On Tuesday, the first day of the novel legislative session, the Republican-controlled Pennsylvania Senate re-elected Sen. Kim Ward (R-Westmoreland) as Senate President Pro Tempore.
In a speech to the Senate after her uncontested re-election, Ward highlighted what she called “many important items on our agenda in Pennsylvania.”
The issues Ward highlighted included many that Republicans and Democrats have tried to compromise on in the past, including transportation funding, school choice and cost cutting.
And while no specific policy proposals were discussed, Ward’s remarks leaned toward established conservatism – cutting government regulations and spending. Although she acknowledged the need to work with both Democrats in her own chamber and the Democratic majority in the House of Representatives.
“We can do more to help families succeed by cutting red tape and limiting entitlement programs, but we will have to make compromises,” Ward said. “We can do more to put our families and businesses first by going out of our way where we can and providing help where we need it.”
Transport
Ward didn’t mention Philadelphia-area public transit, SEPTA, by name, but he seemed to allude to it. The agency is struggling with funding shortages and has to raise rates to compensate.
“You know, we never have enough money for transportation,” Ward said. She advised her colleagues to “invest wisely and stay competitive.”
Last session, funding for SEPTA and other public transportation was a point of contention between Democrats, who make up the expansive majority of the Philadelphia delegation in both chambers, and Republicans, who favored simultaneously increasing funding for highways, bridges and other transportation infrastructure
The budget included a compromise of $80 million in novel transportation funding, significantly less than the $283 million sought by Gov. Josh Shapiro in his budget proposal, in exchange for an additional $80 million in transportation funding. In November, Shapiro donated $153 million to the struggling transit agency using federal highway funds made up mostly of motor fuel revenues, or the “gas tax.”
Shapiro commits $153 million in federal highway funds to stop SEPTA’s ‘death spiral’
Ward seemed to allude to this in her speech, saying: “It is important that we remain disciplined, use our gas tax revenues as intended, and build a more innovative, modern and realistic network.”
On the other side of Capitol Hill, in the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives, Majority Leader Matt Bradford (D-Montgomery) also addressed funding for transportation agencies in a speech on bipartisanship. He noted that public transportation funding is a problem not only for Philadelphia, but also for residents of the four “collar counties” that make up the larger metropolitan area.
“It is a region of our Commonwealth that provides a significant portion of the revenue and business activity that funds the Commonwealth as a whole,” Bradford said. “We would be remiss. If we don’t address transit, we won’t fulfill our responsibilities.”
Education
Ward also appeared to acknowledge the need for increased funding for “school choice” programs, which allow public funds to supplement private school tuition for some students.
While the last session saw historic increases in public school funding, House Democrats largely blocked increases in school choice funding through programs like vouchers and publicly funded private school grants that Republicans supported.
“When it comes to education, we need to make sure all children are ready to succeed, and not just by making historic investments,” Ward said. She called on lawmakers to ensure children have access to high-quality education “no matter where they live… We owe it to these children.”
In 2023, Shapiro expressed support for increasing school choice funding, though he ultimately withdrew during that year’s budget negotiations after opposition from Democratic lawmakers. The issue resurfaced during last year’s budget negotiations, when Republican Senate leaders accused Shapiro of breaking promises over his previously withdrawn support.
At least one Democratic senator, Sen. Anthony Williams (R-Philadelphia), has expressed support for school voucher funding, citing the quality of public schools in some of the state’s poorer areas, including Philadelphia.
Ward’s counterpart in the House of Representatives, Speaker Joanna McClinton (Philadelphia), who was re-elected to the position on Tuesday, cited last year’s change to the public school funding formula, which included a gigantic budget escalate, as her main bipartisan achievements for the 2023-2023 term. Session 2024.
“We were able to put our differences aside and willingly roll up our sleeves and do the impossible,” McClinton said. “We have created a framework to finally fund every school in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania fairly.”
Health
Ward spoke at length about the need to address public health issues affecting seniors and rural residents.
“Nursing homes are struggling,” Ward said. “They care for our most vulnerable and we all want the residents of these nursing homes to have the best care.”
In addition to struggling nursing homes, Ward founded rural hospitals. Although Ward focused more on highlighting problems than proposing specific policies in her brief speech, she suggested, “Maybe we should resize some of these buildings, hospitals.”
Energy and regulation
Ward also spoke about the need to support the energy sector, pointing to both fossil fuels and renewable resources.
“We have a chance to keep our economy thriving for generations if we work to develop all of the above energy strategies,” Ward said, calling on lawmakers to [embrace] energy potential of our country.”
Speaking more specifically about the government’s role in supporting the renewable energy sector over fossil fuels, Ward said, “we shouldn’t create policies that pick winners and losers.”
Ward also gave particular support to “permit reform,” praising her colleague, Sen. Kristen Phillips-Hill (R-York). Phillips-Hill was a supporter of cuts, as she put it “government bureaucracy” by accelerating the process of obtaining environmental permits for enterprises. And recently she did it called for further enabling reforms in more government agencies.
More broadly, Ward also said lawmakers should “[make] our business tax structure is more favorable.”
“Right Size”
Ward also talked about what she called “rightsizing,” or consolidating resources where possible. As examples, she suggested potentially merging schools with low student enrollments or closing government buildings where few employees regularly work. She also advocated requiring remote workers to return to their offices to justify investment in public offices.
Speaking about government office buildings in her own district, Ward said: “We either have to resize them or put people back to work because it’s a waste of money. I’m sure when I get home I’ll have eggs from everyone who works at home, but whatever.
Despite largely focusing on established conservative solutions to policy problems, Ward repeatedly cited the need for “compromise” with her Democratic colleagues.
“Even though we are not the same party and ideology, we are all here for one fundamental reason,” Ward said. “We came here to make a difference and make things better.”
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