Bill McSwain

BRINGING BACK LAW & ORDER AND PUTTING CRIMINALS IN JAIL

The number one job of the Government is to keep us safe. For too long, our leaders have failed at that job. When Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, Attorney General Josh Shapiro, and Governor Tom Wolf sided with criminals and refused to prosecute violent rioters, looters and arsonists in the summer of 2020, Bill stepped in as U.S. Attorney.

Bill put violent rioters who attacked police, destroyed businesses, torched cop cars in the streets, and brought mayhem and destruction to our cities where they belong — behind bars. Our leaders’ anti-police rhetoric and policies have led to a dramatic increase in crime that is devastating our cities and must be stopped.

As Governor, Bill will continue to stand for law and order, support our police and never allow radical politicians to defund them. He will ensure we have a Government that stands with everyday Pennsylvanians, not with the dangerous criminals who threaten our safety.

CREATING JOBS, LOWERING TAXES, AND IMPROVING OUR BUSINESS CLIMATE

It’s been a rough seven years for the pocketbooks of Pennsylvania families. We suffer from the 4th highest overall tax burden in the country, and our unemployment rate is over 6%, well above the national average. Sadly, Pennsylvania ranks a dismal 41st out of the 50 states in unemployment rate. And the median household income in the Keystone state is nearly $7,000 below the national average.

Already rated one of the worst business climates in the U.S., we’ve repeatedly seen our taxes raised at the pump and we live under a Governor who, at every opportunity, has repeatedly raised the specter of massive tax increases on income and energy.

As if all of this weren’t enough, as a result of Tom Wolf’s rule-by-executive-order approach to governing during the pandemic, 1.5 years of crippling lockdowns have shuttered once thriving small businesses and destroyed livelihoods. We deserve better.

Residents are now fleeing Pennsylvania faster than any other state in the U.S., other than Michigan, New York, California, and Illinois. Families from Erie to Philadelphia watch as their kids leave for jobs outside the state every day. This needs to change.

As Governor, Bill will work to get our economy thriving again. He’ll lower Pennsylvania’s tax burden on working families, cut unnecessary and costly red tape that increases the cost of operating a small business, empower small businesses to grow and create more jobs, and rein in out-of-control spending in Harrisburg.

UNLEASHING PENNSYLVANIA’S ENERGY AND LOWERING GAS PRICES

Pennsylvania sits on one of the largest natural gas reserves in the world. Producing 20% of the country’s natural gas, we are the 2nd largest energy-producing state in the U.S. Energy is truly the lifeblood of the Keystone economy.

Without a doubt, Governor Wolf has been one of the most anti-energy Governors in the country. With tens of thousands of jobs directly supported by the energy industry in Pennsylvania (and many more indirectly supported by it), his attacks on the industry are dangerous to our economy.

Pennsylvanians pay the second-highest gas taxes in the country, behind only California. Under Tom Wolf, these taxes have increased, and the cost of filling our tanks has gone up along with it.

Beyond forcing residents to pay extra at the pump, Governor Wolf’s administration has been downright hostile towards our energy producers and the vital jobs they create for our Commonwealth’s economy.

Bill will work to lower the gas tax to give relief to people across the state. He will be an ally to those looking to further develop homegrown energy production like natural gas and clean coal to support lower fuel costs and higher-paying jobs.

As Governor, Bill will fully support and empower energy production throughout Pennsylvania, not disincentivize, demonize, overregulate, and overtax it.

PUTTING A STOP TO OUT-OF-CONTROL SPENDING IN HARRISBURG

For decades, our elected leaders and career politicians have overextended the state’s budget, run huge deficits, and failed to fund our pension system adequately.

As Governor, Bill will ensure that Harrisburg focuses on fiscal discipline, ensuring adequate pension funding for our state retirees, lowering taxes, and spending taxpayer money responsibly — because if Pennsylvania families have to live within our means, so should Harrisburg politicians.

COMBATING THE OPIOID CRISIS

No state has been hit harder by the opioid epidemic than Pennsylvania. It’s taken children, parents, friends, neighbors and destroyed countless lives along the way.

Bill has seen first-hand the lives it has destroyed. As U.S. Attorney, Bill went after drug dealers, overprescribing doctors, pharmaceutical companies, and other distributors for their illegal roles in perpetuating the spread and abuse of opiate drugs.

His office also delivered $159 million in grants to fund mentoring opportunities, family drug court programs, research, and drug monitoring programs to raise awareness and aid in prevention and recovery. And when the City of Philadelphia tried to open heroin injection sites and make our streets and families less safe, Bill successfully stopped it.

Disaster declarations aren’t enough. As Governor, Bill will prioritize ending the destruction and devastation caused by the opioid epidemic.

IMPROVING EDUCATION AND KEEPING CRITICAL RACE THEORY OUT OF OUR SCHOOLS

In Pennsylvania, education is our greatest resource. We have some of the best schools in the country. We also have some of the worst. Education should work for all of our kids, not just some.

That is why Bill is a strong supporter of school choice, charter schools, and education reform to improve outcomes and choice for disadvantaged students and increase accountability in underperforming schools.

As Governor, Bill will expand charter schools and other educational opportunities for disadvantaged students and empower teachers – not teachers unions.

What we teach our kids matters, and we must keep radical special interests out of our school curriculums. Lately, we’ve seen far-left groups attempt to hijack curriculums across the country with racist ideologies like critical race theory. This is disturbing and un-American. As Governor, Bill will support legislation banning critical race theory from being taught in our schools.

The story of America is not perfect, but no country has fought harder or sacrificed more to advance the causes of freedom and democracy at home and across the globe than the United States.

We must teach our children about the flaws of the past and how they have shaped our country today. But we must never lose sight of the fact that America is a force for good and a beacon of light for the world. People come here from great distances in pursuit of the American Dream.

We are the greatest country in the world – and that is exactly what our kids should know about the place they call home.

As Governor, Bill will ensure that we have a school system that gives every child the chance to be lifted up and to live their version of the American Dream.

As part of his commitment to putting parents, students, and teachers first, McSwain released the Pillars of Education Reform, which outline his education reform priorities including a pledge to never accept a cent from teachers’ unions, a promise to restore power to parents by enacting a Parents’ Bill of Rights, and increasing educational opportunity for all students via school choice resources:

PILLARS OF EDUCATION REFORM

1. Pledge to never accept a cent from Teachers' Union
2. Restore power to parents through the Parents' Bill of Rights
3. Promote true educational opportunity by providing for school choice:

• increased access to charter schools,
• increased access to tax credit scholarship programs, and
• the creation of education opportunity accounts that fund the child instead of funding the failing system.

In tandem with the Pillars of Education Reform, McSwain also released the Parents’ Bill of Rights, which outlines the powers, authorities, and freedoms that McSwain will restore to parents across the state as Governor. These include the right to an in-person education, the right to know the curriculum that your child is being taught, and the right to have your child educated free from political indoctrination:

PARENTS' BILL OF RIGHTS

• RIGHT TO HAVE YOUR CHILD EDUCATED FREE FROM HATEFUL IDEOLOGIES LIKE CRITICAL RACE THEORY AND OTHER RACIST RHETORIC
• RIGHT TO HAVE YOUR CHILD EDUCATED FREE FROM POLITICAL INDOCTRINATION OF ANY SORT
• RIGHT TO KNOW EVERYTHING THAT YOUR CHILD IS BEING TAUGHT
• RIGHT TO KNOW AND HAVE CONTROL OVER ADMINISTRATIVE DECISIONS RELATED TO YOUR CHILD
• RIGHT TO AN IN-PERSON EDUCATION
• RIGHT TO A COMPREHENSIVE, QUALITY EDUCATION THAT MEETS YOUR CHILD'S NEEDS

RESTORING FAITH IN OUR ELECTIONS

The way Tom Wolf and former Secretary of the Commonwealth Kathy Boockvar administered the 2020 election made a mockery of Pennsylvania’s election process. The Wolf administration and the highly partisan state Supreme Court circumvented the state legislature to create their own rules about how the election should be conducted. The last-minute rule changes and different information given to different counties sowed confusion and distrust in the system. We must insist on transparency, consistency, and a system that protects everyone’s legal vote no matter what part of the state you live in.

Bill understands that there are bad actors that wish to cheat the system. For example, he prosecuted ballot-stuffing election officials in Philadelphia as U.S. Attorney.

As Governor, Bill will make it easy to vote and hard to cheat. He will fight radical efforts to make our elections less secure; he will support voter ID, oppose ballot harvesting, and keep outside influences out of Pennsylvania elections by banning out-of-state funding of our election system.

SECOND AMENDMENT

As a former U.S. Marine scout/sniper platoon commander, Bill strongly supports the Second Amendment, and as Governor, he will defend the right to keep and bear arms in our Commonwealth.

LIFE

Bill is pro-life and his administration will reflect that, as pro-life voices will have seats at the table in Bill’s cabinet. Bill will sign legislation that protects the unborn and values the dignity and sanctity of human life.

VETERANS

After college, when many of my friends were taking jobs in the private sector, I decided to join the United States Marine Corps and serve the country that I love so deeply. It was the privilege and honor of my life to wear the uniform of the United States of America. The Marine Corps principles of Honor, Courage, and Commitment guide me in my daily life and will do so as Governor. Pennsylvania has a rich history of military service and is home to over 1 million Veterans. As a Veteran and your next Governor, I will make each and every Veteran in this Commonwealth a priority. Pennsylvania Veterans will have a friend in this Marine.

My administration will ensure that we continue programs in the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs that are working and end those that aren’t. I’ll meet regularly with the leadership of the Pennsylvania National Guard to hear about the top issues that Veterans and their families are facing each day.

One issue that I have heard about frequently is Veterans being properly prepared to enter our private sector workforce after their service. As Governor I plan to address this head on by working with Veterans Service Organizations and the business community in Pennsylvania to ensure that Veterans are being provided ample opportunities to gain the necessary skills and trades that will make their job search as easy as possible.

Further, I plan to work with the business community to create more incentives to hire members of the Pennsylvania National Guard. The balance of being a private sector employee and in the Guard part time can be challenging, especially with all of the other demands that life brings. Those businesses that make it easier for Pennsylvanians to serve should be rewarded.

Finally, I will fight to support Veterans courts across the Commonwealth. As an Attorney, I have seen the success of these courts first hand and know that many Veterans will make the right decision when given a second chance.^[2]