Pennsylvania Sen. Kim Ward, the first woman to serve as Pennsylvania Senate President Pro Tempore, will continue serving as interim pro tempore and is expected to be reelected in January.
Ward (R-Westmoreland) spoke to DVJournal about what she hopes to accomplish for Pennsylvanians.
“This election spoke volumes,” said Ward. “People don’t want to hear about social issues. Obviously, the Democrats ran full speed on abortion. [People] don’t want to hear about boys in women’s sports. They want to hear about how you will help them put food on the table and pay their utility bills.
“And we need to work on our energy,” said Ward. “We have an abundance of energy in Pennsylvania, and we have room in this commonwealth for every type of energy. But the Democrats have declared war on fossil fuels.
“Pennsylvania is sitting on the second biggest pot of gold in the United States,” said Ward. “We need to be able to unleash that to give people really great jobs that pay well so they can take care of their families.”
One reason electric bills are so high now is because former Gov. Tom Wolf (D) “unilaterally” took the state into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).
“We went to court to say a governor does not have the unilateral ability to tax, and that was a tax. Well, Gov. (Josh) Shapiro said he supported our stance but then, when we won in court, he appealed it. But you know, that’s the way it goes with him.” They are waiting for a decision on that appeal.
“But [RGGI] is one of the big reasons we’re having higher electric bills, because the companies have come out with higher rates,” she said.
“The Democrats have closed down our coal-fired plants. Meanwhile, China’s building them. They’re not closing them down in Ohio. They’re not closing them down in West Virginia. But in Pennsylvania, we’re saying, ‘Oh, no thank you.’”
This is “one of the big issues that we should be pushing because I think it affects our families,” said Ward. “It affects jobs across the board, affects incomes. It affects people’s ability to pay the bills they have to pay every month.
“And I think that’s energy we have to unleash, and we need to unleash our potential here in Pennsylvania,” said Ward.
Ward said the best thing about being a state senator is being able to help people. Asked about the most important things she’s accomplished as Senate pro tempore, she said the bill to fight breast cancer was “huge.”
And the corporate net income tax cut from 8.99 percent to 8.49 percent “was important to getting Pennsylvania on the right track.”
Also, raising the child tax credit to match the federal government was important. “I’d like to go further,” said Ward. “Those are the kind of issues that matter to people.”
Asked about working with a Democratic-led House, Ward said, “It’s like we live in two different countries.”
The Senate Republicans send the House “commonsense bills” that return like “a loaded up cherry tree.” One example was her bill to move up the state’s primary date, which the House sent back with so many other provisions it could not pass the Senate.
Asked if it was difficult working with a Democratic governor, Ward said, “No, I can’t call it difficult. I would say that it’s a challenge to get him to commit to one side or the other.”
For the next term, Sen. Joe Pittman (R-Indiana) was reelected Senate majority leader; Sen. Ryan Aument (R-Lancaster) was reelected majority whip; Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill (R-York) was reelected as majority caucus chair:
Sen. Camera Bartolotta (R-Beaver) was reelected Senate majority caucus secretary; and Sen. Scott Martin (R-Lancaster) was reelected as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
On the Democratic side, Sen. Jay Costa, Jr. (D-Allegheny) was reelected minority leader. The caucus whip will be Sen. Tina Tartaglione (D-Philadelphia); Appropriations Committee chair will be Sen. Vincent Hughes (D-Philadelphia); Sen. Maria Collett (D-Montgomery) will be caucus chair; Caucus Secretary will be Sen. Steve Santarsiero (D-Bucks); Policy Committee Chair will be Sen. Nick Miller (D-Lehigh) and the administrator will be Sen. Judy Schwank (D-Berks).
“I am honored and humbled to announce that I will be serving as the leader of the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Caucus for the next two years,” said Costa. “I’d like to thank my fellow Democratic senators for entrusting me with this responsibility. I look forward to the fight ahead.”
