King announces bid for 16th Congressional seat
Jess King
LANCASTER — Jess King, the current Executive Director of ASSETS – a business training and lending nonprofit in Lancaster – is taking a leave of absence to run for US Congress in PA’s 16th district. She will begin her leave on September 1st.
King argues that she has been fighting for working families and communities for her entire 20-year career in Lancaster & Pittsburgh....
Unintended consequences and Newton’s Third Law
By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times
While Democrats wept over special election results this week, U.S. Senate Republicans — in secret — put together their version of the health care reform, the Better Care Reconciliation Act, which apart from some minor details, appears to be a lot like the house health care plan, the American Health Care Act: it cuts benefits for the poor, could lead to big rate...
Costello pushes DeVos on Title IX issues
U.S. Rep. Ryan Costello (R-6)
WASHINGTON — Friday, on the 45th anniversary of Title IX, Rep. Ryan Costello (R-6) and Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) led a bipartisan letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos urging her to maintain Title IX guidance in K-12 schools that protects young people from sexual assault and harassment. The letter, signed by 52 Members of Congress, also urges Secretary DeVos...
George announces run for 16th Congressional seat
Dr. John George
Dr. John George, a Lancaster County Democrat and an advocate for public education, announced his candidacy Wednesday for Pennsylvania’s 16th Congressional District.
George is currently the executive director of the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit. He previously served as the superintendent of the Warwick School District and the executive director of the Berks County Intermediate...
Time for Costello to show just a hint of courage
By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times
Sometime later this afternoon, U.S. Rep. Ryan Costello (R-6) will hold a town hall meeting.
That’s the good news.
The bad news is that he’s holding it in Historic Courtroom 1, limiting it to 100 people, it was announced Thursday and filled up within minutes — and no one can record the video. Some sort of modern-day Stasi will be at the door, demanding “papers,...
Costello, Meehan dodge bullet on health care bill failure
By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times
In the end — for at least two of Chester County’s members of Congress — the decision to withdraw the American Health Care Act, the Republican’s much touted replacement for the Affordable Care Act (known more commonly as Obamacare) may have ended up as the best of a lot of bad possible outcomes.
Both Ryan Costello (R-6) and Pat Meehan (R-7) said following the...
Letter: Costello must support universal healthcare
To The Editor,
On January 24th 2017, Representative John Conyers of Michigan introduced a bill for health care reform that would automatically cover all Americans with health insurance without cost. H.R. 676, the Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act would provide free primary, preventative, and emergency care, as well as prescription drug coverage for all Americans. The measure would be paid...
Congress members can’t hide from the voters
By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times
The phone rang the other night during dinner, it was a phone “town hall” for U.S. Rep. Pat Meehan (R-7) — I happen to live in the 7th — but the timing was lousy and as a practicing journalist, I kind of feel like it is inappropriate as a journalist to participate in such events.
And to be honest — Meehan and his colleagues need to put on their big boy pants...
A brave new world for local Congress members
By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times
It is a brave (cough-cough) new world for some of our elected officials — specifically the three gentlemen who hold congressional seats in Chester County and find themselves coming home to districts this week they may not recognize.
Yes — we’ll grant everything is new for U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker, who is little more than a month in from joining the world’s most...
A shiny new year: things are about to get interesting
Congressional, legislative officials face new political minefields in 2017
By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times
From Harrisburg to Washington, D.C., it is a bold, bright new year in politics.
From fresh starts to fresh panics, 2017 looks to be among the most interesting ever in the history of our little republic — and possibly not in a good way, but time will tell.
To kick off the year, we’ll gloss...
