Click here to subscribe today or Login.
As Gov. Tom Wolf ends his second year in office, he has released his self-evaluation of his performance, listing “a slew of accomplishments” on his key priorities, including funding schools, creating middle-class jobs, fighting the opioid epidemic, reforming state government and working with the legislature to move Pennsylvania forward.
According to an emailed news release from the governor’s office:
Fixing schools
Prior to taking office, Pennsylvania’s poorest schools endured the worst of state budget cuts, so Wolf prioritized restoring funding and enacting a fair funding formula. Working with the legislature, the governor has secured historic increases in his first two years: $465 million more for classrooms to ensure our children have the resources they need to learn, $74.6 million more for early childhood education and intervention, and nearly $100 million more for state-funded universities and community colleges. Wolf also announced the launch of It’s On Us PA – the first statewide campaign to address the crisis of sexual assault in schools and on college campuses.
Creating jobs
In 2016, the Wolf administration secured commitments for creating and retaining more than 200,000 full-time jobs and the investment of nearly $1.1 billion in Pennsylvania’s economy. Shell will create 6,000 full-time construction jobs and 600 permanent positions, Wolf’s investment in the Philadelphia port will create thousands of jobs and Amazon’s expansion will mean 5,000 new, full-time jobs. Wolf also worked to increase employment opportunities for workers and high school students with disabilities. In early 2016, Pennsylvania finally completed the phase-out of our unfair, double taxation of businesses.
Fighting the opioid crisis
Throughout 2016, Wolf traveled to every corner of Pennsylvania to learn how the opioid and heroin crisis was affecting families and communities. He then worked with the legislature to secure $20.4 million in the 2016-17 budget to fund treatment for 45 Centers of Excellence for Pennsylvanians struggling with opioid use disorder. In addition, Wolf worked with the legislature to pass and enact five key bills to decrease opioid abuse, announced more than 1,000 opioid overdoses were reversed with Naloxone and launched Pennsylvania’s prescription drug monitoring program.
Changing Harrisburg
Wolf continued his efforts to make state government more efficient, innovative, responsive and accountable. GO-TIME announced first year savings of $156 million and a new goal of $500 million by 2020. Wolf’s expansion of Medicaid gave health insurance to 700,000 Pennsylvanians, and he fought to save health insurance for 180,000 seniors and 3,600 kids. Department of Human Services reduced the SNAP error rate to save $35 million. Online voter registration reached nearly one million users, PennDOT launched new innovations to improve DMV customer service, DMVA helped find housing for nearly 1,000 homeless veterans, and Pennsylvania launched an extensive review of the state’s criminal justice system.
Legislative victories
Despite historic Republican majorities in the legislature, Wolf worked with the General Assembly to achieve significant victories to move Pennsylvania forward on many issues, including: legalizing medical marijuana and ride-sharing, implementing the most sweeping liquor reforms since Prohibition (including direct shipment of wine, ‘freeing the six-pack’ and wine in grocery stores), expanding unemployment compensation to nearly 50,000 middle-class workers, enabling non-violent offenders to have their records sealed to increase employment opportunities, finalizing new regulations on gas drillers to protect water and land, expanding protections for domestic violence victims, and helping prevent drunk driving with stronger penalties.
Year In Review: Military and Veterans Affairs supports service members, veterans, families
With Pennsylvania having the third largest National Guard and the fourth largest veteran population in the country, the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs this week highlighted a variety of accomplishments that benefited service members, veterans and their families in 2016.
“Whether it’s providing quality service to the commonwealth’s nearly 900,000 veterans and their families, or overseeing and supporting the nearly 20,000 members of the Pennsylvania National Guard, the DMVA has provided the highest level of programs and services that our Guard members and veterans expect and deserve,” said Brig. Gen. Tony Carrelli, Pennsylvania’s adjutant general, said in an emailed news release. “Despite limited staff and budgetary constraints, DMVA has built a stronger Pennsylvania for our veterans to prosper and the Pennsylvania National Guard to maintain its capabilities. Ultimately, we are humbled to work with and serve heroes, including our veterans and those in service in the Pennsylvania National Guard.”
Supporting and honoring Pennsylvania’s veterans
• DMVA coordinated the efforts of multiple stakeholders to place more than 2,500 homeless veterans in permanent housing in 2016. Additionally, during 2016 Philadelphia and Reading/Berks County formally announced that they have the systems in place to successfully meet the needs of homeless veterans in their areas.
• The Veterans’ Trust Fund granted $550,000 to 13 Pennsylvania County Departments of Veterans Affairs Offices and 18 charitable organizations and veterans’ service organizations to assist and support Pennsylvania’s veterans and their families.
• The Veteran Service Officer Grant Program awarded $2.3 million to our Veteran Service Organization partners to improve our ability to provide education, awareness and assistance.
• DMVA also provided more than $5 million in direct payments to our veterans through the various State Veterans Benefits Programs.
• DMVA honored and thanked its Vietnam veterans at 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War Commemoration events. DMVA also partnered with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund “Wall of Faces” program to locate more than 250 photos of Pennsylvania service members who sacrificed their life in the Vietnam War.
• In 2016, DMVA expanded its offering for individuals and businesses to make online donations benefiting veterans which included the Pennsylvania Veterans’ Memorial Trust Fund and the six Veterans Homes Resident Welfare Funds. DMVA received 104 online donations to the nine funds totaling more than $5,000.
Connecting with Pennsylvania’s Veterans
More than 6,000 individuals registered online with DMVA’s Veterans Registry for assistance with obtaining veterans benefits and services and regular updates from DMVA. The Veterans Registry is part of DMVA’s long-term strategy to achieve a higher level of communication with Pennsylvania veterans as well as our partners who support them.
DMVA’s two Mobile Veterans Outreach Vans along with teams of accredited veteran service officers traveled to 157 events across the state and interacted with nearly 3,000 veterans.
Advocating for Pennsylvania’s veterans
Gov. Tom Wolf, along with the Pennsylvania General Assembly, supported the military and veterans community through the passage and enactment of seven bills into law.
These included pay increases for state active duty, exemption of all military pay from local earned income tax, the addition of the Korean War Veterans Association to the State Veterans Commission, enhancement of the Veterans’ Trust Fund and the Veterans’ Emergency Assistance program, and improvements to Soldiers’ Grove and the Medal of Honor Grove on the Capitol grounds.
Additionally, the Pennsylvania Wing of the Civil Air Patrol, U.S. Air Force Auxiliary, was extended the death benefit under the Emergency and Law Enforcement Personnel Death Benefit program.
