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. 

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Latest

Fact Sheet | February 10, 2025

The Educational Choice for Children Act Benefits Pennsylvania Families

In recent years, the educational choice movement has emerged as a powerful force in the political landscape of the United States. In September 2024, the movement celebrated another win as the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA) bill passed out of the House Ways and Means Committee, signaling that school choice could reach millions more families. In January 2025, identical Senate and House bills were reintroduced.

Fact Sheet | January 27, 2025

Ensuring a Legal Workforce in Pennsylvania

The ability to obtain a job in the U.S. is one of the primary drivers of illegal immigration. Millions of illegal aliens currently work in the U.S. because the existing paper-based Form I-9 verification process is easy to exploit, and human resources personnel are not experts in detecting forged documents. As a result, wages and job opportunities for many Americans are harmed.

News Release | January 22, 2025

AFPI Names New Co-Chair of Its Center for American Security

Today, the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) named Robert Wilkie, former Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and, former Under Secretary of the Department of Defense, as the new Co-Chair of AFPI’s Center for American Security. Wilkie currently serves as a Distinguished Fellow for the Center for American Security. He is a lecturer, a Senior National Security Media Analyst, and a Colonel in the United States Air Force Reserve.

Fact Sheet | January 15, 2025

Combating the Impacts of Illegal Immigration in Pennsylvania

According to a study by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), illegal aliens and their children cost Pennsylvania $1.6 billion in 2023, with each illegal alien costing the state $4,845.

Fact Sheet | November 8, 2024

Roadblocks to Doing Business in Pennsylvania

Leslie graduates from a state college with a business degree. She receives around $50,000 from an inheritance and decides to pursue her lifelong dream of opening a restaurant in Center City, Philadelphia.

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