CAPITOL CASE
REP. MARY GAY SCANLON TALKS ABOUT MOMENTOUS YEAR IN D.C.
In her inaugural year, Scanlon has introduced and co-sponsored more than 330 bills, participated in more than 121 hearings, cast more than 650 votes, held 11 town halls - almost one a month, including one on the Philadelphia Energy Solutions fire - and is a member of 39 caucuses. Since January alone her office has closed 477 constituent cases.
It’s been a year since U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-5 of Swarthmore, won election to represent the 5th U.S. Congressional District, and was catapulted to the national scene.
However, as she moves impeachment proceedings and legislative actions forward, she and her staff have been busy tending to the needs of constituents, as per order of the U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with a commitment to pursue oversight and continue the business of the people simultaneously.
In her inaugural year, Scanlon has introduced and co-sponsored more than 330 bills, participated in more than 121 hearings, cast more than 650 votes, held 11 town halls - almost one a month, including one on the Philadelphia Energy Solutions fire and is a member of 39 caucuses. Since January alone her office has closed 477 constituent cases.
She’s also advocated on behalf of Boeing workers here in Delco as she led the charge in securing the Chinook program in the House. Earlier this year, Army Under-Secretary Ryan D. McCarthy
announced a decision to delay Block II upgrades on the Ridleybuilt helicopter in favor of pursuing modernization efforts like air defense and electronic warfare.
“There’s just so many opportunities to do good,” she said.
The former 7th Congressional District, much of which is in the 5th District now, had been occupied by Republican Patrick Meehan,
who resigned in April 2018 after an ethics investigation unearthed he had used nearly $40,000 in taxpayer money from his office funds to settle a former aide’s sexual harassment claim.
Following a lawsuit by Democratic voters, the district was redrawn by the Democratic-majority Pennsylvania Supreme Court
and labeled the 5th District, comprising of all of Delaware County, a part of South and Southwest Philadelphia and a sliver of Montgomery County.
After emerging from a field of nearly a dozen Democrats in the primary, Scanlon won both the 7th District special election and the 5th District election against Republican Pearl Kim in November 2018 and was the first woman in a blue wave to follow, including U.S. Reps. Madeleine Dean, D-4 of Montgomery County, Chrissy Houlahan, D-6 of Chester County and Susan Wild, D-7 of Lehigh County.
After receiving committee assignments, Scanlon, who was pro bono counsel and chair of Ballard Spahr’s pro bono committee overseeing 550 lawyers in 12 offices throughout the county before her election, was appointed vice chair of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee.
And, even in the midst of impeachment hearings this week, she had other duties to fulfill.
On Wednesday alone, three other significant items were on her schedule.
At 10 a.m., she attended a twohour hearing with former National Organization for Women president Eleanor Smeal in the audience to mark up a bill to pass the Equal Rights Amendment.
“It was a very emotional kind of hearing,” Scanlon said, adding that there needs to be a bill to remove the arbitrary deadline for getting enough states to accept the legislation. “It was just really exciting that we had so many women on the dais.”
“We’re one state away from ratification,” she said, adding that that state is Virginia.
In the afternoon, Scanlon was present at the fourth in a series of hearings revolving around what antitrust laws are needed to address entities like Facebook that are impacting people’s lives and the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice want a method to focus on this.
“Basically, this whole industry has grown up without regulation,” she said.
Then, she went to a rules committee, where they were casting a rule for voting on the U.S. Import/Export Bank, which has not been reauthorized since 2015. The U.S. Import/Export Bank, Scanlon said, is key to six Delaware
County businesses that have $22 million in loans from the entity.
And that Delco hook is how she ties the national proceedings to home.
“Whenever I go into one of these hearings, I’m looking for the local angle.”
She said when she was listening to testimony regarding the merger of Sprint and T-Mobile, she wanted to know if that would include consolidation of the retail stores and how that would impact jobs in the 5th District, as well as the effect on prices for Sprint and T-Mobile customers.
“The part that’s been amazing is being able to try to do things that are going to have an impact,” Scanlon said. For instance, she said, “We were able to introduce a bill that would address issues like the Glen Mills School,” which has been dogged by allegations of student abuse.
She said the “Justice for Juveniles Act” would address juveniles being abused and after discussions with those in the juvenile justice sector, the bill was crafted and has bipartisan support. The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services ordered all students removed in March after revoking its license for not complying with human services codes after media reports of student abuse. The school has appealed the state’s action.
The representative shared what working in Washington is like.
“Being in Congress, it’s more like trying to steer an aircraft carrier,” she said, explaining that seemingly small movements can make significant change over time and that a ship isn’t turned quickly.
Some frustrations have been with the Republican-led U.S. Senate from her perspective.
“The Senate is unwilling to engage on anything right now,” Scanlon said, adding that the House has passed hundreds of bills that have not yet gone farther. “You can’t negotiate if there’s no one on the other side to negotiate with ... It’s tough when you can’t get the other side to engage. We’re building the record.”
Among her priorities right now is avoiding another federal shutdown, like the one that spanned from Dec. 22 through Jan. 25.
“We’re working hard to make sure there’s no shutdown right now,” she said. “I, for one, do not ever want to live through another one.”
She remained optimistic that various measures would get passed, including criminal justice reform issues, the Juvenile Justice Act and some surrounding veterans’ concerns.
One that passed, she said, had its foundation in Delaware County as John Bury of Media advocated for 15 years to have Navy veterans who had come in contact with Agent Orange to get Agent Orange benefits. Signed into law this summer, the Veterans Administration is now doing outreach to find those who should rightly receive their benefits.
Also on her list for the next year is the regulation of donations and expenditures by Presidential inaugural funds, prescription drug pricing and having more benefits for low-income seniors to ease the costs of these medicines for them and the Census.
“Every person that isn’t counted is $2,000 in federal aid that we don’t get,” she said as she explained that her office is pushing out materials to make certain that folks are aware of it coming so that the 5th district get a complete count next year.
Through it all, Scanlon said her commitment to the constituents in the district remains firm.
“I’m working hard for them, trying to respond to their concerns, trying to talk to as many people as I can when I’m home, trying to work for them in Congress,” she said.