Newsletter Archive

The Rising Cost of Obamacare Recent news of skyrocketing health insurance premium increases shows that Obamacare's broken promises are hurting Pennsylvanians. Supporters of the health care law said it would lower insurance premiums by $2,500, but premiums for Obamacare plans continue to go up. Faced with double-digit rate hikes next year, many Pennsylvanians will have to... Read More

Bipartisan Effort to Safeguard the Health of Pennsylvanians Senator Bob Casey, several members of the Pennsylvania Congressional delegation, and I recently sent a bipartisan letter to the Secretary of the Navy and the Secretary of the Air Force about the quality of drinking water available to residents who live near the Willow Grove Naval Air Station and Warminster's Naval... Read More

Protecting Horses from Cruel Treatment Good afternoon, Knowing of your interest in animal welfare issues, I wanted to update you on recent actions I have taken to protect horses from abuse. Last year, I cosponsored the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act, a bipartisan bill authored by my colleagues Senators Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.). The PAST Act will... Read More

Fighting for Victims of Crime October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. I held a roundtable discussion this week in Lancaster County with victim advocates from across central Pennsylvania to discuss how we can continue working together to help those harmed by domestic violence and other crimes. One issue we focused on was our successful effort to increase available... Read More

Justice for 9/11 Families Almost three weeks ago, I was in Somerset County, Pennsylvania celebrating the bravery of the heroes of United Flight 93 who gave their lives on September 11 to save an unknown number of others. We owe these heroes an immeasurable debt. It is one I feel personally. Like many, I believe that the target of Flight 93 was the U.S Capitol, where I was... Read More

Holding Wells Fargo Accountable What we've been learning about the Wells Fargo scandal is deeply disturbing on so many levels. We discovered that Wells Fargo had a sales culture that was blatantly contrary to what is best for its customers. We also discovered that the bank's management had far too few commonsense controls in place to prevent further abuse. What happened at... Read More

Protecting Animals Good morning, Knowing of your interest in animal welfare issues, I wanted to update you on bipartisan legislation that would outlaw a heinous form of animal abuse known as "crushing," where deranged individuals maim and torture animals. It's called the Prevent Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act, and it would be the first ever federal law to grant all... Read More

Fighting Dangerous Sanctuary City Policies Too many Americans have fallen victim to crime due to dangerous sanctuary city policies. Tragically, a young child in Philadelphia has now been added to the list. On July 26, Philadelphia police arrested Ramon Aguirre-Ochoa, a 45-year old Honduran national in the U.S. illegally, for raping a child under the age of 13. This man... Read More

Honoring the Brave Men and Women Aboard Flight 93 Yesterday, I attended a remembrance ceremony at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset County to honor the brave men and women aboard United Airlines Flight 93 who saved American lives. I want to share with you the remarks I delivered to those in attendance, and you can watch the video by clicking here. Thank you... Read More

Stopping Deadly Opioid Imports from China I have been working with law enforcement officials, community leaders, and medical professionals to help stop prescription painkiller and heroin abuse. It is a serious and growing problem in Pennsylvania. In July, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said heroin overdose deaths are up more than 20 percent in the commonwealth.... Read More

Stopping Deadly Opioid Imports from China I have been working with law enforcement officials, community leaders, and medical professionals to help stop prescription painkiller and heroin abuse. It is a serious and growing problem in Pennsylvania. In July, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said heroin overdose deaths are up more than 20 percent in the commonwealth.... Read More

Future Military Leaders A truly special part of my job is that I am able to nominate outstanding young men and women from Pennsylvania to the U.S. service academies. These smart and talented students want to challenge themselves and serve their country as officers in our armed forces. They will be our future leaders - both in the military and in other walks of life. ... Read More

Latest Trade Deal Falls Short for Pennsylvania Workers In Pennsylvania, international trade accounts for nearly 200,000 jobs in our farming, manufacturing, and services sectors. That is why we need good trade deals that will create jobs and spur economic growth across our commonwealth. Unfortunately, in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), President Obama's administration... Read More

Supporting Veterans and Active Duty Military As the son of a former U.S. Marine and a representative of a state with one of the largest veteran populations in the country, I am committed to helping our veterans and their families who have sacrificed to preserve our freedom. That is why I have repeatedly supported legislation that would increase funding for the Department... Read More

Standing with Law Enforcement Last week, I received the Award of Appreciation from the National Sheriffs' Association. I am honored to be recognized for my longstanding support of our law enforcement officers. Every day, brave men and women put on a badge and risk their lives to serve the rest of us. When tragedy strikes, they are there, running toward the danger to save... Read More

Horrendous Terrorist Attack in France Paris, San Bernardino, Brussels, Orlando, Istanbul, so many other places around the world, and now Nice. We have to recognize that terrorism is a real and present danger to civilized people everywhere, and it's getting worse. The steps our government is taking to deal with it are inadequate. Our international relations, our military... Read More

Stand Together to Support Law Enforcement The massacre in Dallas reminds us of the heroism and bravery of our men and women in uniform who put their lives on the line every day to protect us from criminals and terrorists, and the debt of gratitude we owe them.  The Dallas police spokesman said that at least one of the attackers was motivated by recent police... Read More

Stopping Dangerous Sanctuary Cities This weekend, most Americans will be packing up the car or getting the grill ready for the long, Fourth of July weekend. One father will be marking the day quite differently: For Jim Steinle, July 1st marks the one year anniversary of his daughter's murder. Last year, 32 year-old Kate Steinle was walking arm-in-arm with her father on a... Read More

Keeping Guns from Terrorists I introduced legislation on Thursday that would help keep guns out of the hands of terrorists while protecting Second Amendment rights for law-abiding citizens. Last December, the Senate considered two proposals dealing with preventing suspected terrorists from obtaining guns - a goal every senator in both parties supports. As happens all too... Read More

Protecting Service Members' Children For two and a half years, I have been working across the aisle with Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) to make America's classrooms safer for our children. In that time, 1,150 school workers have been arrested for sexual misconduct with the kids for whom they are charged with caring - and those are just the monsters that have been arrested.... Read More