House Democrats say they’ll fight for health care and higher minimum wage in 2025

After retaining their one-seat majority in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in November’s election, Democratic lawmakers say that in 2025 they will push to pass bills that will increase the state’s minimum wage, legalize recreational marijuana, promote gun safety, and protect reproductive rights. It would fall upon the Republican-controlled Senate to send such legislation, which has widespread support among the general public, to Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s desk.

House leadership said they hope to pass legislation in the coming year that will protect Pennsylvanians against the incoming Trump administration’s anticipated attacks on health care and reproductive rights, among other issues.

After regaining control of the state House in 2023, House Democrats passed bills that would have boosted the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2026, required background checks for purchases of military-style assault weapons, and protected access to contraception. 

Senate Republicans, who have controlled the chamber since 1994, did not bring the Democratic-sponsored legislation up for a vote. Shapiro would have likely signed the bills had the Senate passed them.

While those bills have now died, Democratic House leadership told the Pennsylvania Independent that they plan to reintroduce them, or similar versions, next year. They hope the Senate will be more willing to back the legislation, which polling shows has wide support among the public.

“I’m hoping that now that we’ve got one term in the majority under our belt, we’re going to be able to operate a little bit smoother, pass more of our priorities, and, frankly, ideally, work with our colleagues in the Senate to actually get more things to the governor’s desk,” said Rep. Mike Schlossberg, a Democrat from Lehigh County who will serve as the House’s new whip.

Democratic leaders hope their ability to maintain a majority in the House in the November election despite poor results for the party on the federal level will prompt greater cooperation from their GOP colleagues. Democrats failed to achieve their goal of flipping enough state Senate seats to create a tie in the upper chamber. House Democrats in Pennsylvania held on to seats in otherwise red districts, which party leadership attributes largely to the popularity of their economic policies over the past year.

“We were able to beat back well-funded special interests who were supporting our opponents and repelled a red wave in Pennsylvania’s House,” said House Speaker Joanna McClinton, the first woman to serve as her chamber’s speaker.

McClinton believes voters supported House Democrats in November in part because lawmakers had backed an expansion of a state program that provides property tax and rent rebates to seniors and people with disabilities, passed legislation that boosted the child and dependant care tax credits, greenlit a bill designed to help seniors afford medication, and passed a budget that included a $1.1 billion increase for education.

“As we go forward into the next session, 2025-2026, we want to double down on our cost-saving efforts,” said McClinton, whose district includes parts of Philadelphia and Delaware counties. “We want to keep on making sure that we respond to the issues that are the biggest concerns for our constituents, whether they’re like me, living in the big city, or living in rural or suburban communities.”

House leaders say they want to expand the earned income tax credit, increase access to affordable housing, drive down costs of living, and boost funding for behavioral health and public transportation.

House Leader Matt Bradford, a Democrat whose district covers a portion of Montgomery County, said bills that languished in Senate committees last session could see action in this coming year, in large part because Republicans are beginning to realize that Democrats holding power in the House isn’t a fluke. 

“For good or for bad, I think most people — both sides, both parties, both chambers — recognize that the House Democratic majority has sustained probably one of the largest Republican waves in recent history, and that we need to get used to divided government, that we have an obligation to the people of the commonwealth to do their business,” Bradford said. 

“My hope is, after last year, showing that we could make progress, that we will double down on that progress and take it to the next level,” Bradford continued.

House leaders say they plan to focus on issues they expect will come under attack by the incoming Trump administration, including health care and reproductive rights. 

“I know under the Trump administration the Affordable Care Act is at risk,” McClinton said. “We’re going to work to codify the basic protections in the state law here in Pennsylvania. We passed a lot of bills in 2024 that we’re going to be reintroducing and passing again in the upcoming session to protect everyone’s access to health care.”

Trump repeatedly tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act during his first term as president, and House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, has vowed to implement “massive reform” of the ACA following Trump’s inauguration.

Schlossberg said that House Democrats will also work to protect and increase access to reproductive care. Abortion is legal through the 23rd week of pregnancy in Pennsylvania, though advocates warn that could change should Republicans take control of the state Legislature — or if a federal abortion ban is enacted. House Democrats introduced a number of bills to protect Pennsylvanians’ access to abortion and other reproductive health care after taking control of their chamber, none of which were acted on by Senate Republicans.

“We are not blind to what we’re walking into with the second Trump administration,” Schlossberg said. “That means the state legislatures are going to be more important than ever when it comes to protecting voting rights, women’s rights, access to health care, and making sure that we maintain public safety and law and order, something that unquestionably was not always a priority of the Trump administration.”