times. #TeacherAppreciationWeek #ThankATeacher”

🔵 PA-18’s Rep. Mike Doyle, @USRepMikeDoyle, 05/07/20:

“.@SenateMajLdr doesn’t think we need this legislation? Black Americans are STILL being killed by violent racists. In February, I voted for the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act to make lynching a federal crime. @SenateMajLdr standing in the way of justice for so many victims.”

Casey in the News 

Courtesy of contributor Linda Houk

Since it has been so long since we have had a media coverage section, a lot of these statements from Senator Casey have been used in multiple sources across the past few weeks.  Linda was kind enough to note when she saw one comment in many places.

“Many of these rural hospitals are operating at close to negative margins to begin with… What we could not secure was in law, in statute, a specific outline or determination as to how that money would be spent.”

—from an article in WENY News titled “New York to receive over $600 million in new hospital funding” – also seen in 2 other articles

“I’m certainly open to those ideas because we may have to codify this beyond just the pandemic premium provision… There may be reason to codify or enlarge the scope of this based upon the crisis itself.”

… “wouldn’t be able to reach the millions of workers that should be provided this just measure of compensation.”

—from an article in WTAE Action News titled “Senators Casey, Toomey say they are open to discussing legislation on essential worker hazard pay” – also seen in 1 other article

“Republicans talk about it (Medicaid) as a problem to be managed. That’s the official Republican position for many years now. They want to end Medicaid expansion. When you cut Medicaid, you not only hurt health care, you are losing jobs.”

“We need more Democrats to win elections. That is the political battle ahead of us as far as Medicaid and other political battles.”

—from an article in the Williamsport Sun-Gazette titled “Senator Bob Casey speaks out on behalf of Medicaid” 

“I am pleased that Pennsylvania will receive more than $8.1 million to help our public housing authorities provide safe, clean, reliable housing to the communities.”

“83 different housing authorities across the Commonwealth will be able to use funding from the Housing Choice Voucher program to ensure they can meet emerging needs during the COVID-19 pandemic and maintain existing programs. Housing insecurity is among the challenges worsened by this crisis and these grants come at a time when families and individuals need assistance most.”

—from an article in the Bradford Era titled “Casey announces funds for housing authorities” – also seen in 3 other articles

“Pennsylvania’s nurses are fighting on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, making sacrifices to help their patients every day.”

“They spend tireless hours caring for those sickened with the virus, risking their own health to care for others. Our nurses are heroes, and I will continue fighting to ensure that all of our health care workers caring for COVID-19 patients receive premium pay, as well as the resources they need to fight this pandemic.”

—from an article in the Bradford Era titled “Officials offer thanks to nurses for National Nurses Week” 

“This is a positive but long overdue step which must now be carried through to ensure the United States does not lose its last remaining electrical steel manufacturer. For two years, I have been calling on this Administration to take action on electrical steel cores and laminations. I’m glad they’re finally paying attention to an issue on which several senators have repeatedly urged action.”

—from an article in the Pennsylvania Business Report titled “US Commerce Dept launches investigation into steel component imports that impact AK Steel”

“We can not simply pat them on the back and say thank you. That’s not enough. We’ve got to provide them a tangible benefit.”

—from an article in WTAE Action News titled “WTAE Action News” – also seen in 4 other articles

“Republicans were happy to provide a tax giveaway to the super-rich and biggest corporations in 2017, which is expected to drive up the deficit by $1.9 trillion over ten years,” he said in an email to The Center Square on Wednesday. “And yet, decades of disinvestment in local, state and federal governments has left us unable to do the basic things that many other countries are doing for their citizens during this pandemic. We need governments that are resourced to respond to the needs of the people, in good times and in bad times.”

—from an article in Tioga Publishing titled “Pennsylvania governor prefers more federal coronavirus aid to bankruptcy”

“This virus spares no state, no county, no facility. The unprecedented crisis unfolding in our nation’s nursing homes demands an immediate, extraordinary response. Reports indicate nursing home residents and workers account for roughly 1 in 4 deaths from COVID-19 in the United States.” 

“The Nursing Home COVID-19 Protection and Prevention Act would provide $20 billion in emergency funding to devise a sorely needed national, coordinated response to stem the spread of this terrible virus in nursing homes and intermediate care facilities.” 

— from an article in the Press & Journal titled “Sen. Casey bill would provide $20 billion to nursing homes in U.S. to fight coronavirus”

Toomey in the News 

Courtesy of contributor Elayne Baker

“All of government necessarily depends on having an economy. “Endless government spending is just not sustainable.”  

— from an article in The Daily Item titled “Expert: Consumers need to feel safe before economy will fully reopen”

“The Chinese Communist Party should have responded to the outbreak of COVID-19 with transparency. Instead, the CCP has consistently lied, spread disinformation, and withheld important facts and data about COVID-19, contributing to the virus’s spread and severity. This sanctions bill would allow the United States to hold accountable members of the CCP who deliberately lied and silenced doctors on the ground in Wuhan.” 

— from a CBS 21 article titled “Sen. Toomey: Hold those accountable that lied, silenced doctors in China”

Senator Toomey also provided an interview to Breitbart on May 8th, and they published the contents in their article titled “Exclusive – Sen. Pat Toomey Calls for Reopening America Faster: ‘Danger’ of Coronavirus to Most Americans Overstated.” It is so chock full of PEAK PATSY content that we are including it below, in full.

Exclusive – Sen. Pat Toomey Calls for Reopening America Faster: ‘Danger’ of Coronavirus to Most Americans Overstated

“Let me start with my starting premise and that is there was a very specific reason why we shut down our economy,” Toomey told Breitbart News on Friday. “Think about how drastic and draconian a step that was. It was completely unprecedented in American history to just forbid economic activity. We did it for one reason. That was to slow down the rate of the transmission of the virus, not to stop it altogether—nobody thought that was possible, but to slow it down so that we wouldn’t have such a rapid surge of sick people that they would overwhelm our hospitals’ capacity to treat them. That was the reason. It is now absolutely clear that there is no danger of overwhelming our hospitals. In fact, the vast majority of hospitals in Pennsylvania are mostly empty. UPMC is the biggest hospital system in all of Pennsylvania, and one of the bigger systems in the country. They have 5,500 hospital beds. They have 40 COVID patients. So, there is no chance of overwhelming the hospitals. Therefore, since the whole reason of depriving everyone in Pennsylvania of an income and a livelihood is no longer a risk, why are we still doing it?”

“We need to get on with the business of reopening our economy,” Toomey said. “Here’s another very important factor in all of this, it’s now increasingly obvious what was not entirely obvious when this outbreak began and that is this is a disease of the elderly and the ill. In Pennsylvania, 68 percent of all fatalities have happened inside nursing homes. So it’s the most vulnerable subset of the most vulnerable subset—in other words, the nursing home residents of the elderly population, those are the ones who are extremely vulnerable. By all means, we should be doing everything we can to protect them. But the vast majority of people are not vulnerable. So I’ve advocated a phased reopening of our economy. I think that actually most of Pennsylvania, a large majority of Pennsylvania, could be substantially reopened. We’re not moving as quickly as we should and could and need to to allow people to restore their livelihoods.”

“I think that’s hard to say and I don’t want to speak for him,” Toomey said when asked if Wolf is denying the scientific data that is informing his push to reopen Pennsylvania faster. “The science is an essential ingredient in our decision-making, in our input, but it doesn’t have the answer. The question that we’re posing is how do we weigh these tradeoffs between a maybe slightly lower rate of infection that’s going to happen anyway if we stay locked down versus all the carnage we’re doing by virtue of staying locked down including increases in diseases of despair like depression and alcohol and drug abuse and suicide that comes from people who have lost their livelihoods and lost their prospects of getting a job? How about all the businesses who are failing and will never come back? Medical science doesn’t have an opinion about how you weigh those things. But for elected officeholders, that’s our job—to weigh these competing claims or demands or interests and try to make a judgment about how to go forward. I think we are not making a good judgment about that right now, because we’re overstating the danger of the virus—that’s not to minimize it. Obviously, it’s lethal for people who are vulnerable to it. But it’s not lethal to everyone and in fact it’s not lethal to the vast majority of people. The danger is we’re overstating the risks of that, and we’re underestimating the damage that’s being done by a closed economy and I’m trying to strike what I think is an appropriate balance.”

“I think it really varies state by state,” Toomey said when asked if he expects others in Congress to follow his idea of offering a counter-plan to the governor’s plan. “There’s states that have had virtually no impact at all from the coronavirus and other states have been hit hard and governors have responded very differently. I would say it really depends on the state.”

“In my case, I began working on my plan because the governor had not released one. There was no plan,” Toomey said. “And, I completed my plan and announced that I would be releasing it the next day, and that afternoon that we started lining up the press conference for the following day the governor then announced a press conference that night and he then released a plan. Well, okay, that’s good and that’s progress. But part of the impetus of my doing a plan is because Pennsylvania did not have one. Then the reason I’ve continued to weigh in on this is I think our governor’s plan moves just way too slowly. Look, as you know, having never been through this before, there’s no plan on the shelf. Nobody ever contemplated the government shutting down our economy. It’s just so bizarre and so unprecedented. So there’s no plan for how you restore the economy. I think it’s something we’ve got to have a vigorous debate about, and I feel like I have a point of view and I have an opportunity to get input from a tremendous wide range of really valuable sources all over Pennsylvania and beyond and so I’ve got a responsibility to lay out a vision, a process, a mechanism by which we restore our ability to have a livelihood.

Call to Action – Support this Bill! 

H.R. 5687: Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief and Puerto Rico Disaster Tax Relief Act

The pandemic is affecting each and every person on earth, so of course it is taking up a huge proportion of the news environment.  But it also means that some truly newsworthy issues are not getting the attention they deserve.  This is one of them.

Last weekend Puerto Rico was hit by another large earthquake on the southern part of the island.  This is after that same area spent the better part of January suffering from hundreds of quakes, and they hadn’t even fully recovered from Hurricane Maria!  This whole situation is worsened by COVID, too – because you can’t shelter at home in safety when your home has crumbled around you!

In February, the House passed an emergency aid package to help Puerto Rico – H.R. 5687 – but like so many other bills, it is just gathering dust while Mitch McConnell and the GOP lawmakers in the Senate ignore it. We need to call Senator Toomey and tell him that we expect him to help our fellow Americans, and we want to see H.R. 5687 get a vote in the Senate!

SCRIPT: Puerto Rico has experienced another earthquake while waiting for the Senate to take up H.R. 5687, to provide them with aid to recover from the disaster in January.  The House passed this bill months ago!  I want Senator Toomey to work with his GOP colleagues to bring H.R. 5687 up for a vote!

Please call, tweet, email, fax or Resistbot this messaging to Senator Toomey THIS WEEK!

This report was brought to you by the Pennsylvania  MoCTrack team… 

CC

Elayne Baker 

Gary Garb
Helen aka @ElastigirlVotes
Linda Houk

Kierstyn Piotrowski Zolfo

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