District Week Recap: What You Might Have Missed

4 min readFeb 25, 2020

It was great to be back in PA-05 this week! Here’s what I was up to:

Spoke at Opioid and Addiction Panel

I had the opportunity to be a part of a community conversation on treating, preventing, and supporting loved ones who suffer from substance use disorder.

The effects of this public health crisis extend beyond the person suffering — This impacts the entire family, especially children. To help families afflicted by this crisis, I introduced the Help Grandfamilies Prevent Child Abuse Act, a bipartisan bill to better support kinship caregivers who have taken over responsibility as primary caregivers for children exposed to substance abuse and trauma.

I also work on developing solutions to opioid misuse as a member of the Bipartisan Congressional Addiction Treatment and Recovery Caucus, the Freshman Working Group on Addiction, and the Bipartisan Opioid Task Force.

Read more about my bill to support Grandfamilies here: https://scanlon.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=122

Joined Public Citizens for Children and Youth and Members of the Delaware County Lead Poisoning Prevention Coalition for a Press Conference Announcing Grant to Fight Lead Poisoning

Delaware County was recently awarded $1M in federal funding to tackle lead exposure which disproportionately impacts children. I was proud to join PCCY and members of the Delaware County Lead Poisoning Prevention Coalition as they outlined how this critical funding will make remediation possible for many families in Delaware County.

Participated in Tourism Roundtable

It was great to join the Power of Travel Coalition for a Travel Talks event talking about the future of tourism in our district. Visitors come from around the world to see the history of our region and engage in our local commerce. Not only is tourism integral to our regional economy, but it’s also the cultural pride of our community.

I’m so proud of the stadiums, parks, museums, and other important tourism destinations that I represent, and will continue to fight to bring investment opportunities back to our community.

Celebrated prestigious honor awarded to Philly Inquirer investigative reporter Lisa Gartner

I would like to congratulate Lisa Gartner who has just won the prestigious George Polk Award for Justice Reporting for her investigation into the Glen Mills Schools. She uncovered a disturbing pattern of abuse which inspired me to introduce my Justice for Juveniles Act which aims to eliminate obstacles to juveniles seeking relief against abusers under the PLRA.

This is a powerful example of the power of the free press to create change and hold institutions accountable.

Announced 2020 Service Academy Nominations

Each year, I have the honor of nominating young men and women from our district to our Service Academies. Getting to know each of these young men and women and their accomplishments makes me very proud to represent such an active and engaged constituency.

The knowledge, experience, and leadership training they will receive will help shape them into the future leaders of this country. I thank these young men and women for their commitment to the values of service, responsibility, and generosity.

I nominated the following students to attend a U.S Service Academy:

United States Air Force Academy

Carter Branigan — Commonwealth Charter

Abuobaida El Amin — Haverford High School

Ryan Henry — Springfield High School

Daniel Holtz — Radnor High School

Malachi Neal — Upper Darby High School

Joseph Shapiro — Pennsylvania Leadership

Rebecca Wusinich — Friends Central High School

United States Military Academy

August Guerrieri — Penncrest High School

Avalon Rosenberger — Baldwin School

Oluwakoleola Songonuga — Strath Haven High School

Samuel Wesley — Episcopal Academy

United States Merchant Marine Academy

Sean Meals — Archbishop Carroll High School

United States Naval Academy

Clayton Bromley — Garnet Valley High School

Andrew Dunkel — Radnor High School

Robert Esgro — Haverford High School

Katherine Harnett — Radnor High School

Alyssa Hayes — Roman Catholic High School

James Kimrey — Roman Catholic High School

Alexander Klein — Springfield High School

Bernard McCabe — St. Joseph’s Prep

William O’Rourke — Unionville High School

Oluwakoleola Songonuga — Strath Haven High School

We also visited several community organizations focused on families and children. More photos below!

District Week Recap: What You Might Have Missed

Written by Mary Gay Scanlon

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