HARRISBURG – The Senate of Pennsylvania approved a resolution today urging the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) to rescind  its recent fee increases on borrowers with good credit, according to the bill’s sponsors, Sens. Devlin Robinson (R-37) and Kristin Phillips-Hill (R-28).

Senate Resolution 134 would require the secretary of the Senate of Pennsylvania to send a letter to President Joe Biden, leaders of the United States Senate and House of Representatives, Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation, and the FHFA to rescind the fee increases that went into effect May 1 of this year for single-family mortgages.

“I have spoken to many Pennsylvanians who want to buy a home, but simply cannot afford to due to the extremely high inflation and interest rates. The policy that went into effect earlier this year has increased the financial hurdle for many borrowers   on their path to pursue the American dream,” Robinson said. “We should encourage and support hard-working citizens – not burden them with higher government fees. I am pleased that my Senate colleagues agree, and I urge the federal government to listen.”

The FHFA unilaterally adopted a policy earlier this year that would increase fees on homebuyers with good credit who make large down payments on home purchases, while decreasing fees for borrowers with lower credit scores and small down payments. The FHFA has since retracted its debt-to-income ratio fee for home mortgages in May and accepted public comments on fee increases based on a borrower’s credit score throughout the summer.

“The mortgage crisis is only getting worse with lending rates exceeding 7%, more than double where it was two short years ago, plus never-ending inflation on home prices,” Phillips-Hill said. “Families that are trying to do the responsible thing by saving for their dream home should not be punished due to Washington’s failed policies that make homeownership more and more difficult. This resolution sends a very clear message from Pennsylvania to Washington D.C.: stop imperiling the American dream.”

The Senate adopted the resolution with bipartisan support.

HARRISBURG – The Senate Judiciary Committee passed significant reforms today as to how state government entities must address ransomware attacks, according to Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill (R-York), who sponsored the measure.

“We continue to see ransomware attacks on governmental entities grow as technology used by criminals becomes more sophisticated,” Phillips-Hill said. “It is important that we use this legislation to draw a line in the sand to say taxpayers will not be paying the ransom request by entities seeking to illegally extort money from hard-working Pennsylvanians.”

Under the legislation, Senate Bill 563, the act of possessing, using, developing, selling or threatening to use ransomware is defined and made illegal in the Commonwealth. The measure would subject criminals who use ransomware to a range of penalties – first-degree misdemeanor to a first-degree felony – depending on the monetary amount exploited.

Phillips-Hill shared that the measure would require near immediate notification of a ransomware attack within state government entities.

The Office of Administration (OA) would be required to produce an annual report detailing the number of ransomware attacks, along with the nature and impact of each attack. To mitigate vulnerabilities, OA would be required to study the state’s IT weaknesses and ability to respond to ransomware attacks. Following the review, OA would develop guidelines featuring best practices and response to potential future ransomware attacks.

The legislation will be presented to the full Senate for consideration.

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Contact:
Kiersten Laird
717.741.4648

HARRISBURG – Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-33), chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee, will host a ceremony to remember and recognize the heroic sacrifices made by U.S. military men and women during Operation Enduring Freedom at an event on Wednesday, Oct. 4, at 10 a.m. at Soldier’s Grove behind the state Capitol, Harrisburg.

Operation Enduring Freedom was the U.S.-led military response to the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pa. The response began on Oct. 7, 2001, when U.S. and British warplanes attacked Taliban and Al Qaeda targets in Afghanistan with the support of cruise missiles fired from warships. The U.S. led a broad and diverse coalition of countries in what became the opening salvo in the worldwide War on Terrorism. Operation Enduring Freedom concluded in Afghanistan on Dec. 28, 2014, with additional activity in that country taking place under the banner of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.

Participants will include:

• Sen. Devlin Robinson (R-37);
• Sen. Tracy Pennycuick (R-24);
• Sen. Greg Rothman (R-34);
• Rep. Dane Watro (R-116);
• Lt. Col. Schaun Myers, Pennsylvania National Guard chaplain;
• Pennsylvania National Guard Ceremonial Band.

Watch the service live at veterans.pasenategop.com.

CONTACT:
Josh Herman
717-787-9603

HARRISBURG – A bill to increase penalties on criminals who steal from retail stores was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee today, according to Sen. Dave Argall (R-29), the bill’s prime sponsor.

“As we saw in Philadelphia last week when mobs of people ransacked dozens of stores, our retailers are under siege,” said Argall. “The increase in retail theft we’ve seen in recent years is a slap in the face of every hardworking Pennsylvanian trying to provide for themselves and their families.”

According to the United States Chamber of Commerce, organized retail theft has resulted in the loss of almost 700,000 jobs nationwide due to over $125 billion in economic losses.

Senate Bill 596 would lower the monetary threshold for felony charges for the perpetrators of organized retail theft. There must be an intent to resell the stolen goods to be charged under the provisions of this bill.

The bill would also create the Office of Deputy Attorney General for Organized Retail Crime Theft. The office would consist of five prosecuting attorneys placed in different regions across the state to hold these criminals accountable.

The bill now advances to the full Senate for consideration.

CONTACT: Jim Brugger, 717-787-2637