(Photo courtesy of House Republican Caucus

HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania House Republican Caucus Tuesday elected its legislative leaders for the 2021-22 Legislative Session.

The leadership team consists of:

·      Speaker-designee Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster).

·      Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff (R-Centre/Mifflin).

·      Majority Whip Donna Oberlander (R-Clarion/Armstrong/Forest).

·      Majority Appropriations Committee Chairman Stan Saylor (R-York).

·      Majority Policy Committee Chairman Marty Causer (R-Cameron/McKean/Potter).

·      Majority Caucus Chairman Mike Reese (R-Westmoreland/Somerset).

·      Majority Caucus Secretary Martina White (R-Philadelphia).

·      Majority Caucus Administrator Kurt Masser (R-Northumberland/Columbia/Montour).

On their election, the following members of leadership made statement:

Speaker-designee Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster):

“Our chamber is one of the oldest democratically elected bodies in the world. Over the course of our Commonwealth’s history, our members have pushed our nation forward by always answering the call of our constituents to face ever-evolving challenges. I am honored and inspired to join with these proven, principled and selfless public servants to continue to answer the call to improve the lives of Pennsylvanians and stand humbled and ready to oversee another successful session.”

House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff (R-Centre/Mifflin):

“Led by our message of fiscal responsibility, adding common sense to our COVID-19 response, and ensuring government is responsible to the people, the voters of Pennsylvania have returned a significant Republican majority back to the Pennsylvania General Assembly. I am proud to lead our caucus in our ongoing mission to be the true voice of the people and work to improve the lives of Pennsylvanians everywhere.”

Majority Whip Donna Oberlander (R-Clarion/Armstrong/Forest):

“Today’s leadership election sends a strong message that we, as a caucus, are poised to use our growing strength in order to confront the challenges facing our Commonwealth in the next two years,” said Oberlander. “Together, we will work toward building a stronger Pennsylvania to put forth good public policy and continue to assert ourselves as a co-equal branch of state government.”

Majority Appropriations Chairman Stan Saylor (R-York):

“I am honored to have the opportunity to serve as House Appropriations Committee Chairman for another session. Together, we have held the line on taxes and kept spending restrained. I am confident that our caucus will continue to be leaders in good government reform, private sector job creation and fiscal responsibility next session.”

Majority Policy Committee Chairman Marty Causer (R-Cameron/McKean/Potter):

“I am deeply honored by the continued opportunity to help lead our caucus and our Commonwealth through these very challenging times. Pennsylvania is a diverse state, and in my role as policy chairman, I will focus on building consensus on policies that move us forward as we work to reopen our economy, protect public safety and improve quality of life for all Pennsylvanians.”

Majority Caucus Chairman Mike Reese (R-Westmoreland/Somerset):

“I am honored to serve our caucus in this new capacity. The ongoing issues surrounding the questionable COVID-19 mitigation efforts put in place by the administration, as well as contentions surrounding the 2020 election cycle, will be our principle workload. This is in addition to continuing to grow our economy and reforming some archaic state regulations. I look forward to working with my colleagues on the House on these important matters.”

Majority Caucus Secretary Martina White (R-Philadelphia):

“I am honored to have been chosen to serve in this position and to represent the people of southeast Pennsylvania during leadership discussions,” said White. “I look forward to the additional responsibilities I will be assuming, while continuing to diligently work for the people of the 170th Legislative District.”

Majority Caucus Administrator Kurt Masser (R-Northumberland/Columbia/Montour):

“I’m honored to garner the support of my colleagues to continue serving in a leadership position within the caucus,” Masser said. “We will continue pushing for policies that promote economic growth while protecting the health and safety of our residents.”

Georgia audit to trigger hand recount of presidential vote
By KATE BRUMBACK Associated Press
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia election officials have announced an audit of presidential election results that will trigger a full hand recount. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said at a news conference Wednesday that his office wants the process to begin by the end of the week and he expects it to take until Nov. 20. After results from the hand recount are certified, the losing campaign can then request another recount, which will be performed by machine, Raffensperger said. President-elect Joe Biden leads President Donald Trump by about 14,000 votes out of nearly 5 million votes counted in the state.

House State Government Committee to Hold Hearings on 2020 Election

HARRISBURG – Interim Pennsylvania House State Government Committee Majority Chairman Seth Grove (R-Dover) announced Tuesday that the committee will begin holding hearings on the process undertaken in the 2020 election.

“Regardless of outcomes it is incumbent upon the Legislature to ensure that Pennsylvania has free, fair and secure elections. Over the course of the past several weeks, Pennsylvania’s elections experienced a process failure because of undue and ill-conceived interference in our elections by the Pennsylvania Department of State and five Democrat justices on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. We need to investigate what transpired so we can develop a comprehensive legislative fix to ensure that the people of Pennsylvania can have faith in their future elections,” Grove said. “That review must happen now, while all the evidence remains before us and the events leading up to our General Election are fresh in the minds of all participants.”

Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff (R-Centre/Mifflin) supported the effort and agreed that the committee’s work should begin immediately.

“A thorough review of this year’s election process is necessary. Having safe and secure elections with reliable results should not be a Republican or Democrat issue. That is why we are using the bipartisan standing committee structure to handle this legislative function,” Benninghoff said. “The time for reviewing the 2020 election is now, while the incidents and concerns of the election are before us, to guarantee that future elections are conducted with the integrity and confidence Pennsylvanians and Americans deserve.”

Pope Francis vows to end sexual abuse after McCarrick report
By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis is vowing to rid the Catholic Church of sexual abuse and offering prayers to victims of former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. Wednesday’s pledge came a day after the Vatican released its detailed report into the decadeslong church cover-up of McCarrick’s sexual misconduct. Francis concluded his weekly general audience by recalling that the report into the “painful case” of the former high-ranking American cardinal had been released Tuesday. He said he was renewing his “closeness to victims of any abuse and commitment of the church to eradicate this evil.” He then paused silently for nearly a minute, apparently in prayer.

Trump to emerge from White House to mark Veterans Day
By ZEKE MILLER and AAMER MADHANI Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will participate in the Veterans Day observance at Arlington National Cemetery on Wednesday. It will be his first public appearance after spending the last several days holed up at the White House tweeting angry, baseless claims of voter fraud after his election loss. Trump hasn’t made public comments since President-elect Joe Biden surpassed the 270 electoral votes on Saturday needed to win the presidency. But he’s offered a barrage of postings on Twitter alleging unfounded claims of irregularities in voting in several battleground states that went for Biden. Trump will be joined at Arlington National Cemetery by first lady Melania Trump as well Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen Pence.

(Monaca, Pa.) One in ten babies is born prematurely in the United States and about 380,000 babies are born prematurely each year. The Community College of Beaver County is helping the March of Dimes bring awareness to premature births by lighting the Historic Community College Dome in Purple throughout the month of November in support of Prematurity awareness month. It’s all part of CCBS’s community engagement focus in which they have partnerships that promote community development, expand economic potential and provide lifelong learning opportunities.

CCBC President Roger W. Davis serves on the Western Pennsylvania March of Dimes Board of Directors. The CCBC Dome has hosted the Beaver County March for Babies since 2017. Learn more about how you can help prevent premature births at www.marchofdimes.org

The Dome will be lit purple everyday in November except for November 11-13 when it will be lit in red and blue to honor US Veterans

Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano

(Rochester, Pa.) Rochester Police and firefighters received a call to the sewer plant yesterday after a worker fell 30 feet into a hole.   Firefighters were able to lift the worker out of the hole with the proper equipment.   Police officer John Farmer said that the worker was life flighted to a Pittsburgh  hospital, Farmer said that the worker’s injuries appeared to be minor

Republican Garrity claims victory in state treasurer’s race
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Republican candidate Stacy Garrity is claiming victory over incumbent Democrat Joe Torsella in the Pennsylvania state treasurer’s race. Garrity is a retired U.S. Army Reserves colonel who is vice president of a tungsten smelting plant near hear home in Athens, Bradford County. Torsella conceded Tuesday via a video he posted on Twitter. The Associated Press hasn’t called the race because it’s not clear if Garrity will finish with a large enough lead to avoid an automatic statewide recount. Garrity repeated her campaign message that a major goal was to use the Treasury Department’s leverage to push lawmakers and the governor to limit state government spending to money that has been formally appropriated by the Legislature.