Enews

YORK – Senator Kristin Phillips-Hill (R-York) was reappointed today to serve as a member of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Intergovernmental Advisory Committee (IAC) for a second two-year term.

According to the FCC, the IAC is comprised of elected and appointed officials of municipal, county, state, and Tribal governments and provides guidance, expertise, and recommendations to the Commission on a range of telecommunication issues. Phillips-Hill will serve as one of five state legislators across the country and one of three Pennsylvania officials on the IAC.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has thrust improving access to high-speed internet to the top of many priority lists,” Phillips-Hill said. “The information garnered and shared among members of the IAC has been instrumental in my role as the Senate Communications and Technology Committee chair.”

Last year, the committee embarked on a statewide tour to solicit feedback on how to connect more Pennsylvanians in unserved and underserved areas to high-speed internet. The committee released a report outlining a path forward, which included recommendations to identify funding opportunities, maximize existing assets and infrastructure and address regulatory barriers.

Since the release of the report, the committee has approved various measures in response to the committee’s recommendations – many of which are poised for action when the General Assembly reconvenes next month.

Phillips-Hill was originally appointed to a two-year term in August of 2018. She said this opportunity does not interfere with her legislative duties as a state senator.

“The people of York County come first. This exchange of ideas is imperative as we continue to see the demand for closing our digital divide growing stronger by the day during this coronavirus outbreak,” she added.

More information on the FCC IAC can be found here.

HARRISBURG – Senator Kristin Phillips-Hill (R-York) will introduce legislation aimed at improving transparency and providing hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians who are still awaiting unemployment compensation with daily updates.

“The number one inquiry to our office comes from local citizens who still have not had a resolution to their unemployment compensation claim with the Department of Labor and Industry,” Phillips-Hill said. “By providing this information to the public daily, it will improve transparency and accountability of a system that serves as a lifeline in times like these. I continue to hear from York Countians who have waited a month with no resolution to their claim. That is unacceptable.”

Phillips-Hill said her legislation would require updates from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry that would run parallel to the updates provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Health on the total number of coronavirus cases in the Commonwealth.

“There are over 1.5 million Pennsylvanians who applied for unemployment. The updates to date have been shrouded in secrecy. If the governor can find time to create a new portal to encourage citizens to tattle on each other for working during his mandated shutdown, clearly the administration can pop out a daily report for people who are at home without work and awaiting this much-needed funding,” she added.

You can read more about Phillips-Hill’s proposal here.

You can listen to Senator Phillips-Hill’s comments here.