Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf stopped in Reading, PA, on Thursday, April 28th, to promote his American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funded $500 million PA Opportunity Program. If passed, the new proposal would provide $2,000 to select households in Pennsylvania.
“My administration has done a lot of hard work to get the commonwealth in a good place financially,” said Gov. Wolf. “Together, we’ve built a solid foundation we can build on for a better future and can afford to invest in Pennsylvanians. Times are tough right now as prices have gone up on everything from gas to groceries, and I’m here to talk about solutions. I support long-term solutions to better support working families, like raising the minimum wage, but I’m also proposing a solution to help Pennsylvanians get back on their feet right now.”
The bill faces an uncertain future in the Republican-controlled state congress. If passed, it will provide $2000 to Pennsylvania households earning $80,000 or less annually. The stimulus helps to offset the financial struggles that Pennsylvanians are currently facing due to Covid-19 and the rapidly increasing cost of living.
“Right now, there are billions of dollars in federal COVID-19 funds that could be helping people in Reading and all over the state, but instead, the money is locked up in a government vault helping nobody,” said Rep. Guzman. “This money belongs to the people and belongs in their pockets so they can decide how to spend it in the community, multiplying the power of each dollar and helping workers, helping kids, helping seniors, helping small local businesses, and building a better future. While we’ve made tremendous strides against COVID-19 from both a public health and economic perspective, many folks are still grappling with the aftermath of a once-in-a-generation pandemic. I call on my colleagues to act on Gov. Wolf’s plan of delivering direct payments to working Pennsylvanians to further ease the financial hardships of the last several years.”
“The commonwealth is currently in a strong position financially, but that doesn’t mean our economy has fully recovered from the COVID-19 recession,” said Senator Judy Schwank. “The PA Opportunity Program would put American Rescue Plan Act relief dollars into the pockets of the Pennsylvanians most in need and help offset costs associated with childcare, housing, and other necessities so many are struggling to manage.”
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