Weekly Recap: What You Might Have Missed

6 min readFeb 23, 2021

Hosted a COVID-19 Tele-Town Hall

This week, we hosted a tele-town hall to provide constituents with the most up to date information possible about the Covid19 vaccine. While the historically rapid development of vaccines to combat the pandemic has given us some light in the dark winter of the pandemic, production of those vaccines is just ramping up, and there have been some bumps in the road with distribution — aggravated by shipping delays due to our never-ending February snow storms! Nevertheless, the Biden administration has been able to use the Defense Production Act to streamline supply chains, increase production and secure more doses to send to the states. On Thursday evening, we were joined by over 4000 callers to hear your concerns and answer specific questions about vaccination and current and future plans for distribution.

I was grateful to be joined by:

Dr. Faith Peterson, a supervisor with the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium
Dr. Monica Taylor, Delaware County Council Member
Dr. John Zurlo, Director of Infectious Disease Division at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital

Here are some COVID-19 vaccine resources:

How do I sign up for the vaccine if I live or work in Philadelphia?

Talk to your doctor or health care provider or pharmacy.
Sign up to get a vaccine through the Philadelphia Dept of Public Health — https://covid-vaccine-interest.phila.gov/. If you cannot complete this form, please call the Health Department at (215) 685–5488 or email covid@phila.gov.
PA agencies on aging can help seniors schedule appointments through local hospital health systems. Philadelphia County AAA, Phone: 215–765–9000, http://www.pcacares.org/

How do I sign up for the vaccine if I live or work in Delaware County?

Talk to your doctor or health care provider or pharmacy.
Sign up to get a vaccine through the Delaware County Pre-registration link — https://chesco.seamlessdocs.com/f/delcovac or call the Delaware County Covid-19 Call Center (484) 276–2100
PA agencies on aging can help seniors schedule appointments through local hospital health systems.Delaware County AAA, Phone: 610–490–1300, http://www.delcosa.org/

How do I sign up for a vaccine if I live or work in Montco?

Talk to your doctor or health care provider or pharmacy.
Online registration screening for health care providers, business and individuals — https://www.montcopa.org/3660/COVID-19-Vaccine
PA agencies on aging can help seniors schedule appointments through local hospital health systems.Montgomery County AAA, Phone: 610–278–3601, http://www.montcopa.org/148/Aging-Adult-Service

Introduced series of bills to safeguard our democracy

Our democracy is powered by people and part of our job is to ensure that every eligible voter is free to access the ballot box. I re-introduced a series of bills to expand voting rights, strengthen protections for poll workers and election officials, and safeguard our democracy

Unanimously selected as Vice-Chair of distinguished Committee on House Administration

Our work protecting free and fair elections is critical as we face new challenges from both at home and abroad. Election law and civics education have been the focus of my legal and volunteer work for almost 30 years, and that experience will guide my approach to this new role as we work to make our elections more accessible, safeguard our democracy, and deliver accountability to the American people. House admin also oversees the work of the Library of Congress and Smithsonian museums; I look forward to making those resources more accessible to schools and libraries in PA05

Joined Pennsylvania colleagues on a letter to the CDC pushing for Philly get its fair share of vaccine doses

Read the letter here: https://twitter.com/repmgs/status/1359689703340068865?s=21

Participated in House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee hearing on ending forced arbitration

Nearly 86% of private student loan lenders include forced arbitration clauses in their loan agreements. It’s an unfair practice and it must end. That’s why I introduced the Justice for Student Borrowers Act to prohibit predatory lending practices by private student loan lenders.

Listen here: https://twitter.com/repmgs/status/1359936345263796230?s=21

Led a letter to the Social Security Administration asking for the collection and reporting of data about race and ethnicity within its programs

In order to address inequities in the Social Security disability system, we are calling for an examination of the SSA’s policies and actions to determine the extent they create or exacerbate barriers for Black and Brown applicants/beneficiaries to access lifesaving disability benefits

Read the letter here: https://twitter.com/repmgs/status/1360230129633538050?s=21

Scored 100% on my scorecard from the League of Conservation Voters

LCV scores votes on the most important issues of the year, including energy, global warming, public health, public lands and wildlife conservation, and spending for environmental programs. The Scorecard is the nationally accepted yardstick used to rate members of Congress on environmental, public health, and energy issues.

Participated in House Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee hearing on U.S. Immigration System: The Need for Bold Reforms

I’m glad we’re having this conversation about all the ways in which immigrants make our country a better, more prosperous place. While it’s an undeniable truth that a fair and robust immigration system is critical to our country’s economic health, the value of our immigrant neighbors, these friends and colleagues, is not a question of dollars and cents. Our immigrant communities bring with them the innovation, culture, and resilience and we’re lucky to have people from all over the world seek a brighter future within our borders.

In my diverse district, our immigrant neighbors drive innovation in business, educational excellence at our universities, and make immeasurable cultural contributions to our region.

Listen here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Tckplu5evjY

Hosted a Virtual Service Academy Nomination Ceremony to celebrate students who have been nominated to the class of 2025 Service Academies

The U.S. military academies are among the finest institutions in the world, and I am honored to. nominate outstanding young Pennsylvanians to these prestigious 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 future leaders.

Was presented with the PA Small Business Development Center (PASBDC) Legislative Champion Award in recognition

The last year was incredibly difficult for the nation’s small businesses. As we work on covid relief packages, I will continue to prioritize the needs of small businesses in my district, especially the hardest hit businesses like retail, food service, and live events. Small businesses are the economic engine of our communities, and so it is vital that we do everything we can to help them survive the pandemic

Participated in Irish Diaspora Center Town Hall

The Philadelphia region is home to one of the largest and oldest Irish communities in North America. Last week, I joined Irish Consul General Ciara Madden and Professor Joseph Lenner, director of Irish Studies at Villanova, to discuss issues impacting our Irish community.

I continue to meet with our local public health and community leaders each week as we work together to map our path out of this pandemic and towards recovery. Thank you for everything you’re doing to keep your friends, family, and neighbors safe. Keep social distancing. Keep wearing your mask, And wash your hands frequently. We know that these are challenging times, but we can support each other to come through stronger.

Our office is here to help as we navigate this crisis together. You can reach us by phone at 610- 626 — 2020 or by sending me a message through our website at scanlon.house.gov/contact.