House Republican members joined in the Main Rotunda Wednesday to show their support for victims of abuse. 

The chamber has passed more than a dozen bills this month that House Republican's claim are related to supporting crime victims and abuse survivors. The House also acted in some fashion on all of the recommendations from the grand jury investigation that looked into the sexual abuse that was taking place in the Catholic Church. House Majority Leader Bryan Cutler(R-Lancaster) stated that by the end of today's session, all four recommendations will have passed through the house. He could not speak on what the Senate would do next.

A fight has been reignited in the Capitol over whether the state should end making general assistance cash payments to poor Pennsylvanians, after the program was reinstated in 2018 because of a technicality found by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
 
House Republicans are seeking to once again end the cash assistance program, which pays out monthly stipends of approximately $205 to Pennsylvania citizens who have under $250 in countable resources. The program was eliminated in a 2012 bill signed into law by then Gov. Tom Corbett, but was reinstated once the state Supreme Court found that the General Assembly did not consider the bill the required number of times under the Pennsylvania Constitution.

Monday marked a historic day for the Pennsylvania General Assembly, as the House of Representatives swore in Movita Johnson-Harrell (D-Philadelphia) as the newest member of the chamber — and also the first Muslim woman in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. 
 
Johnson-Harrell now represents the 190th legislative district, which covers a portion of Philadelphia. 

In what will likely be the first bill signed into law this session, SB 113 is nearing Gov. Tom Wolf’s desk and after confirmation to a House amendment by the Senate, is just a signature away from strengthening pension forfeiture requirements for public officials convicted of job-related felonies.  

The bill, sponsored by Sen. John DiSanto (R-Dauphin), aims to close a loophole that currently allows public employees to keep taxpayer-funded pensions when convicted of certain felonies. If signed into law, those found guilty of crimes relating to public employment — including conspiracy — would have their pension benefits forfeited under the new law.

Meet Mike Staub, press secretary for House Majority Leader Bryan Cutler and spokesperson for Republican Caucus.

Staub made the transition from working in TV news to working everyday in the Pennsylvania Capitol. Find out more about his job, how his transition was and what he likes to do when he is not working.