The Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg. WILKES-BARRE — Following Constellation Energy’s announcement this week that it signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with Microsoft to launch the Crane Clean Energy Center (CCEC) and restart Three Mile Island (TMI) Unit 1, Sen. Lynda Schlegel Culver expressed excitement and optimism about the news.
“It is exciting to hear that Constellation Energy has agreed with Microsoft to restart TMI Unit 1,” said Culver, R-Northumberland County. “This investment will have a huge impact on the immediate community, the region and the entire commonwealth. Investments in Pennsylvania’s energy capacity will make us more attractive for industries looking to expand. It’s simple: investments in Pennsylvania energy create new jobs with family-sustaining wages.”
The announcement states that CCEC expects to be online by 2028.
“Nuclear generation produces clean, carbon-free and sustainable energy,” Culver said. “Expansions in nuclear energy will strengthen grid reliability, diversify Pennsylvania’s energy portfolio and enable us to be the top energy exporter in the nation.”
An Associated Press story this week reported that the owner of the shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear power plant said Friday that it plans to restart the reactor under a 20-year agreement that calls for tech giant Microsoft to buy the power to supply its data centers with carbon-free energy.
The announcement by Constellation Energy comes five years after its then-parent company Exelon shut down the plant, saying it was losing money and that Pennsylvania lawmakers had refused to subsidize it.
The AP story said the plant, on an island in the Susquehanna River just outside Harrisburg, was the site of the nation’s worst commercial nuclear power accident, in 1979. The accident destroyed one reactor, Unit 2, and left the plant with one functioning reactor, Unit 1.
Rep. Meuser supports legislation to protect
women from violence by illegal immigrants
U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Dallas, this week voted in favor of H.R. 7909 — the Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act.
Meuser said the bill, which passed with bipartisan support, is designed to protect women and girls by ensuring that illegal immigrants convicted of, or admitting to, sex offenses or domestic violence are deemed inadmissible to the U.S. and face deportation.
Meuser reports that this legislation is a direct response to women being targeted by illegal immigrants. Meuser said he believes the safety of women and children must be a top priority and that ignoring the threats posed by violent criminals who illegally cross the border would be grossly irresponsible.
Under this act, any illegal immigrant convicted of or admitting to sex offenses or domestic violence will be permanently barred from entering the U.S., and those already in the country will be deported.
Meuser said the legislation is about defending communities and standing up for the safety of American women.
“We must ensure that illegal immigrants who prey on the vulnerable are held accountable,” Meuser said. “By securing our borders and deporting domestic abusers and sex offenders, we’re not just protecting women and children, we’re defending the rule of law. Shockingly, 158 Democrats voted against this common-sense measure, sending a clear message that they prioritize illegal immigrants over the safety of American women and children. I urge my Senate colleagues to support this essential legislation to ensure that any illegal immigrant convicted of or admitting to sex offenses or domestic violence is permanently banned from our country. We must put the safety and security of American citizens first.”
H.R. 7909 passed the House by a vote of 266 – 158 and was referred to the Senate for further consideration.
Program helps more than 2,000 student teachers
across Pennsylvania receive critical stipends
After Gov. Josh Shapiro and state legislators secured double the amount of funding for the new PA Student Teacher Support Program in the 2024-25 budget, more than 2,000 student teachers across Pennsylvania are set to receive $10,000 stipends — another key initiative in the Shapiro Administration’s work to tackle the Commonwealth’s teacher shortage.
Last year, Gov. Shapiro signed into law Act 33 of 2023, creating the $10 million Educator Pipeline Support Grant Program, which provides stipends to eligible student teachers in Pennsylvania.
In the 2024-25 budget, Gov. Shapiro secured an additional $10 million for the program, doubling the funding for student teacher stipends to a total of $20 million annually — ensuring student teachers are compensated for their hard work as they complete their student teaching requirements.
Administered through the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA), the program will help address the teacher shortage in Pennsylvania and fill staffing gaps for critical education positions to ensure every student has the freedom to chart their own course and the opportunity to succeed.
“There is a real need to invest in our student teachers. We saw how many people applied last year when these stipends became available for the first time — over 4,000 applications were submitted in just a few hours,” Shapiro said. “This is a commonsense investment to ensure student teachers are fairly compensated for their work, lowering barriers to pursuing a teaching career, and helping get more dedicated, qualified educators into our classrooms.”
The 2,000 student teacher stipend recipients come from 84 post-secondary institutions across the state. PHEAA will begin disbursing the funds this week and awards were distributed on a first-come, first-served basis for each term.
The program offers eligible student teachers up to $15,000 in stipends, while cooperating teachers who mentor and guide student teachers are eligible for stipends of up to $2,500.
In return, student teachers commit to teaching in Pennsylvania for at least three years following the completion of their certification, ensuring a sustainable influx of qualified educators into the state’s school systems.
Rep. Grove: Shapiro must follow Supreme Court ruling by
stopping ‘automatic voter registration’ on vehicle registrations
Sixty-three members of the House Republican Caucus, including State Rep. Seth Grove, R-York, this week sent a letter to Gov. Josh Shapiro, alerting him to a recent Supreme Court decision which questioned the legality of PennDOT’s “automatic voter registration” program for vehicle registration.
“Since Gov. Shapiro announced all PennDOT interactions — not just legally authorized driver license renewals — will include automatic voter registration, Republicans have been deeply concerned with its administration and legal rationale,” Grove said. “The majority of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court agrees with some of our concerns and shared this in a recent ruling. The Governor must act swiftly to halt this program and contact all voters whose voting address may have been updated by PennDOT.”
The majority opinion of the case said in part:
“Any administrative decision by PennDOT or the Pennsylvania Department of State to transfer an elector’s voter registration without that person’s affirmative consent in conjunction with a PennDOT application to change a vehicle registration, as opposed to a driver’s license, is therefore of questionable validity, particularly where, as here, no party has identified a valid administrative regulation authorizing such action.”
Justice Wecht, a Democrat, in a concurring opinion, went on to say:
“The Pennsylvania Voter Registration Act provides several methods of voter registration, none of which is tied to the application or renewal of a vehicle registration. To the extent PennDOT has taken it upon itself to transform a vehicle registration renewal into a change in voter registration, it appears to have done so in the absence of any legislative directive. Although PennDOT’s rogue transfer of voter registration in this case ultimately did not deprive O’Donnell of the right to vote, it would be troubling if PennDOT has a practice of making such a transfer without statutory authorization, or even the voter’s consent.”
Sen. Fetterman chairs hearing to
expand access to free school meals
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Food and Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Organics, and Research, this week held a hearing titled “Keeping Kids Learning in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program.”
The hearing focused on legislative solutions to eliminate student meal debt; reduce the stigma associated with free school meals; and expand access to free, nutritious meals for all students. Four of the five witnesses were Pennsylvanians. In his opening remarks, Senator Fetterman pointed out how absurd it is that a hearing on providing free meals to students is even necessary.
“It should be simple,” Fetterman said. “School lunch should always be free — and definitely free from judgment. Honestly, this shouldn’t even be a conversation. It’d be like asking kids to pay for the school bus every morning”
Fetterman also highlighted the problem of school lunch debt, saying that “‘school lunch debt’ is a phrase so absurd it shouldn’t even exist.”
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