Contact: Anthony Campisi
Anthony@WalnutLaneStrategies.com
(732) 266-8221
REP. MADSEN, ADVOCATES DEMAND CONGRESS, SENATE REPUBLICANS TAKE ACTION ON RISING GAS PRICES AND ELECTRIC BILLS AT CAPITOL PRESS CONFERENCE
With energy prices skyrocketing, many families in Central Pennsylvania are feeling the strain on their wallets at home and at the pump. Excessive heat this summer and new data centers popping up across Pennsylvania are combining to push energy demand to an all-time high. Supply disruptions from the Iran War have caused gas prices in the state to soar past $4 per gallon, while a typical Pennsylvania family is paying over $500 more a year on electricity bills.
In response, state Rep. Dave Madsen (D-Daughin) and Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania gathered on the Pennsylvania State Capitol steps to demand action from state Senate Republicans to address the growing affordability crisis.
The event spotlighted how transitioning to clean energy and electric vehicles would provide immediate relief to working families and called on the Republican-controlled Congress and the Pennsylvania state Senate to pass key affordability legislation.
Federal rollbacks pushed by Donald Trump and backed by U.S. Rep. Scott Perry (R-York) and his allies in Congress — including rolling back clean energy tax credits, gutting fuel economy standards and blocking EV infrastructure investments — are driving energy costs higher and keeping Pennsylvanians locked into volatile fossil fuel markets. While Pennsylvania House Democrats have stepped up by passing proactive legislation to expand clean energy and lower utility costs, the state Senate, controlled by Republicans, has failed to act.
"Donald Trump and Scott Perry’s energy policies are hitting the wallets of Pennsylvania families," said Katie Blume, Political and Legislative Director at Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania. "By systematically rolling back investments in clean energy and slowing the shift to electric vehicles, Trump and Perry are keeping us dependent on fossil fuels. While billionaire oil executives are enjoying record profits, working families are paying the price every time we fill up our tanks or open our utility bills. Expanding clean energy and EV infrastructure is how we break that cycle and keep real money in working families' pockets. With an all-out assault on working families, we need Harrisburg to step up."
"The transition to electric vehicles and clean energy isn't just about environmental stewardship — it's about lowering costs for struggling Pennsylvanians and creating good-paying jobs right here in our district," said State Rep. Dave Madsen (D-Dauphin). "Pennsylvanians are being squeezed at every turn, yet the Republican-led state Senate continues to sit on their hands and block the clean energy tools that would bring costs down. House Democrats have delivered by passing legislation to expand cheaper, cleaner power and reduce grid pressures. The Senate needs to recognize this affordability crisis and pass these cost-saving measures immediately."
In recent months, House Democrats have passed legislation that would help protect working families from the impacts of data centers, jumpstarted the production of locally produced clean energy to lower prices and expand access to EV charging stations. But all of these proposals have languished in the Senate — even as failed federal policies in Washington continue to drive costs higher.
While Pennsylvania House Democrats have taken decisive action to shield consumers, Perry's federal record directly exacerbates the affordability crisis for Central Pennsylvania voters.
While switching to clean energy and EVs are the fastest way to lower costs, Perry and Trump have instead worked to further enrich billionaire oil and gas CEOs.
Perry has signed onto Trump’s extreme fossil fuel agenda, championing rollbacks of hundreds of billions of dollars in clean energy and EV investments that could be lowering electricity and transportation costs for Pennsylvania families right now.
He has also supported efforts to rollback fuel efficiency standards in an attempt to further enrich billionaire oil and gas companies while leaving working families paying more to fill up their cars.
At the same time, in Harrisburg, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives has passed a slew of measures that would expand access to EVs, jumpstart clean energy production and hold data centers and other large energy users accountable for the costs they’re inflicting on working families.
But Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled Senate has blocked almost all action on this affordability agenda, leaving Central Pennsylvanians with no one to protect them against the extreme pro-fossil fuel agenda coming out of Washington.
“With family budgets feeling the impacts of the Trump-Perry attacks on affordable energy and with the state legislature due to come back next month, it’s essential that the Senate ends their blockade of legislation that would lower energy prices for Pennsylvanians,” Blume said. “The time for stalling is over. Pennsylvanians deserve action.”
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