150+ Pack Capitol, Urging Lawmakers to Fund Programs with Billionaire Tax as Federal Cuts Strip Away Healthcare and Food Assistance
HARRISBURG – More than 150 Pennsylvanians filled the East Wing Rotunda of the State Capitol this morning, sharing personal stories of losing food assistance, health coverage, and other lifeline programs that are being dismantled by federal budget cuts, and calling on legislators to tax billionaires to fund those programs.
The press conference and lobby day, organized by Pennsylvanians for Accountability from Yass, Billionaires, and Corporations (PAYBAC), SEIU State Council, PA Stands Up, Make the Road Action PA, Center for Coalfield Justice, PA Working Families Power, and One PA marked accelerating momentum in the campaign calling on Pennsylvania's legislature to confront a compounding revenue crisis by raising new revenue from corporations, Big Tech companies, and billionaires.
The Trump administration's federal budget cuts are hitting Pennsylvania hard and fast, inflicting severe damage already:
89,000 people have been kicked off SNAP
90,000 to 100,000 people have lost Pennie healthcare because they can no longer afford it.
14 hospitals could shutter without state intervention.
At the press conference, Pennsylvanians drove home what these numbers mean in human terms: people rationing insulin, parents skipping meals to feed their children, and families in rural communities driving hours to reach an emergency room as the revenue crisis unfolds in real time, in every corner of the state.
To address this crisis, PAYBAC is advancing the Tax Billionaires, Fund PA revenue plan, a proposal to raise nearly $6 billion in new, recurring revenue by closing corporate tax loopholes, requiring Big Tech companies to pay for digital ads that profit off Pennsylvania consumers and our data, and taxing the unearned income of Pennsylvania's billionaires.
The Tax Billionaires, Fund PA plan has earned the support of 34 state representatives and senators.
Luz Zapata, member of Make the Road Action PA, said:“I almost died recently from a cardiovascular event. It turns out I was highly anemic, and because of a lapse in health coverage, I didn’t know about it until one day I collapsed. I was choosing between keeping a roof over our heads and feeding my family, or paying an astronomical insurance premium, and my kids almost lost their mom. The crisis is here. We have at least 33 legislators who understand that and recognize it’s time to tax billionaires. Now we’re asking the others: Where do you stand? Will you make the richest pay their fair share, or will you balance the budget on the backs of people losing healthcare like me?”
Representative Elizabeth Fiedler said:“Our present tax systems were formed a century ago, when the idea of digital sales, online ads and frankly, the skyrocketing profits of modern corporations, were unimaginable. These new business practices have gotten a free pass for too long, and our tax system needs a 21st century update.
“In 2025, Meta made $196.2 billion in ad revenue, yet not a penny of that can be taxed in Pennsylvania under our current tax code. The Digital Advertising Tax, a bill I introduced with Rep. Abney and Rep. Inglis will simply include digital advertisements in the gross receipts tax (currently set at 5%), and bring in almost $500 million in revenue in just one year. The Combined Reporting bill I introduced with several of my colleagues aims to right the almost unbelievable wrong that 73% of the corporations active in Pennsylvania pay no corporate taxes to the commonwealth at all. If a company sells 25% of its goods or services in Pennsylvania, it should pay Pennsylvania taxes on that 25%. We cannot face another budget cycle in June without revenue options. ”
Lenora Price, a certified nursing assistant and member of SEIU Healthcare PA, said:“60-70% of nursing home funding comes from Medicaid. That isn’t optional funding - it’s life and death for my residents who depend on safe, quality care in our nursing home. Why can the government find the money to start new wars, but not take care of our residents? We can’t rely on Washington DC to take care of Pennsylvania, so we are going to do it ourselves. We’re calling on the state legislature and Governor to raise revenue.”
Carole Ortenzo, member of Center for Coalfield Justice, said:“A friend of mine is physically disabled, and after his father passed away he was left with just $1300 in social security income, and his SNAP was slashed from $289 to $24 a month. I stepped in to help where I could, but the bigger problem isn’t his fiances, it’s the system. He’s trying to get into affordable housing but it takes months just to get someone to answer the phone, and years to actually get in. This system is exhausting, demoralizing, and for many, impossible to navigate. It doesn’t have to be this way. With Tax Billionaires Fund PA, we can fund the services people need. We can make sure phones are answered. We can provide real outreach and guidance so people aren’t left to figure this out alone.”
Representative Rick Krajewski said:
“Our public goods are dying a slow death, and it is time for action. That is why, in partnership with the PAYBAC coalition, I have introduced legislation to increase our tax on passive income. To be clear, we are not talking about the hard-earned wages or pension of a worker or the income of a small business owner or a personal savings account. We are talking about sources of wealth where the goal is to hoard more wealth. This legislation would raise $3.5 billion dollars in additional revenue: Enough money to fully fund SEPTA and all the transit authorities across the state, to fulfill our mandate to our public schools, and to assist in covering the Medicaid cuts brought onto us due to the reckless decisions of Congress.”
Jayme Walker, leader with Free the Ballot, said:
“When I hear about cuts to Medicaid, I know exactly who gets hurt first. After I left my job with the state, I had to rely on Medicaid. As a Type 1 diabetic, that coverage was a lifeline for me and my family. Without it, I don’t know how we would’ve made it.”
John Bynum, Assistant District Leader from SEIU 32BJ, said:
“Our union represents the people who clean our public schools, who work as bus drivers to deliver our most precious cargo, and who keep our schools running as building engineers and HVAC technicians. The time is now to stop looking the other way when it comes to supporting our children in our Black and brown neighborhoods. We should be taxing billionaires and giving public education the funding it needs so our children have the best chance to succeed, and the people who make our schools run are fairly compensated for that work.”
The growing list of 35 legislators who have backed Tax Billionaires, Fund PA so far:
Senator Nikil Saval
Senator Lindsey Williams
Senator Katie Muth
Senator Tim Kearney
Senator Amanda Cappelletti
Representative Rick Krajewski
Representative Elizabeth Fiedler, Chair of House Energy Committee
Representative Tim Briggs, Chair of House Judiciary Committee
Representative Roni Green
Representative Ben Waxman
Representative Izzy Smith Wade-El
Representative Jen O’Mara
Representative Lisa Borowski
Representative Melissa Shusterman
Representative Tarik Khan
Representative Nikki Rivera
Representative La’Tasha Mayes
Representative Justin Fleming
Representative Joe Hohenstein
Representative Jose Giral
Representative Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz
Representative John Inglis
Representative Heather Boyd
Representative Malcolm Kenyatta
Representative Tarah Probst
Representative Chris Rabb
Representative Paul Takac
Representative Andre Carroll
Representative Joe Webster
Representative Chris Pielli
Representative Dave Madsen
Representative Carol Kazeem
Representative Kristine Howard
Representative Emily Kinkead
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Pennsylvanians for Accountability from Yass, Billionaires and Corporations (PAYBAC) Table is a coalition of state-wide organizations that lead the All Eyes on Yass and Tax Billionaires, Fund PA campaigns.
Tax Billionaires, Fund PA is endorsed by the Action Center on Race and the Economy, Center for Coalfield Justice, Free the Ballot, Little Sis, Make the Road PA, One Pennsylvania, PA United, Pennsylvania Stands Up, PA Local Progress, PA Working Families Power, SEIU State Council, SEIU 668 and SEIU Healthcare PA.
Additional supporters include: 1Hood, 215 People’s Alliance, Asian Pacific Islander Political Alliance (API PA), Indivisible Lancaster, Healing Communities PA, High School Democrats of Philadelphia, Transit for All PA! and VietLead.
The PAYBAC Table Steering Committee includes ACRE Campaigns, PA Working Families, POWER, PA Stands Up, OnePA, Free the Ballot, Make the Road Action PA and more.
