July 10, 2012, 1:30 PM
Dear Members and Friends,
In its first post Roberts' SCOTUS decision roll call vote on ObamaCare, the US House is expected, this afternoon, to once again pass legislation repealing the 2700 page law.
While this vote is mostly symbolic, it is, nevertheless, extremely important as it lays down the gauntlet to the President and Democrat defenders of this most egregious piece of legislation.
Please call the Capitol Switchboard at 202.224.3121 or 202.225.3121 and
ask to be connected to your Congressman/woman. Tell your Representative that we will not rest until ObamaCare is relegated to the ash heap of history.
Also, in Pennsylvania, there is great news on the School Choice front!
In a startling defeat of the ill-conceived 'school choice bill,' SB 1, backed by FreedomWorks and their million dollar campaign--HB 761, a repackaged version of the Association supported HB 1330, passed both houses of the PA
legislature and was signed into law by Governor Tom Corbett last Tuesday (July 3).
If you recall, SB 1 was a low income voucher program that amounted to little more than a new entitlement to be sponsored by state. It would not have given all children in failing public schools an equal chance to escape their plight as HB 761 clearly does.
HB 761 is a broader bill aimed at helping students in both middle and low income brackets. It does so only by extending tax credits to companies who provide scholarship funds. (SB 1 would have been funded mostly by the taxpayer.)
The following description is taken from a joint press release issued by State Representatives Tom Quigley (sponsor of both HB 1330 and HB 761) and Jim Christiana (sponsor of HB 761):
House Bill 761, which included several other tax reform measures, would increase available tax credits for businesses that contribute to Educational Scholarship Organizations, Educational Improvement Organizations or Pre-K Scholarship Organizations from the current $75 million to $100 million.
The legislation would also increase the maximum household income limits for students involved in the program from $60,000 to $75,000, starting on July 1, 2013, and incrementally with the rate of inflation thereafter.
Quigley noted the program benefits public school district foundations, and the legislation would increase reporting requirements for participating scholarship organizations.
House Bill 761 would also establish a new school choice program, known as EITC 2.0, which would make an additional $50 million in opportunity scholarships available to children residing within the attendance areas of the lowest-achieving 15 percent of public schools.
"Pennsylvania has 80,000 students at risk in just the worst 140 schools," said Christiana. "These children wake up every day to the hard truth that their school doesn't meet their needs. EITC 2.0 was created to provide these children with a safer and more secure learning environment."
The scholarships would allow these eligible children to attend nonpublic schools and out-of-district public schools in Pennsylvania that choose to voluntarily participate in the program.
Per-child scholarships would be capped at $8,500 for students without disabilities, and $15,000 for students with disabilities and could not exceed the amount of tuition and fees actually charged by the receiving school.
While it took a year too long to pass this bill, as State Senators Anthony Piccola and Anthony Williams, along with FreedomWorks, pushed the doomed SB1 voucher bill instead of seeking a more reasonable alternative,
we are extremely pleased with the final results.
Congratulations to UNITEPA Director, Sharon Cherubin; leaders of the Coalition for Real School Choice; State Representatives Curt Schroder (ret), Tom Quigley, and Jim Christiana; columnist Chris Freind, and you!
If you live in PA, Please call Governor Tom Corbett (717.787.2500) and thank him for signing HB 761 into law.
In PA, the Association has focused on passing three bills into law: Voter ID, School Choice, and Opt Out of ObamaCare (Rep. Matt Baker's HB 42).
Two of those bills have become law! We must now fight to pass HB 42--Opt Out of ObamaCare.
On behalf of the
Association Board,
Teri Adams
The Independence
Hall Tea Party Association formed after historic February 28 and April
18, 2009 Tea Parties on Independence Mall. It is the
oldest and largest independent grassroots Tea Party
organization in the tri-state (DE, NJ, PA) region and encompasses
the 5th leading media market in the United States.
Visit us @ www.IndependenceHallTeaParty.com.
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