00:06 - Good afternoon.

00:07 - I'm Francine Scherzer, senior vice president of politics and policy at PCN.

00:12 - President of the Pennsylvania Press Club and your host for today's luncheon.

00:17 - Joining me at the head

00:17 - table is David Taylor of the Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association.

00:21 - Thank you for your support and thank you for being here.

00:24 - The Pennsylvania Press Club luncheon series could not be possible

00:27 - without the support of the generous organizations listed on our sponsor

00:30 - banner.

00:31 - Today's program is streaming live on PC and select

00:34 - and airing live across the state on PC and TV.

00:38 - Our speaker

00:38 - today is Andrew Lewis, president and CEO of the Commonwealth Foundation.

00:43 - As a former state legislator, business executive, entrepreneur,

00:46 - and decorated Army combat veteran, Andrew brings a wealth of diverse

00:50 - experience to his role leading Pennsylvania's free market think tank.

00:54 - Andrew is a tireless champion of individual liberties, free markets

00:57 - and limited government.

00:59 - During his two terms in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives,

01:02 - he led the fight to pass universal school choice and empower parents.

01:06 - He actively advocated for the Taxpayer Protection Act, which would have limited

01:10 - the growth of state government spending through constitutional amendment.

01:14 - In the private sector, Andrew spearheaded the growth of two small businesses

01:18 - into successful companies before leading a key division

01:20 - at one of the premier regional home building companies in the United States.

01:25 - Andrew is an Iraq War veteran,

01:27 - almost ten years of active duty in Army reconnaissance and counterintelligence.

01:32 - He received five Commendation Medals, and his assignments

01:35 - include a post in South Korea and at the white House Military Office.

01:39 - He currently serves in the Army Reserve as a civil Affairs officer.

01:43 - He holds a B.A.

01:44 - in Political Science from Thomas

01:45 - Edison State University, an MBA from Temple University,

01:49 - and a master's in legislative affairs from George Washington University.

01:53 - In addition, he's a graduate of the Institute for Veterans

01:56 - and Military Families entrepreneurial Boot Camp at Syracuse University.

02:00 - Andrew and his wife Renee, and their three boys reside in State College area.

02:05 - Andrew Lewis, thank you for joining us.

02:12 - Well, thank you, Francine, and thank you to PyCon

02:15 - for inviting me and the Press Club for inviting me to this event.

02:19 - We know that a free press is foundational to a free society, but we also know

02:25 - that the local press is so important because they tell the stories that matter.

02:29 - When I was, shortly after I graduated boot camp, I was assigned to Fort Stewart,

02:33 - Georgia, and Savannah.

02:34 - My cousin, who's just a couple years older, graduated college

02:37 - around the same time.

02:38 - She was a local journalist,

02:39 - and she was posted at savvy, Savannah, the local affiliate there.

02:43 - And I'll never forget, you know, we were always in touch.

02:46 - And, with the hard work and the passion with which she approached her job

02:50 - as a local journalist.

02:51 - That's something I've carried with me.

02:52 - And so to those who do report the news and to the press club that represents them,

02:56 - you have our gratitude.

02:58 - I am privileged, as of Friday, to be entering my 20th month as president

03:03 - and CEO of the Commonwealth Foundation, and I will say that, KfW,

03:08 - under the leadership of incredible predecessors,

03:12 - has become the leading policy organization, sorry, chamber in the state.

03:17 - And I would say,

03:18 - we have an incredibly dynamic team, many of which are here today,

03:22 - and we have two of my predecessors in the room, Charles Mitchell and Matt.

03:27 - It's like the ghosts of Commonwealth past, present and future in the room.

03:31 - So it's good to hear haunting. Yeah.

03:33 - It's fantastic.

03:33 - So it's good to have you here.

03:36 - As Francine kind of talked about, my journey

03:38 - to this role is is an unconventional one.

03:42 - So I grew up in a.

03:43 - But that unconventional journey has given me unique,

03:47 - perspectives into the policy impacts, the impacts of public policy

03:52 - from a myriad of different perspectives and so I grew up, as some of you

03:56 - know, in Perry County across the river, and my dad is a drywall finisher.

03:59 - So I grew up in a small business family watching firsthand, a solopreneur

04:04 - build a business from scratch and the challenges that that entailed.

04:07 - And then I went to the military and was able to live in multiple states

04:11 - across the country and then around in countries around the world.

04:14 - And those experience showed me what public policy looks like

04:17 - outside of Pennsylvania.

04:18 - And so when I came back home and helped my brother Ben

04:21 - build a small drywall team into a multimillion dollar construction

04:24 - contracting company, I was able to see another

04:26 - perspective of how policy impacts the business community.

04:30 - And then finally, during two terms in the in the state House,

04:32 - I was able to travel to the state and get to know a ton of different people

04:36 - and hear their stories and talk to entrepreneurs and watch

04:40 - legislation get shaped on the House floor and ultimately become public policy.

04:44 - And so all of those experiences shaped my understanding

04:47 - of the impact of public policy in a very unique way.

04:51 - And having lived

04:53 - in nine total states and in four countries,

04:56 - I can tell you that one thing that I've learned definitively

04:59 - is that Pennsylvania has the greatest potential

05:02 - to be the top opportunity state, not just on the East Coast,

05:07 - not just in the Mid-Atlantic region, but also in the country.

05:10 - And I'll tell you why.

05:12 - If you had just one of our advantages as a state, you could lead,

05:15 - you could lead the way.

05:16 - We are geographically in the precise center of the East Coast,

05:21 - which gives us this incredible advantage for moving commerce,

05:25 - for for transportation and logistics. That's number one.

05:28 - If you just had that, you'd have an advantage relative to the other states.

05:32 - In addition to that, we have Marcellus and Shale under our Marcellus and Utica.

05:37 - Shale under our feet, which is incredible for energy and natural resources.

05:41 - So the natural resources we have gives us is an extreme competitive advantage.

05:45 - We have leading institutions of higher learning that have created

05:49 - some of the greatest innovations of our day.

05:51 - We have a workforce that, in my biased view, is the greatest in the country.

05:55 - We have motivated students graduating from college and going into the workforce.

05:58 - We have an incredible workforce.

06:00 - And finally, our history is so rich as the birthplace of American freedom.

06:05 - We if you look at where we're celebrating America 250 this year,

06:09 - and you're never going to hear a 250th anniversary speech anywhere in the country

06:14 - without Pennsylvania being talked about, because in Philadelphia,

06:16 - we gave birth to the country,

06:18 - where the Declaration of Independence was read for the first time.

06:21 - And so it's exciting, but

06:23 - though we should be the top state for opportunity,

06:26 - the reality on paper, the what's on paper, that's what we should be.

06:30 - The reality on the ground is sadly, much different.

06:33 - And the reality that we face is that every 24 minutes

06:36 - someone else moves out of Pennsylvania.

06:38 - They choose another state to call home.

06:40 - Just in the last decade, we lost 92,000 people out of Pennsylvania.

06:44 - We have a census coming up in a couple of years,

06:46 - and we're on track to lose yet another congressional seat.

06:49 - So the state

06:49 - that is the center of the East Coast, the state that gave birth to the country,

06:53 - the state that has so much innovation and trade,

06:54 - and the greatest workforce is losing people at an astounding rate.

06:59 - In fact,

07:00 - there's a report, rich states, poor states, the tracks economic performance

07:03 - in the states.

07:04 - And in 2026 they rank US 43 out of 50.

07:08 - In economic performance, it's astounding.

07:11 - And there's a huge problem.

07:12 - So you have to ask yourself, why is this?

07:13 - Why are people moving out of the greatest?

07:15 - What could be the greatest opportunity state?

07:16 - They're moving to states like Florida and Texas and Ohio and North Carolina.

07:21 - And the answer is simple.

07:23 - If you look at all the states they're moving to,

07:26 - they all have a four part formula that they've employed over

07:29 - the last few years that have created such opportunity in these states.

07:32 - The formula is very simple.

07:33 - Number one,

07:34 - they empower and they

07:35 - encourage their job creators to come in and build businesses and create jobs.

07:39 - That's number one.

07:40 - Number two,

07:42 - they ensure that the people working in those jobs can keep

07:45 - more of the tax dollars that they earn, and they're not oppressed by a government

07:49 - that taxes them to death. That's number two.

07:52 - Number three, they ensure that more graduates of school

07:56 - can qualify for those great jobs

07:58 - because they can learn in an environment that works best for them.

08:02 - And finally, they're not afraid to leverage

08:03 - their natural resources in those states.

08:05 - They go out and they leverage their resources.

08:08 - If Governor Newsom was the governor of Texas, I'm

08:10 - sure he would ban all drilling in the Permian Basin.

08:12 - But the reality is these other states are leveraging their natural resources.

08:16 - So when you see states like Ohio, where a business that wants to get started

08:21 - is being welcomed by policymakers,

08:23 - they're being welcomed and said, thank you for doing business in our state.

08:25 - You apply for a permit in Texas and you get it in 30 or 60 days

08:29 - instead of 12 to 14 months.

08:31 - That's what's happening in these states.

08:32 - There's this four part formula

08:34 - that has worked incredibly well and has driven people to these states

08:37 - in record numbers.

08:38 - And so how do we apply that formula here in Pennsylvania?

08:40 - That's what I want to talk to you about, is going to be a great discussion.

08:43 - Well, here's how.

08:43 - Let's just start at the end and work our way backwards.

08:46 - So if we start with tapping into our natural resources,

08:49 - as I alluded to, we've got Marcellus in Utica Shale.

08:52 - It's an incredible natural resource that we have here.

08:55 - Few people know this, but we and actually many in this room probably do.

08:59 - But few people in the public know this.

09:01 - But we have enough natural gas and energy resources under our feet

09:06 - to power the internet, not just the state.

09:07 - With the entire electric grid for the country for decades, if not a century.

09:12 - And there's untapped and undiscovered resources under our feet,

09:16 - we need to tap into that and leverage that.

09:18 - Now, unfortunately, we've had two governors, current and former,

09:22 - who have tried to get the state into the regional greenhouse.

09:25 - Gas Initiative, which is essentially a carbon tax.

09:28 - It would have cost taxpayers in Pennsylvania $1.6 billion

09:32 - every single year in additional tax burden in Pennsylvania.

09:36 - It's a construct.

09:37 - It's a made up program that actually doesn't help reduce any emissions.

09:40 - It just penalizes states.

09:43 - And now we see Virginia entering that compact.

09:45 - Now, thanks to the chamber, Commonwealth Foundation, legislative

09:49 - allies and others, state has withdrawn from that as of last year.

09:53 - But the effects are staggering because in the multiple years

09:56 - that we looked at getting into that,

09:57 - there were many investors who chose to go to Ohio or other states instead.

10:01 - So we've got to rebound.

10:03 - Well, now the governor is proposing the lightning plan.

10:06 - The lightning plan

10:07 - both creates yet another carbon tax, but it also seeks to manipulate the portfolio

10:11 - by mandating a certain amount of unreliable energy sources.

10:14 - As part of our portfolio, we have this incredible natural resource

10:18 - in Pennsylvania.

10:19 - And if you're going to mandate that

10:21 - 50% plus of our portfolio comes from these renewable sources,

10:25 - that's like owning a basketball team and having Michael Jordan in his prime

10:28 - play on it and telling him he can't play more than 50% of the time.

10:32 - It's lunacy.

10:34 - Yet we still have these mandates being pushed on Pennsylvania,

10:37 - and so we have to get away from those mandates.

10:40 - I spoke with a young woman named Roxana about a week and a half ago.

10:44 - She runs a policy organization in Spain,

10:47 - and what she will tell you is that they have mandated solar

10:50 - as a significant part of their portfolio there.

10:51 - It's 50 plus percent.

10:53 - They had a national blackout last year.

10:55 - The entire country was blacked out

10:58 - because they relied so heavily on an unreliable source.

11:02 - Pennsylvania, as we know, has some pretty severe winters.

11:04 - And we also have one of the largest, aging populations.

11:07 - And so when you combine those two things

11:09 - with an unreliable grid source, you actually put lives in danger.

11:12 - It's not sustainable, certainly not affordable.

11:15 - So we've got to make sure the lightning plan

11:17 - that Pennsylvania doesn't need a lightning plan, Pennsylvania needs a power plan.

11:20 - We need a plan

11:21 - that that produces the power that is abundant, affordable and reliable.

11:25 - You need to hit all three.

11:27 - So once you get energy squared away and we unleash our natural resources,

11:31 - let's move back.

11:32 - What's the next component of the formula?

11:35 - Well, let's talk about education.

11:37 - You've got to have a workforce that is qualified to go out there

11:40 - and get these jobs.

11:41 - You have to if you don't have a workforce that's qualified,

11:44 - you're not going to be able to unleash your economy.

11:45 - We must unleash the potential of our workforce.

11:48 - And I will tell you that in Pennsylvania, despite our opportunity, despite,

11:53 - the incredible innovations we see in our institutions of higher

11:57 - learning, in secondary education, we see some very troubling facts.

12:01 - One of those facts is let's just zoom in to the Philadelphia school District

12:04 - in Philadelphia today.

12:06 - If you were in the eighth grade, for every 100 students,

12:09 - 85 of them will not be proficient in math at grade level.

12:13 - 82 of them will not be able to read at grade level.

12:16 - In the eighth grade period.

12:18 - If you're a mom that has two kids

12:20 - going to school in Philadelphia, by the time they graduate school,

12:23 - the government will have spent over $700,000 to get them through school.

12:27 - And at the eighth grade, there's an 80 plus percent chance

12:30 - that they will not be proficient in reading or math at the eighth grade.

12:33 - It's a crisis.

12:35 - It is a state crisis, and it should be talked about every single day.

12:39 - So how do we fix this?

12:40 - Well, the conventional path you would think is,

12:41 - well, let's just dump more money into the schools.

12:43 - And if we can get the funding up, we can fix the problem. Right.

12:46 - And and that was the message and that was what was tried for decades.

12:50 - But now we have record funding for these schools.

12:52 - And I remember back in 2019 and 2020 being in the House and voting for record

12:56 - funding, 30 plus thousand dollars per student per year in Philadelphia.

13:01 - And yet we don't see a correlating increase in student outcomes, period.

13:04 - We don't.

13:06 - So we have to look at making sure kids

13:08 - have the opportunities to learn in an environment that works best for them.

13:12 - Well, one of the great programs enacted about 15 years

13:14 - ago is the ITC program, the Education Improvement Tax Credit Program.

13:18 - It allows charitable people to give a donation

13:21 - and get a portion of that donation back through a tax credit.

13:24 - And those donations help kids get out of schools that are failing them.

13:28 - And by the way, there are many schools.

13:30 - We published a report last year that are persistently dangerous schools.

13:34 - There are kids in these schools getting bullied,

13:36 - their kids in these schools exposed to high crime rates.

13:38 - We owe them an opportunity to be rescued from those schools.

13:42 - And so as of last year, 101,000 kids now depend on the ITC program

13:46 - to have a shot at a future so they can pursue their American dream.

13:50 - But there's 70,000 kids

13:53 - who applied that were turned away because there's income, there's caps.

13:56 - There's caps set for for how many kids can be on the program.

13:59 - So 70,000 were turned away.

14:01 - Now, thankfully, last year as part of the federal

14:04 - omnibus bill, the federal scholarship tax credit was passed.

14:07 - This tax credit would give

14:10 - another 100,000 kids in Pennsylvania an option to add, at a minimum,

14:14 - an opportunity to be rescued from a school they're trapped in.

14:18 - That is not working for them.

14:20 - And the only thing that has to happen for those dollars to come to Pennsylvania

14:23 - is for Governor Shapiro to opt in.

14:25 - It's a one page document.

14:26 - You got to sign it and you got to file it,

14:29 - and then those dollars will flow to Pennsylvania.

14:31 - Now the program's in existence already.

14:33 - It relies on charitable giving.

14:35 - It does not take a dime from the state budget.

14:37 - It does not take a penny from public schools.

14:40 - It is a no-brainer.

14:41 - And it's already been appropriated.

14:43 - So as of January next year, taxpayers are going to start

14:46 - donating to scholarship organizations.

14:48 - Like it or not, they're going to get the tax credit.

14:50 - And what determines if those dollars stay in Pennsylvania

14:52 - or get sent to other states is Governor Shapiro's signature.

14:56 - Now, I know there are those

14:58 - on the National Front that would say these programs are bad.

15:01 - I don't understand why.

15:03 - I suspect it's because they would care more about

15:07 - adults getting better pay and pension than they would about students

15:10 - getting a better education.

15:11 - But there are special interests that are very powerful and influential.

15:14 - And for people like Governor Beshear in Kentucky,

15:16 - who has presidential aspirations and chose to try

15:20 - to opt to stayed out and thankfully was overcome by his legislature, I get it.

15:23 - You know, he's trying to position for those support by those special interests.

15:28 - Now, early signals suggest that our governor may be eyeing a presidential run.

15:32 - We don't know. We can only surmise.

15:36 - But it's

15:37 - my hope that he doesn't fall into that camp of politicians

15:41 - who would put political aspirations ahead of the futures of our kids.

15:45 - In fact, I would hope that he places a greater weight on the hopes,

15:49 - dreams and aspirations of 100,000 Pennsylvania kids

15:53 - than he does on his own aspirations to live at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

15:57 - That's our hope.

15:59 - So once you get your state opportunities like we can do

16:03 - with the federal scholarship tax credit program,

16:05 - from there, you got to talk about a tax, making sure that there's reasonable

16:08 - competitive tax rates so people can thrive and keep more of their money.

16:11 - We've got a simple way to do that this year is

16:14 - we have a budget proposal on the table.

16:16 - We're all following it. Some are reporting on it.

16:19 - We got a budget proposal on the table that sets us up.

16:21 - Unfortunately for a budget deficit that is being covered by a rainy day fund

16:26 - savings account,

16:27 - it's not sustainable because next year we won't have the balance

16:30 - of that rainy day fund, but we'll still have the deficit.

16:33 - So as having been in the legislature, I didn't learn all things, but what I did

16:36 - learn is that when you have a deficit, you only have two ways to close it.

16:39 - You can either dramatically cut spending or you can increase taxes.

16:42 - Those are the only two options you have after next year with no rainy day fund.

16:46 - So this budget does set us up for a tax hike

16:49 - despite claims to the contrary, and we must reject it.

16:52 - It also relies on revenue from two streams marijuana

16:55 - and skill games, which the policies haven't even been enacted yet.

16:59 - So imagine buying a truck on a credit card based on a part time job.

17:03 - You think you're going to have next year,

17:04 - and you haven't even interviewed for it yet.

17:06 - That's that's what we're doing.

17:07 - It's not wise.

17:09 - It sets our people up for a tax hike and it's unsustainable.

17:12 - We can't do it. So we got to reject that.

17:14 - And then finally, we've got to encourage and empower businesses and job creators

17:17 - to come into our state.

17:19 - On this front, I would applaud the governor

17:21 - for his rhetoric to speed up permitting to do things like that.

17:24 - I think that's important.

17:25 - We also, though, need those those programs to apply to more permits.

17:29 - Right now, those programs apply to less than 10%

17:31 - of the permit applications being submitted.

17:32 - We've got to expand the programs.

17:34 - We got to get more businesses in business quicker.

17:36 - We got to cut the red tape that prevents them from doing so.

17:39 - And at that point, you're going to have people choosing Pennsylvania over Ohio

17:43 - in these other states.

17:44 - So with those four things, we can make Pennsylvania the leading state

17:47 - for opportunity and prosperity, not just on the East Coast

17:51 - or the Mid-Atlantic, but across the country.

17:53 - We are the Keystone State.

17:54 - We will get it done.

17:56 - And with that, I welcome your questions. Thank you.

18:05 - Governor Shapiro has a large campaign War chest.

18:08 - IBEW is the top in the top five contributors.

18:12 - How will Shapiro make it worth their while?

18:14 - It's a it's such a great question I think.

18:16 - And one I would note I represent a 501 C3 nonpolitical nonpartisan organization.

18:21 - And we we we are very careful, in our commentary on political fronts.

18:26 - But I will say that, look,

18:28 - when politicians are funded by certain groups,

18:31 - you got to look at who's funding them and look at what those groups demand.

18:33 - And are they on the side of taxpayers or on are they on the side of adults

18:37 - who want bigger paychecks and pensions?

18:39 - That's what you have to look at.

18:41 - Do Donald Trump's poor poll ratings indicate

18:43 - difficulty in electing conservative candidates in November?

18:47 - Well, such a good, good, good slew of political questions here.

18:50 - So again, on the five and one C3,

18:53 - I think polls come and go, but I love to talk policy.

18:57 - I would love to talk about Pennsylvania policy.

19:00 - What experiences or skills from your time in the House

19:02 - help your new role at the Commonwealth Foundation?

19:04 - Well, you know, that was a great question.

19:06 - Thank you to whoever.

19:07 - But that one.

19:08 - And so it's a good that's a that's a fair that's a really solid question.

19:12 - You know, I would say,

19:14 - being in the legislature is a unique experience.

19:15 - And I know we have some in this room, Steve and others who've who've served,

19:19 - but it teaches you to understand the process.

19:24 - Number one,

19:25 - you've got to understand the process of getting an idea from an idea into a law.

19:29 - And secondly, it teaches you you have to work with others to get it done.

19:31 - So you can't just unilaterally decide you want a new law.

19:34 - You've got to understand there's many,

19:36 - many people that it takes to get that law done.

19:38 - And you've got to work with those people to get it done.

19:39 - So I think those things, understanding that and then being willing

19:42 - to work through that process.

19:44 - The mission of Commonwealth Foundation is to transform free

19:46 - market ideas into public policy, empowering all Pennsylvanians to thrive.

19:50 - And you can't do it

19:51 - if you're not able to transform an idea into a law through advocacy

19:54 - and through the proper

19:56 - legislative channels. And so I think having worked in

19:58 - that environment has helped me learn that process.

20:01 - Pennsylvania has the opportunity to opt in to receiving

20:04 - federal matching scholarship money through the Freedom Education Tax Credit.

20:07 - Can you talk about how this differs from the ITC

20:10 - and how do you respond to people that are concerned

20:12 - that the Trump administration wants to dismantle the Department of Education?

20:15 - It's a great question.

20:16 - So the ITC program is a state program in Pennsylvania.

20:18 - We have over 250 scholarship granting organizations in the Commonwealth

20:22 - that already benefit.

20:23 - And all right, well, not that they distribute ITC scholarships.

20:26 - It's a Pennsylvania specific program.

20:29 - It's a Pennsylvania tax credit program.

20:31 - So they're a portion of the dollars you contribute as a donor come back to you.

20:35 - The federal scholarship tax credit program,

20:38 - also known as the Education Freedom Tax Credit Program.

20:40 - There's a couple of different names being being pioneered on this thing,

20:43 - but basically it's a federal program and it's a 100% of a tax credit.

20:47 - And it caps out at $1,700.

20:49 - So you can give up to $1,700 to an sgo to a scholarship granting organization.

20:55 - You get 100% of that back, and it's administered by those same sgo.

20:59 - So it's not like the feds are coming in

21:01 - giving the money and controlling where it goes.

21:02 - It's still administered

21:03 - locally through the same scholarship granting organizations.

21:07 - The concerns on what was the final part of the question, the Trump

21:11 - administration, saying that they want to dismantle the Department of Education.

21:14 - Oh, I see, yes.

21:16 - So my my focus in the role I'm in is, is always going to be on the state

21:20 - level, on the state, landscape and on state policy.

21:24 - And anytime I look at education and the role of policymakers

21:27 - when it comes to education,

21:28 - it's always first and foremost got to be centered on the students.

21:31 - So every time you enact an educational policy,

21:33 - every time you make a decision on budgeting,

21:35 - it's always got to fixate on students, not adults.

21:38 - We have a habit of always saying, hey, we want to fixate on the adults,

21:40 - get a bigger pension, the paychecks

21:41 - we first and foremost have to make sure we focus on the students and get them

21:44 - the education they need so they can pursue and access their American dream.

21:48 - When we're question on education, for those of us

21:50 - not focused on education in the room, why should we care about it?

21:54 - Yeah, that's a that's a great question.

21:57 - Because the future of the present and future of the country

22:01 - depends on an educated workforce.

22:02 - We can't have jobs and we can't have goods and services.

22:06 - We can't have basic transportation.

22:08 - You can't do anything if you don't have an educated workforce

22:11 - who can access the jobs and can deliver those goods and services.

22:15 - The whole economy screeches to a halt.

22:16 - So if you care about

22:18 - getting up in the morning and be able to get in a car that works and get gas

22:21 - and it pumps and go to your job

22:23 - and earn a living and someone processes the paycheck,

22:25 - all that stuff requires an educated workforce.

22:27 - So if you don't care about education, I would say you may not have a good one.

22:33 - And you should probably understand how a good education leads

22:36 - to a thriving economy.

22:38 - Is in Pennsylvania a leading exporter of energy?

22:41 - Do we really need incentives

22:42 - to push more carbon energy sources and turn our backs on the devastating

22:45 - effects of global warming? You know, it's really interesting.

22:48 - This is such a good question because I don't think the facts have gone

22:51 - and you'll be

22:52 - whoever asked this will be encouraged to know that as nat natural gas,

22:55 - which is one of the cleanest forms of energy production, and as natural

22:58 - gas output has increased, gas emissions have actually decreased.

23:02 - So there's a decrease. It's lower than ever.

23:05 - These are clean energy sources.

23:06 - And especially when we talk about nuclear and small modular reactors

23:10 - and the things happening with the

23:11 - the energy market, incredible advances to reduce emissions.

23:15 - Yeah, that's a great question.

23:17 - Does Governor Shapiro have a problem when it comes to his record

23:20 - on government transparency?

23:22 - You know, if I were on the governor's team or advising him,

23:26 - I think I would say hire less TikTok experts and hire

23:30 - more people who are both good at math and good at actual transparency.

23:34 - I think there may

23:35 - I would be concerned,

23:36 - I would be kind of concerned about some of the things we've seen.

23:39 - But ultimately it's more the math I worry about when we talk about

23:42 - these unsustainable budgets.

23:45 - Do you ever miss your

23:46 - days of being a state legislature legislator,

23:49 - and do you see yourself running for elective office in the future?

23:52 - If so, what position?

23:53 - That's a great question.

23:55 - One yes, I do miss my days sometimes.

23:57 - Sometimes I do.

23:58 - I think there was a camaraderie in the house.

24:00 - You get to, you know, you actually get to get up every morning

24:02 - and like fight the fight, right?

24:04 - You get to introduce legislation, you get to try to get it through committee.

24:07 - And I think there's something very fulfilling about that.

24:09 - So I'd be lying to say I don't miss it.

24:11 - I have no plans at this point to run for office.

24:13 - I'm very committed to my role at, Commonwealth Foundation, and that's

24:17 - where my focus is.

24:19 - We'd like to thank Andrew Lewis and wish him well.

24:21 - We have some momentous for him.

24:22 - These are gifts, compliments of the World.

24:24 - Affairs Council, Harrisburg PCN and the Pennsylvania Press Club.

24:28 - In closing, we want to thank you for being with us.

24:30 - Our next luncheon is Monday, May 18th.

24:32 - Our guests will be US Senator Dave McCormick.

24:34 - For scheduling information, visit our website.

24:36 - Press club.org.

24:37 - Thank you so much.

24:38 - Thank you.

25:00 - It's. You.