The holidays are around the corner, but we wanted to send you a message reflecting on the progress we made in 2024 and how we’re gearing up for next year.

It really has been a momentous year for the Commonwealth Foundation and Pennsylvania.

It’s not a stretch to say that Pennsylvania came through for America. Our swing state—the biggest in the country—roundly rejected the Left. Pennsylvanians sent a decisive message: They want fiscally sound policies that lead to prosperity for everyone. Voters rejected big-government mandates in favor of policies that unshackle job creators and unleash our resources and full potential.

That’s why the Commonwealth Foundation is working right now to meet that demand in 2025.

Our government affairs team is hard at work in Harrisburg, meeting with incoming lawmakers and prepping for the next legislative session. They’re making face-to-face connections with new and returning policymakers so that we hit the ground running in January.

Our policy team isn’t waiting until January to develop a robust policy agenda that will better serve our commonwealth. They’re hard at work on the agenda, which will include policies like extending educational options to students and parents, investing in domestic energy cultivation, reducing government barriers to the marketplace, extending tax relief for businesses and individuals, and expanding health care access. We can’t wait to debut this policy agenda in 2025 and make it a reality in Harrisburg.

We're optimistic about our chances next year for more big freedom wins. Our victories over the past twelve months have been impressive:

• This time last year, lawmakers passed—and Gov. Josh Shapiro signed—the largest school choice increase in Pennsylvania history, which expanded the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) programs by enough money to help another 35,000 kids.
• In June, the programs received another major funding boost to help another 17,500 students.
• We continued to build momentum for Lifeline Scholarships, once again making the program a centerpiece of budget negotiations. Shapiro has backed the plan, making him the highest-ranking Democrat in the country to endorse education opportunity accounts.
• Also in June, Shapiro signed a bipartisan bill to expand health insurance in Pennsylvania to cover and reimburse telemedicine services. The bill is a great step forward in lowering costs and increasing access to health care.

But those weren’t our only big victories. We successfully played defense, blocking two bills that would have taken Pennsylvania backward:

• The Democrat-controlled House tried to pass what would have been the largest tax increase in state history. The bill would have forced every Pennsylvania employer to pay a 1 percent payroll tax to fund mandatory paid leave. But our education efforts helped galvanize enough constituents to kill the bill.
• In September, the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee scheduled a vote on one of Shapiro’s costly green-energy schemes. Once again, we educated the public about its cost, and the bill’s cosponsor withdrew the measure.

These victories are why we couldn’t be more excited for 2025. With your support, we will to have a huge impact in Harrisburg, which will reverberate across the country.

- Commonwealth Foundation