Letters: Child care programs need urgent help; GOP ‘smear’ campaign is shameful

Child care programs need urgent help

Countless high-quality child care and early learning centers have been closing their doors across the state due to the economic realities of COVID. With a massive state budget deficit on the horizon, I fear that support for these programs may erode.

Kiwanians like our local club members are doing what we can to support these programs, but our efforts are not enough. Using proceeds from our annual blueberry sale, the State College Kiwanis Club recently distributed $6,335 to 19 child care centers in the Centre Region, but the $334 each one received is a pittance of what they need to keep their doors open.

Congress and the Pennsylvania legislature must act now to save programs like Pre-K Counts, Head Start and high-quality child care. Besides allowing parents to get back to work and begin rebuilding the economy, these programs provide immeasurable value to the children who attend them building their capacities to learn, socially interact and focus in the years to come. The early years (0-5) are when 95% of brain development occurs. Children won’t get these years back if they miss the enrichment of these programs.

GOP ‘smear’ campaign is shameful

One of the most vital principles underlying our democratic experiment is the peaceful transfer of power after a fair election. Never in the annals of our history has this principle been so tested. The incumbent president is refusing to concede a fair election. Let’s be clear. President Trump isn’t attempting to have every vote count. His campaign is attempting to invalidate tens of thousands of votes that have already been counted.

There is no basis for Trump’s refusal to concede. Biden’s lead in five key states is in the tens of thousands each (a total of nearly 257,000). He won the popular vote by 4.5 million. This is beyond what can be explained by mere irregularities. The president is recklessly claiming that the election was stolen from him by a vast conspiracy involving thousands.

The Republican-led Senate State Government Committee is undertaking a costly review of the results in Pennsylvania although the bipartisan Election Law Advisory Board is already conducting such a review. They claim that this added review aims to “ensure that faith in our election system is restored” but it does precisely the opposite. It is clearly stoking deeper and more enduring distrust in the system.

It is shameful that so many state Republican leaders are fueling the campaign’s rhetoric, undermining trust in our most venerated institutions, preventing the formation of an effective transition team, and seeking to delegitimize the vote.

For the sake of this republic, demand a stop to this campaign of division, obstruction and smear.

Support the RPM Act

I respectfully request that Congress pass the Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports Act, H.R. 5434/S. 2602, in 2020. The bipartisan RPM Act protects the right to convert an automobile or motorcycle into a race car used exclusively at the track to be used exclusively on the racetrack.

Modifying a vehicle into a race car is an integral part of America’s automotive heritage. Many types of racing, including NASCAR, were founded on the premise that street vehicles, including motorcycles, can be converted into dedicated race vehicles. Racing events are an economic driver for many communities and a source of affordable family-friendly entertainment for millions, with participants that range from professionals to novices using converted race vehicles.

Congress never intended for the Clean Air Act (CAA) to apply to motor vehicles modified for competition use only. However, the EPA maintains that CAA requires converted vehicles driven exclusively on the track to remain emissions-compliant.

The RPM Act clarifies that transforming motor vehicles into race cars used exclusively for competition does not violate the CAA. It is imperative that Congress passes the RPM Act to provide long-term certainty to racers and motorsports parts businesses. I am the owner of a 50th anniversary COPO Camaro specifically built for competition. Don’t destroy my dreams.