Policy Priorities

  • Building Prosperity and Creating Opportunities: Pennsylvania can rebuild its communities and create fulfilling and well-paying jobs by reducing regulations and taxes and developing a pro-business, pro-worker climate statewide.

  • Expanding Pennsylvania’s Energy Leadership: Pennsylvania should oppose tax and regulatory proposals that favor some energy sources over others, encourage infrastructure projects that expand production, and push back against harmful ESG policies.

  • Strengthening Pennsylvania Families and Children: To prepare our children for the future, Pennsylvania must ensure that parents are the ones guiding our education systems—not the government—and promote school choice opportunities for all families.

  • Keeping Pennsylvania’s Streets Safe: By fully funding law enforcement and holding criminals accountable while also investing in programs that focus on prevention, mental health, and rehabilitation services, we can restore trust in judicial systems.

  • Making Government Work For the People: Pennsylvania should ensure that the bureaucracy is accountable to the people, taxpayer dollars are spent wisely, and elections are fair, secure, and transparent.

Download America First Pennsylvania Summary

Since Pennsylvania was founded by William Penn in 1681, this haven of freedom, innovation, and self-governance has borne witness to some of the greatest chapters in our nation’s history. It is one of the 13 original colonies, and the Declaration of Independence was signed in her Independence Hall in Philadelphia. The Battle of Gettysburg marked the turning point of the Civil War, and it was after this battle that President Abraham Lincoln called for all Americans to ensure that “government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”  

After the war, Pennsylvania continued to lead American production and innovation. Pennsylvania Steel Company was the first steel company in America, and two of the largest steel manufacturers in U.S. history—U.S. Steel and the Bethlehem Steel Corporation—were founded and based in the state. Together with its coal and iron production, Pennsylvania was critical in establishing our Nation as a mighty industrial power. It remains the sixth-largest economy in the U.S.  

During the last several decades, however, many of Pennsylvania’s communities have told a different story. Jobs were once plentiful, but company towns and manufacturing bases have been hollowed out as factories moved elsewhere. Main streets have become empty storefronts, and one wage-earner is often not enough to support a family.  

The America First Policy Institute, a nonprofit, non-partisan research institute that educates lawmakers and the American public on the policies that put America first, has founded a state chapter in Pennsylvania. Building on AFPI’s America First agenda, AFPI Pennsylvania is committed to the renewal of Pennsylvania. By embracing policies that help grow Pennsylvania’s economy, this state can once again reach its full potential. 

Team

Jondavid “JD” Longo

Chair, America First Pennsylvania

Mary Stiffler

Executive Director, America First Pennsylvania

Latest

Statement | February 5, 2026

Proposed PA Budget Expands Government at the Expense of Families

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Chair of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) Jondavid (JD) Longo shared his concerns in response to the proposed state budget and its impact on Pennsylvanian taxpayers: “This budget prioritizes government growth over the empowerment of Pennsylvania families,” said Longo. “A stronger path forward focuses on fiscal restraint, energy independence, and opportunity for workers and communities across the Commonwealth.”
News Release | January 30, 2026

AFPI Governors’ Council Applauds Secretaries McMahon and Bessent for Expanding Education Freedom

The America First Policy Institute (AFPI) Governors’ Council is proud to opt in to the federal education freedom tax credit scholarship. Yesterday, the council sent a letter of appreciation to Secretaries McMahon and Bessent for their support of this groundbreaking program.
Op-Ed | November 12, 2025

Dads Defending Daughters

We are fathers of daughters: bright, determined, compassionate young women with big dreams and even bigger hearts. We’ve watched them learn, compete, and grow in a world that is becoming more complicated by the day. We’ve taught them to work hard, play fair, and stand up for what’s right. Yet today, we are watching a system that has stopped fighting for them.
Statement | November 4, 2025

AFPI and America First Mayors’ Council Chair Condemn NYC Mayoral Outcome  

New York City has long served as a gateway to the American Dream, a shining example of American ingenuity and grit. Today, the mayoral election in New York City marks a major shift away from the American dream and towards the nightmare of Marxism.
News Release | October 29, 2025

AFPI Sues PA Secretary of Commonwealth for Withholding Public Records on Voter Roll Maintenance

Last Friday, the America First Policy Institute’s Pennsylvania state chapter (AFPI–PA) filed suit against Pennsylvania Secretary of Commonwealth Al Schmidt for failing to release public records related to the Commonwealth’s voter registration list maintenance practices. The lawsuit, filed in Commonwealth Court, alleges violations of the Pennsylvania Right-To-Know Law and the federal National Voter Registration Act.

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