Shapiro’s proposal would not increase PHARE funding to $100 million overnight, instead adding $10 million to the ceiling each year until 2028. He also proposed adding $50 million to the Whole-Home Repairs Program, a separate grant for low-income homeowners to address problems like leaking roofs, unsafe electrical wiring, and broken furnaces.

Shapiro also pitched scrapping PHARE’s current funding formula in favor of what his budget proposal calls a “guaranteed” transfer. Bonder noted, the current formula sometimes results in PHARE receiving less money than its cap allows. The guaranteed transfer would mean funds reliably hit the cap every year.

This higher sum would be overwhelmingly funded via the state’s realty transfer tax, one of several funding sources for PHARE, along with natural gas impact fees and money from the National Housing Trust Fund. Money from the transfer tax goes to several areas of the budget, including the general fund, and Bonder said the state’s current surplus means there is spending flexibility.

State House Democrats back Shapiro’s proposal as written, according to their spokesperson, Beth Rementer. But state Senate Republicans would need to be won over in budget negotiations.

The state budget was due June 30, but lawmakers are still haggling over the final package.

Asked for comment, a spokesperson for state Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Scott Martin (R., Lancaster) responded, “We do not have an update to share on that issue at this time.”

State Sen. Elder Vogel Jr. (R., Beaver), who sponsored the legislation over the past two sessions, is somewhat optimistic.

“We’re hopeful that we’re going to see a cap increase,” Vogel’s communications director, Abby Chiumento, said. “With negotiations ongoing, we don’t know what’s going to be in the final budget.”

PHARE was signed into law in 2010. The legislation that led to the program’s establishment received near-unanimous support in both chambers.

The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, which is affiliated with but not run by the state, chooses the recipients of PHARE grants. The recipients range from nonprofits to county governments.

The program “allows municipalities and localities and counties to figure out how they can best use the dollars,” said Allegheny County Executive and former Democratic state representative Sara Innamorato. “For us, it’s addressing homelessness, but if there’s a community that wants to create more first-time home buyers, they can design a program around that.”

Innamorato, who sponsored the PHARE cap increase bill in the state House when she served there, argues more funding is overdue.

“There’s many projects that are worthy that go unfunded every year,” she said. “We could always use more money to invest in addressing housing needs.”

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PENNSYLVANIA – Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey said Monday that President Joe Biden is able to run a strong race and serve a second term in the Oval Office, standing by his close ally in the critical battleground state following a disastrous debate performance that’s prompting some national Democrats to question his candidacy.

Casey had stayed quiet about Biden’s performance before making his first public appearances since Thursday night’s debate, including a campaign stop in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the blue-collar hometown that he shares with Biden and that the president name-checked in the debate.

Casey, who is also seeking reelection in November, acknowledged that Biden had a bad debate, but also suggested that voters have bigger concerns.

“He had a bad night and debate, but I think people know what’s at stake,” Casey told reporters, arguing that voters are more concerned about issues like abortion, labor and voting rights and the fate of democracy.

“I’ve been at this a while, and I know his work,” Casey said. “And I also know that the American people and the people of Pennsylvania are going to focus on these races in the way that I just outlined.”

Casey would not elaborate on why he thinks Biden is fit and said he doesn’t worry that Biden’s debate performance would affect his own race for Senate.

They lead the ticket together in a battleground state that is critical to the Democrats’ fortunes in holding the White House and Senate. No Democrat has won the White House without Pennsylvania’s support since Harry S. Truman in 1948.

Casey’s opponent, former hedge fund executive David McCormick — like other down-ballot Republicans — has seized on Biden’s performance, accusing Casey of lying about Biden’s fitness to be president and suggesting that Biden’s Cabinet should consider forcing him out of office, using the 25th Amendment.

The president’s debate performance last week left many donors, party strategists and rank-and-file DNC members publicly and privately saying they want the 81-year-old Biden to step aside to allow the party to select a younger replacement at the Democratic National Convention in August.

Biden spent the weekend trying to stabilize his campaign, then gathering with family as previously planned at Camp David, where they discussed the path forward.

The president and his team characterized his debate performance as an outlier, arguing one bad night shouldn’t define him or jeopardize the election.

Biden told a Saturday fundraiser on Long Island that he didn’t have a “great night” at the debate, but that former President Donald Trump’s falsehoods and reminders about the January 6, 2021, insurrection had resonated more with undecided voters.

McCormick, for his part, hasn’t commented on a blatant falsehood Trump told during the debate about the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by his supporters. Trump falsely claimed the attackers were “a relatively small number of people that went to the Capitol and in many cases were ushered in by the police.”

CHEYNEY, Pa. – Cheyney University, the oldest historically Black college in the United States (HBCU) is no longer on probation. 

According to the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, the university has had its accreditation reaffirmed after the commission placed the school on probation last November due to alleged “insufficient evidence” that it was in compliance with multiple university standards.

The HBCU released the following statement Monday:

“Cheyney University appreciates Middle States Commission on Higher Education’s (MSCHE) review of our accreditation and its decision to remove our probationary status as of June 27, 2024. This reaffirmation of accreditation by MSCHE validates our unwavering commitment to academic and operational excellence. It also reinforces our view that an accreditation process must be fair and transparent for all institutions of higher education, including HBCUs.

While we agree with this decision, we remain disappointed by the process to arrive at this long-overdue outcome and will continue to advocate for equity and transparency. This current Commission decision is consistent with the assessment of three separate MSCHE-appointed peer evaluator teams that visited Cheyney’s campus between February 2023 and April 2024 and formally reported that Cheyney appears to meet the Commission’s Standards of Accreditation and Requirements of Affiliation. Middle States’ decision reflects the undeniable progress Cheyney University of Pennsylvania has achieved under the stewardship of our administration, the dedication of faculty and staff, and the relentless support of our countless advocates who have stood by Cheyney throughout this entire process so we can serve our students and continue to uphold the legacy of our institution.” 

The university says MSCHE has requested that the school submit a customary monitoring report, due March 1, 2025 as a part of its accreditation action. 

“Our next evaluation visit by Middle States is scheduled for 2030-2031, part of our eight-year accreditation cycle,” the statement concluded.

“As a part of its accreditation action, MSCHE, has requested that the university submit a monitoring report, which is customary, due March 1, 2025.