00:00 - Hello i would like to thank folks for being here today

00:05 - on behalf of conservation voters of Pennsylvania

00:09 - and our partners across the environmental landscape

00:14 - i would just like to say

00:16 - thanks.

00:17 - There is a lot going on right now in the work world and in Pennsylvania especially

00:22 - around environmental and climate issues

00:25 - but especially

00:27 - around rising gas prices

00:29 - the need for electric vehicles with that

00:32 - are utility bills that have been

00:35 - rising so much because we are getting

00:38 - data center specular nation

00:40 - because we do not have enough clean energy on the grid so with that

00:47 - because we know that at the federal level.

00:50 - Donald trump

00:52 - has pushed as you know last year a build back and

00:55 - what should have been a build back better bill

00:59 - but what we call a big bs bill

01:02 - and frankly Scott Perry also voted for that

01:05 - this is making our affordability crisis

01:08 - worse.

01:10 - Where

01:10 - so many things that were in place at the federal level

01:14 - to help reduce our costs at the previous administration had done

01:18 - that previous

01:19 - other great members of congress had voted for

01:22 - and right now we have a congressman

01:24 - that has not done

01:25 - what his constituents need him to do on affordability

01:29 - but we do have estate house

01:31 - who has been working on those issues

01:33 - not a state senate

01:34 - but a state house

01:36 - so before i go any farther into some of the issues that Pennsylvania is facing

01:40 - i would like to introduce state representative Dave madsen to talk a little bit

01:44 - about what the state house has done

01:46 - and the affordability crisis here in the capital region.

01:53 - Will good afternoon

01:55 - stay representative Dave madsen i have the privilege of

01:57 - representing the hundred and fourth legislative district

02:00 - and

02:02 - yes as

02:02 - was just mentioned and.

02:06 - It's been a little frustrating on my side.

02:09 - Especially in the state house house because we've passed a series of bills to address

02:13 - the concerns of not just my constituents but

02:16 - pence all of Pennsylvania ones

02:18 - and what we consistently hear in our district offices are the same thing.

02:22 - A few the last election cycle when congressman Perry was running

02:27 - alongside

02:28 - president trump

02:30 - they promised us they were going to lower costs we were going to have

02:34 - more jobs

02:36 - and there's going to be no wars.

02:39 - While few years later what do we have we have have multiple conflicts

02:44 - that are causing supply shocks that are

02:46 - increasing prices.

02:49 - What I've seen they haven't brought any new jobs back

02:52 - to my district or anywhere in Pennsylvania

02:56 - and.

02:58 - We haven't seen costs go down they just keep going up.

03:02 - So the promises that were made to not just my community

03:05 - but Pennsylvania and the nation have been broken

03:08 - and i think

03:09 - yesterday's election results.

03:12 - Should be a clear message to

03:14 - the senate g o p

03:16 - this

03:17 - o p

03:18 - nationally

03:19 - and even my colleagues in the house

03:21 - pennsylvanians are pissed off.

03:24 - They were promised something

03:26 - and they didn't deliver it

03:27 - now the state house

03:29 - in conjunction with this governor.

03:31 - We've cut taxes.

03:33 - We just recently through the governor's executive

03:36 - order

03:37 - are holding big tech and data centers accountable with regulations.

03:42 - And work consistently working to make sure that we're keeping costs

03:46 - low

03:46 - or competitive

03:48 - and

03:49 - we wish we had more support from our colleagues in the senate

03:52 - ah and hopefully after yesterday's election we'll get

03:55 - going with some special sessions

03:57 - look i don't want to wait till the end of September to address these issues

04:00 - so easy for me to say i live in hell iceberg

04:03 - but i'm here

04:03 - and my colleagues would gladly come back

04:06 - to come back and do some work with the senate

04:08 - to lower prices

04:09 - and put more money in Pennsylvania pockets and address the

04:11 - the

04:12 - their concerns

04:13 - as

04:13 - particularly around regulating data centers

04:16 - we passed a series of bills we'd love to send it

04:17 - to come back and work with us on those things and.

04:22 - Away I'll say this there are some positive things that we haven't been able to achieve

04:25 - particularly

04:27 - that my district is a poster child for

04:29 - we were able to pass solar for schools

04:32 - and we have

04:32 - money that's been allocated to that if you're not

04:35 - familiar with solar for schools is it is a Grant program

04:38 - that gives school districts

04:40 - grants to that they can

04:42 - have have solar arrays that power their school districts so

04:45 - right now where a lot of other school districts in my district are having

04:48 - conversations about what to do with the

04:50 - increasing

04:51 - utility and oil prices

04:53 - stilton high spire

04:54 - which is one hundred per cent solar and has easy buses

04:57 - they're not worried about those things.

05:00 - They have other concerns but they're not necessary early

05:02 - worried about how they're going to pay for their buses

05:05 - ah and and and gas

05:08 - and they're not worried about

05:09 - ah supply shocks and what it's going to cost to

05:12 - power their

05:13 - their facilities because

05:15 - we have an infinite source in the sun.

05:19 - So

05:20 - we have grants

05:21 - across Pennsylvania.

05:23 - So that other schools can do similar type of programs and the demand for that program

05:28 - is growing not shrinking we're seeing school districts across Pennsylvania

05:31 - in bright blue

05:33 - Ruby red.

05:34 - Purple

05:35 - you name the color

05:37 - they're interested in us similar type of program in their school district.

05:41 - So we know what the solution is

05:44 - what i constantly said the challenge or task of this generation

05:48 - is to transition from a

05:50 - to a carbon free economy

05:53 - and restore middle class and often it's framed as two

05:56 - exclusive things they're not they can be done in conjunction we can save the planet

06:01 - and we can save taxpayer money.

06:04 - And put money back in people's pockets the technology exists

06:07 - we can do this we can transition from a world

06:09 - where we're pulling minerals from the earth

06:11 - burning them

06:12 - to create our fuel

06:14 - or we can use infinite sources like sunde and when

06:16 - to power our economy

06:18 - we've seen other countries do it we can do it

06:21 - and i know that the Pennsylvania state house is ready

06:23 - to lead the charge into space and have would just need the senate to get it together

06:27 - so.

06:28 - Thanks so much for having me.

06:30 - Let's continue to build and do the work

06:32 - and make Pennsylvania greener and restore middle class in Pennsylvania thank you.

06:40 - Thank you representative.

06:42 - I want to talk a little bit more about

06:44 - what has happened

06:46 - what is happening to Pennsylvania.

06:48 - The trump administration canceled hundreds of billions of dollars in

06:53 - clean energy investments

06:55 - investments that were designed to lower our utility bills i

06:58 - provide cheaper power made with union labor

07:01 - right here in our own communities

07:04 - blocked clean energy projects

07:06 - keeping us completely addicted to volatile fossil fuels

07:11 - and

07:12 - they are cost cutting

07:14 - projects that could help all of us

07:17 - at the same time time the administration and members of congress like Scott Perry

07:22 - have rolled back supports for electric vehicles

07:25 - and pushed up the cost of driving.

07:28 - They have rolled back clean car standards

07:31 - forcing people to burn more gas as those prices are going up

07:35 - and right now

07:36 - because this is not energy independence

07:39 - it is a gift to oil

07:41 - billionaires

07:42 - that cost the everyday Pennsylvania driver

07:45 - an extra eighty cents a gallon on average she

07:49 - and we could save.

07:52 - If we

07:52 - switched a little bit just a little bit how we do things

07:56 - a thousand dollars a year

07:58 - for pennsylvanians

07:59 - on fuel and maintenance costs if things like this

08:02 - were not happening and we still had incentives

08:05 - we also the congress that eliminated

08:08 - home enter eg incentives to families to reduce their utility bills heat pumps and all

08:13 - kinds of other things he pumps that could be made here in Pennsylvania

08:18 - some of them have been

08:19 - and actions by the president and members of congress including Scott Perry

08:24 - have raised the costs on average for Pennsylvania families

08:28 - by two one thousand one hundred and eighty two dollars

08:31 - per household

08:32 - just in the first half

08:35 - of twenty twenty six

08:36 - with higher gas

08:37 - utility bills

08:39 - and groceries

08:40 - by the end of twenty twenty six we expect that minimum number

08:44 - could grow

08:45 - to well over three thousand dollars

08:47 - and we need referees senators in d c

08:50 - and in the building behind us like representative madsen

08:54 - and his colleagues in the house

08:56 - we can take house bill eighteen thirty four that is languishing

08:59 - it is around data centers it's language in the senate

09:03 - but that would

09:04 - let us have

09:05 - some investments from these big wealthy tech companies

09:09 - to put back into our communities

09:11 - to invest back into lie heap

09:13 - to invest into powder

09:15 - and small

09:16 - clean renewable energy projects to help our communities and our bills

09:21 - there are so many bills that we could reference you heard some

09:23 - from representative Madison but unfortunately whether it is the Pennsylvania senate.

09:29 - Or members of congress in Washington

09:32 - this stuff is not happening and we need people to be aware.

09:36 - We want to now will the senate sand with the families

09:39 - struggling to fill their tanks and their grocery carts

09:42 - and pay their bills

09:43 - will congress do the same

09:45 - or are people going to support

09:48 - those oil and gas bills Ian ayres who are making so much money

09:51 - off of

09:52 - Iran and all of those other things that were rolled back.

09:57 - We deserve a state government and a federal government that works as hard as

10:01 - folks like representative Madison

10:04 - and we need people to pass these bills

10:06 - and block

10:07 - further issues

10:09 - in wa

10:10 - DC

10:11 - so i want to thank everyone for coming out today and hearing our message

10:14 - we really appreciate it

10:16 - and the affordability crisis is not over and

10:18 - it's not going to be over after one election

10:20 - and we have a lot of work to do on policies both in Pennsylvania

10:24 - and at the federal level

10:25 - thank you.

10:28 - Oh.

10:31 - At.