Rep. Emily Kinkead: ‘Fundamentally, our government only works when we work together.’

Photo: Office of Rep. Kinkead

Government should work for you. That is the central tenet of our democracy—that it is a system that is of the people, by the people, for the people. My position as State Representative of the 20^th Legislative District is, inherently, a service position. I serve all of the 60,000 Pennsylvanians who live in my district, whether they voted for me or not. But I also have a responsibility to the nearly 13 million Pennsylvanians across the Commonwealth because my decisions in Harrisburg impact each and every person living here.

It’s a reality that I wish the majority party would take more seriously. Let me tell you why.

As elected leaders, we take an oath of office that is about service. That service impels us to work with people, even if we do not agree with them, in benefit of doing the most good for the most people. Since entering office, I have strived to ensure that I have working relationships with the people at every level of government, municipal to federal, who serve our communities so that when a need arises, a solution can be quickly found. Because fundamentally, our government only works when we work together.

Unfortunately, that sentiment has evaporated among many of my Republican colleagues and our state is suffering as a result. Under our current system, the party in the majority has total control over the agenda in Harrisburg. The Speaker of the House, elected by the majority, chooses which committees to assign the bills that are introduced. The majority chairs of the individual committees decide which bills they will bring up for a vote before the committee, which is comprised of 15 majority members and 10 minority members, meaning that whatever legislation they choose to move will likely pass without need for support from the minority party. It also means that the minority party has little influence regarding whether a bill is left to die in committee. If a bill makes it out of committee, the majority leader determines whether it comes up for a vote on the floor of the chamber.

What this means is that despite over 1,000 bills having been introduced so far in the 2021-2022 legislative session, only a handful of those that have passed in either chamber were introduced by Democrats. The majority leadership also has the power to table amendments to bills or rule that they are not relevant to the legislation; two actions that require no further explanation or justification and that frequently mean even Democratic amendments to Republican bills do not see the light of day.

Some may say that this is how the game is played; I say that we should not be playing games with real people’s lives. For example, the former SCI-Pittsburgh warden’s house is located in the 20^th District. The law requires legislation to pass through both the House and Senate in order to sell the property. We had buyers lined up to buy it as their primary residence at a fair market price, putting this house back on the tax rolls and taking the maintenance costs off Pennsylvania taxpayers. But my legislation to simply sell this property languished for over a year, bogged down by partisanship, and the buyers were forced to give up on their dream and move elsewhere.

Similarly, I have legislation, HB 1054, that would establish an insurance fund for people affected by landslides. Currently, no insurance or state grant programs are available to assist property owners affected by landslides. Similar to mine subsidence insurance that is already available through the state, my legislation proposes a fund that would allow property owners to buy insurance, or qualify for grants or low-cost loans through the state, to repair landslide damage to their property or recover the cost of a total loss. Landslides are devastating families across Pennsylvania, regardless of political party, and this is a common sense solution. Still, it has languished for a year this month in the House Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committee, where I have been told that there is “no appetite” to move it.

Quite simply, these are not partisan issues and they should not be treated as such. Ideas are not unworthy of consideration just because of a legislator’s political party. We know that more unites us than divides us. I will continue to work to remind our majority party’s leadership that this cannot just be a platitude; it must also be reflected in the way that they govern.

And no matter what, I will always continue to work diligently for you. So, if you have any questions or need help with any state-related matter, my staff and I are here to help if you call 412-321-5523 or email RepKinkead@pahouse.net.