State Senator Mastriano’s Reprehensible Bill to Attack Transgender People
State Senator Doug Mastriano, the right-wing extremist who lost the governor’s race in 2022, has introduced Senate Bill 213, Two Gender Protection Act.
Transgender people make up about 0.5% of the U.S. population. They live, work, pay taxes and raise families, like everyone else. Why are Republicans attacking their own constituents? Why, when our country has real issues needing attention, are they wasting our tax dollars to strip civil rights from already marginalized people?
If passed, SB 213 would make life even more difficult for people who do not fit neatly into male/female categories. It restricts access to single-sex spaces like bathrooms and locker rooms. This is stupid. How would it be enforced? Would people call the police and force someone to prove they were not trans?
SB 213 mandates that government-issued identification documents reflect only the individual’s sex assigned at birth, disregarding the individual’s right to their own gender identity. Would every Pennsylvania citizen need to produce proof of their sex on applications for a driver’s license, passport and other personal IDs, just to verify that they weren’t a trans person? This is cruel, stupid and illegal, and a huge waste of our tax dollars to implement.
If we as citizens do not protest this type of reprehensible legislation immediately, we are inviting more of the same. What group of citizens will lose their civil rights next?
If you find this proposed legislation reprehensible, please call or email your PA senator to express your disapproval.
Maggie Waggoner, Lewisburg
Governor Shapiro Stands Up for Pennsylvania
Governor Josh Shapiro shows a lot of courage in standing up for Pennsylvania by taking the Trump administration to court for illegally blocking more than $2 billion in federal funding that has already been legally obligated to our state.
This is real money for real projects that Pennsylvanians depend on. Congress, with bipartisan support, approved this funding to protect public health, lower energy costs, and create jobs in rural communities. These funds are tied to legally binding contracts between Pennsylvania and the federal government. No president – Democrat or Republican – has the power to simply tear those agreements to shreds.
As our former Attorney General, Shapiro knows the law. He understands that according to the U.S. Constitution, Congress holds the “power of the purse,” not the President. The President’s role is to carry out the law, not ignore it. He doesn’t have the legal right to wipe out entire federal initiatives with the single stroke of a Sharpie. Nor can he legally send an unelected billionaire like Elon Musk to do the work on his behalf.
Senator Dave McCormick and most Pennsylvania members of Congress have kept silent while our state is under attack. Fortunately, Governor Josh Shapiro has the courage to stand up for us.
Linda Godfrey, Winfield
Why DOGE Chose to Take Out the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Last week, the secretive, unofficial “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), headed by the unelected billionaire Elon Musk illegally ended all work by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Created by Congress in response to the 2008 financial crisis and recession, the CFPB is an independent agency of the U.S. government responsible for protecting consumers in the financial sector.
CFPB’s jurisdiction includes banks, credit unions, securities firms, payday lenders, mortgage-servicing operations, foreclosure relief services, debt collectors, for-profit colleges, and other financial companies operating in the United States, with primary focus on credit cards, mortgages, and student loans.
Funded by the Federal Reserve (not the federal budget) the CFPB has been an effective advocate for American consumers, returning over $21 billion to more than 29 million victims of illegal loan practices, excessive bank and credit card fees, and other improper financial dealings. In just one week, the CFPB recovered $15 million from Equifax, $120 million from CashApp, $10 million from an auto lender, and filed charges against Capital One for cheating on interest payments.
If the CFPB is so efficient and effective, why have President Trump, Musk, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent targeted the bureau for elimination?
Financial institutions have been opposed to this bureau since its inception, objecting to the regulations imposed and that they have been forced to act ethically and refund or reimburse consumers for their violations.
Within the past several weeks Trump has initiated the $Trump cryptocurrency program and Musk has entered into an agreement with VISA to provide a financial payment application on X (formerly Twitter). These ventures would be subject to the rules and regulations of the CFPB which would require them to operate legally and ethically. (Note: over 800,000 investors in the $Trump crypto have already lost about $2 billion in investments while the Trump Organization collected approximately $100 million in trading fees.)
Consumers and others should contact their members of Congress and urge them to restore and protect the CFPB. Calling the Congressional Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 will allow direct connection to your legislators’ offices.
David B. Kyle, New Columbia
TRUMP ADMITS TARIFFS WILL CAUSE PAIN
During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump vowed to impose hefty tariffs on foreign goods, insisting they would massively benefit American workers and consumers. Yet a recent story in the Daily Item quotes him now saying that tariffs will also hurt Americans.
He blares in ALL CAPS on social media: “WILL THERE BE SOME PAIN? YES, MAYBE (AND MAYBE NOT!) BUT WE WILL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, AND IT WILL ALL BE WORTH THE PRICE THAT MUST BE PAID.”
Trump, who spent decades in business, almost certainly knew these tariffs would hurt Americans. But he hid that from voters during the campaign. Trump claims that the pain will be worth the price. We’ll see.
Denise Davidson, Lewisburg
Not Popular
Two news articles in the Feb. 14 edition of my local newspaper caught my attention. They describe the real-world consequences of the Trump Administration’s actions.
The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, which provides food for 600,000 Pennsylvanians every week, has been suddenly cut off from hundreds of thousands of dollars it uses to buy food directly from farmers, the most economical way to purchase milk, eggs and meat.
Governor Shapiro has sued the Trump Administration over withholding billions of federal funds that were allocated by Congress and promised for programs such as food banks. When Congress appropriates funds, it is the law of the land. For the President/Executive branch to refuse to pay the funds promised by Congress is illegal and unconstitutional.
As a donor to the local food bank, my contribution is a drop in the bucket, and now that drop is just one in a river of need. How popular is this thoughtless budget cutting, and who is in favor of withholding food from hungry people?
Paulette Onestak, Lewisburg
