A Tale of Two Chambers in Pennsylvania

Originally published in The Mercury

The Pennsylvania General Assembly is currently a Dickensian tale of two chambers. One chamber — the Senate — exemplifies the best of the times: bipartisanship, collegiality, and good-faith negotiation. Meanwhile, the other chamber — the House — embodies the worst of times: partisanship, dysfunction, and inaction.

Though these chambers are down the hall from each other in the capitol building, the two seem worlds apart.

The Pennsylvania Senate recently achieved something rare: common ground on education funding. Amending House Bill (HB) 301, the Senate added $150 million to the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) programs — the largest increase to both school choice scholarship programs since their inception. This expansion could have helped more students trapped in failing schools find a better educational alternative.

Read more in The Mercury