Senator Vincent Hughes Releases Statement on Ongoing Public Transportation Negotiations
August 31, 2025- Philadelphia, PA – Today, Senator Vincent Hughes, state Senate Democratic Appropriations Chair, issued a statement following SEPTA’s announcement that fare increases and regional rail cuts will be paused in accordance with a Common Pleas...
Senator Hughes and Sheryl Lee Ralph-Hughes Host “Importance of Men in the Classroom” Community Conversation
Senator Hughes and Sheryl Lee Ralph-Hughes Host “Importance of Men in the Classroom” Community Conversation As the US faces a national shortage of 400,000 educators, Senator Vincent Hughes and his wife, activist and actress, Sheryl Lee Ralph-Hughes, welcomed community...
Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa, Democratic Appropriations Chair Vincent Hughes Urge Senate Republicans to Return to Negotiations as House Votes Down Unserious Budget and Transit Bills
HARRISBURG, PA – August 13, 2025 – Today, the House Rules Committee and the House Appropriations Committee voted down HB 257 and SB 160, respectively. Passed in the Senate yesterday evening, these bills represented unserious and unagreed-to budget proposals that were...
Lawmakers, and Advocates Sound the Alarm on Looming Burdensome SNAP Rules
PHILADELPHIA, PA – July 18, 2025 – On Friday morning, State Senator Art Haywood (D-4) was joined by fellow lawmakers and nonprofit leaders at a press conference in Philadelphia to sound the alarm on new federal work requirements for SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition...
Senator Vincent Hughes Announces New Laptops for Philadelphia Nonprofits
PHILADELPHIA, PA – July 18, 2025 – State Senator Vincent Hughes, Senate Democratic Appropriations Chair, has announced Pennsylvania Digital Connectivity Technology Program (DCTP) grants for two organizations in the 7th senatorial district. “Pennsylvania is taking...
Senate Democratic Leaders Urge Senate Republicans to Act After House Passes Budget Bill
HARRISBURG, PA – July 14, 2025 – Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa and Senate Democratic Appropriations Chair Vincent Hughes released the following statement after the House of Representatives passed HB 1330, an important step to closing out this year’s...
PA Senator Vincent Hughes Issues Statement on Passage of Republican “Big” Bill in the US Senate
July 1, 2025 – Today, Pennsylvania Senator Vincent Hughes, Senate Democratic Appropriations Chair, issued the following statement in response to the passage of President Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” in the US Senate. If the legislation now passes in the US House of...
Senate Democrats Continue to Sound Alarm on Catastrophic Impacts of Trump’s Reconciliation Bill on Healthcare, Hospitals, and Food Access Across Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG, PA − June 30, 2025 − On Monday, June 30, members of the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Caucus gathered in the East Wing Rotunda to draw attention to the urgency of stopping Trump’s domestic policy bill from becoming law. In its current form, the bill poses an existential threat to Medicaid, SNAP, and rural hospitals across Pennsylvania.
Hands Off Food Assistance
Hands Off Food Assistance Senator Hughes recently held a telephone town hall with experts from across Pennsylvania to discuss how federal cuts to food assistance would hurt Pennsylvanians and our economy. He was joined by: Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture,...
Senator Hughes Announces Over $14M for Affordable Housing Development in Philadelphia and Montgomery County
June 13, 2025 − Senator Vincent Hughes, Senate Democratic Appropriations Chair, announced over $14M in Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement Fund (PHARE) grants for affordable housing projects in Philadelphia and Montgomery County. The...
Senator Hughes Announces Over $1.6M for Community Health, Safety, and Abuse Recovery in Philadelphia and Montgomery County
June 12, 2025 – Senator Vincent Hughes, Senate Democratic Appropriations Chair, announced over $1.6M in grants for Philadelphia and Montgomery County to support substance abuse education and recovery, victims of child abuse, and violence prevention. The grants were...
Senator Vincent Hughes’ Prescription Drug Cost Transparency Legislation Passes the Pennsylvania Senate
Harrisburg, PA – June 12, 2025 – On June 10, 2025, Senate Bill 95 passed the Senate with a unanimous vote. The Senate Bill included Amendment A00975, introduced by Senator Hughes, that would require pharmacies in Pennsylvania to disclose cost information about...
Republicans Voted for the Biggest Cut to Healthcare in American History
Republicans Voted for the Biggest Cut to Healthcare in American History The Republican Big, Ugly Bill includes huge cuts to healthcare, food assistance, and student loan support…and a big tax handout for the wealthiest in our country. In late May, Republicans in...
House and Senate Democrats Fight to Protect Medicaid and SNAP Funding, Call on Republicans to Break Silence
Sharing personal stories, statewide data, and personal experiences, legislators urge Republicans at the state and federal level to join them in opposing cuts to critical social safety net programs HARRISBURG, PA − June 2, 2025 − On Monday, June 2, Senate and...
Senator Vincent Hughes and His Wife, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Advocate and Celebrate Reading in PA’s State Capitol
Senator Vincent Hughes and His Wife, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Advocate and Celebrate Reading in PA’s State Capitol Mrs. Hughes, aka Sheryl Lee Ralph, and Senator Hughes led an event in Harrisburg hosted by Scholastic to get the word out about a new reading program that...
Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa, Democratic Appropriations Chair Vincent Hughes Encourage PA Senate Republicans to Speak Up as “Big Beautiful Bill” Clears US House of Representatives
HARRISBURG, PA – May 22, 2025 − This morning, Republicans in the US House of Representatives passed a budget bill that will result in 15 million Americans losing their health insurance and 3 million American families losing access to healthy food. Senate Democratic...
Senator Hughes Convenes Second Roundtable to Address Looming Federal Health Insurance Cuts and the Impact on Black Pennsylvanians
Philadelphia, PA – May 19, 2025 – Last week, Senator Vincent Hughes, Senate Democratic Appropriations Chair, held a roundtable at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church with lawmakers and healthcare leaders to discuss how Black Pennsylvanians could be impacted by proposed...
When We Fight, We Win
When We Fight, We Win Senator Hughes brought together lawmakers and leaders at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church to discuss how Republican health insurance cuts could impact Black Pennsylvanians This week, Senator Vincent Hughes held a roundtable at Enon Tabernacle...
Senate Democrats Hold Policy Hearing Regarding the Worker Protections
PHILADELPHIA, PA − May 14, 2025 − Today, Senate Democratic Policy Committee Chair Nick Miller held a hearing to examine ways to protect Pennsylvania’s infrastructure and economy with a skilled, protected, and reliable workforce. “The testimony we heard today from...
Hughes’ and Robinson Bold Literacy Initiative Passes Education Committee
HARRISBURG – May 6, 2025 − The Senate Education Committee today approved a bipartisan measure sponsored by Sens. Devlin Robinson (R-37) and Vincent Hughes (D-7) to ensure all Pennsylvania children are reading proficiently by the end of third grade.
Senator Hughes Announces Over $9M for Clean Water Project in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA – April 30, 2025 – Senator Vincent Hughes, Senate Democratic Appropriations Chair, announced over $9 million in PennVEST funding for a lead service line replacement project in West Philadelphia. This project will include the replacement of lead and...
Senator Hughes Hosts Intergovernmental Roundtable on Federal Threats to Health Insurance
Philadelphia, PA − April 23, 2025 − On Tuesday, April 22nd, Senator Vincent Hughes hosted an intergovernmental roundtable with federal, state, and local lawmakers and healthcare leaders from across Pennsylvania. The goal was to bring a variety of stakeholders together...