Policy Priorities

  • Building Prosperity and Creating Opportunities: Pennsylvania can rebuild its communities and create fulfilling and well-paying jobs by reducing regulations and taxes and developing a pro-business, pro-worker climate statewide.

  • Expanding Pennsylvania’s Energy Leadership: Pennsylvania should oppose tax and regulatory proposals that favor some energy sources over others, encourage infrastructure projects that expand production, and push back against harmful ESG policies.

  • Strengthening Pennsylvania Families and Children: To prepare our children for the future, Pennsylvania must ensure that parents are the ones guiding our education systems—not the government—and promote school choice opportunities for all families.

  • Keeping Pennsylvania’s Streets Safe: By fully funding law enforcement and holding criminals accountable while also investing in programs that focus on prevention, mental health, and rehabilitation services, we can restore trust in judicial systems.

  • Making Government Work For the People: Pennsylvania should ensure that the bureaucracy is accountable to the people, taxpayer dollars are spent wisely, and elections are fair, secure, and transparent.

Download America First Pennsylvania Summary

Since Pennsylvania was founded by William Penn in 1681, this haven of freedom, innovation, and self-governance has borne witness to some of the greatest chapters in our nation’s history. It is one of the 13 original colonies, and the Declaration of Independence was signed in her Independence Hall in Philadelphia. The Battle of Gettysburg marked the turning point of the Civil War, and it was after this battle that President Abraham Lincoln called for all Americans to ensure that “government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”  

After the war, Pennsylvania continued to lead American production and innovation. Pennsylvania Steel Company was the first steel company in America, and two of the largest steel manufacturers in U.S. history—U.S. Steel and the Bethlehem Steel Corporation—were founded and based in the state. Together with its coal and iron production, Pennsylvania was critical in establishing our Nation as a mighty industrial power. It remains the sixth-largest economy in the U.S.  

During the last several decades, however, many of Pennsylvania’s communities have told a different story. Jobs were once plentiful, but company towns and manufacturing bases have been hollowed out as factories moved elsewhere. Main streets have become empty storefronts, and one wage-earner is often not enough to support a family.  

The America First Policy Institute, a nonprofit, non-partisan research institute that educates lawmakers and the American public on the policies that put America first, has founded a state chapter in Pennsylvania. Building on AFPI’s America First agenda, AFPI Pennsylvania is committed to the renewal of Pennsylvania. By embracing policies that help grow Pennsylvania’s economy, this state can once again reach its full potential. 

Team

Latest

Fact Sheet | June 10, 2024

Improving Foster Care & Adoption Systems in Pennsylvania

There are nearly 400,000 children in foster care in the United States, including around 15,000 children in Pennsylvania.

Fact Sheet | June 5, 2024

Federal Accountability Measures are Failing Pennsylvania Students

Fact Sheet | May 30, 2024

Bidenomics Drives Up Energy Costs in Pennsylvania

Runaway Inflation Hurts Consumers in Pennsylvania

News Release | February 20, 2024

AFPI Joins Suit on Behalf of Pennsylvania Lawmakers to Block President and Governor from Unlawfully Weakening State Election Laws

The America First Policy Institute (AFPI) joined a lawsuit seeking to block unlawful acts from President Joe Biden, Governor Josh Shapiro, and Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt on behalf of more than 25 Pennsylvania state legislators. The suit seeks to block Executive Branch interference with Pennsylvania’s election laws, which, if left unchecked, will significantly impact the upcoming 2024 primary and general elections.

Op-Ed | February 15, 2024

Restoring the Keystone: Pennsylvania’s Call for America First Policies

America First – Pennsylvania stands ready to chart a path toward policies prioritizing the most important thing: people. It stands as a testament to our collective conviction that the future of our beloved state will be sculpted by the timeless principles and values that have rendered it exceptional since its birth. The spirit of Pennsylvania endures, resilient and unwavering, ready to rise once more. We have the power to craft a Pennsylvania where liberty, prosperity, and opportunity perpetually blossom for the generations yet to come.

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