State Senator Lindsey M. Williams, Your District 38
Update

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*Constituent Stories**

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*Supporting
our Entire Community*

Thank you to all the people who reached out to
make sure that I was aware of the ICE raids that occurred last
Thursday at Emiliano's in Gibsonia and Cranberry. We responded to
constituents directly, but I wanted to share my thoughts and feelings
with our entire community.

Like many of you, I was horrified to hear
that ICE came into our community and left devastation in their wake.
Our immigrant neighbors deserve to feel safe going about their daily
lives. No one should be scared that their family will be torn apart
for simply going to work or school.

I am grateful to Casa San Jose's
rapid response team for being there and doing all they could to
document and raise awareness of what was happening.
I will continue to
listen to what Casa San Jose needs in the moment so I can best support
them and the community.

As always, my office is a safe place for
everyone. If you're scared, need help, or don't know where to go,
please call us and we'll do the best we can to help or connect you
with local services.

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Senior
Farmers Market Vouchers are Still Available. Apply by Sept 15th!*

*5
Vouchers Worth $5 Each to Use at Local Farmers Markets*

My office
helped over 50 constituents get Senior Farmers Market Nutrition
Program (SFMNP) [link 1] vouchers this year, but we know that not
everyone was able to get to a distribution site to pick up their
vouchers in person in June. Fortunately, we heard from the Allegheny
County Area Agency on Aging (AAA) that there are still plenty of
vouchers left- applicants need only fill out and mail in an
application! My office can print and mail you an application and help
submit to the AAA before the September 15th deadline!

If you are
unfamiliar with the SFMNP program, it provides $25 worth of free $5
vouchers to eligible seniors to spend at PA farmers markets and
farmstands. You must be *60 or older (or turn 60 by 12/31/25)*, live
in Allegheny County, and meet the income limits below. Note that
income is self-reported and should be your gross household
income.

2025 household income limits:

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1 person: $28,953

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2
people: $39,128

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3 people: $49,303

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4 people:
$59,478

Applications will be processed on a first-come, first-served
basis through September 15th and vouchers will be mailed directly to
the address listed on your signed application. Vouchers must be used
by November 30, 2025.

You can download an application (link below)
to mail back to the AAA or *call our office and we will mail you a
paper application and submit it for you to the AAA! *

-
Application
link:

[link removed]
[link 2].

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Mailing Address:

Allegheny County Area Agency on
Aging

Attention: SFMNP

2100 Wharton St., 2nd Floor

Pittsburgh,
PA
15203

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*Call or email my office to have an application mailed
to you:*

Contact our office at 412-364-0469 (Ross),
724-224-2131(Harrison), or [email protected] [link
3] if you have any questions or want us to print and mail you a SFMNP
application.

If you or someone you know is experiencing food
insecurity, please call the SeniorLine at 412-350-5460 to get
connected to more comprehensive resources, like home delivered meals
or a local Senior Center.

Contact our office at 412-364-0469 (Ross),
724-224-2131(Harrison), or [email protected] [link
4] if you have any questions or want us to print and mail you a SFMNP
application.

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*Upcoming
Events**

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*Get
the Support You've Earned: Veterans Service Officer Appointments
Available!*

Our next Veterans Services Officer (VSO) office day is
coming up soon! We have appointments available on *Wednesday, August
27th from 11 am - 2 pm in our Natrona Heights Office. *We offer VSO
appointments in both our Ross Township and Natrona Heights offices
every month so if August doesn't work for you, call to schedule a date
this fall.

Our VSO can answer questions about your or a family
member's benefits or review what you already have to ensure you're
receiving all of the benefits you've earned!

Contact us at
412-364-0469 (Ross), 724-224-2131 (Harrison), or email us at
[email protected] [link 5] to book your one-on-one
session - appointments fill up quickly, so don't delay!

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*East
Deer Summer Celebration*

*Saturday, August 16, 2025, 12-8pm, 700
Front St., Creighton PA 15030*

Join us at East Deer's upcoming Summer
Celebration tomorrow, Saturday, August 16th from 12-8pm for a day of
fun in the sun!

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*Scare Up a Few Costumes*

*September 1 - 30, 2025*

Our annual
Halloween Costume Drive with North Hills Community Outreach is
starting soon! Help make a little ghost, goblin, or princess's holiday
a little spookier or sweeter by donating your gently used or new
Halloween costumes.

Costumes will be distributed at North Hills
Community Outreach's coat annual coat distributions in
October.

Donations are accepted at our McKnight Road and Natrona
Heights offices all throughout the month of September!

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*Good
News**

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*Blue
Catfish Stocking to Restore Water Quality to the Three Rivers!*

In
July my staff joined the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission at the
Leetsdale Boat Ramp to stock the Ohio River with juvenile Blue
Catfish. This is part of a comprehensive, multiyear plan to restore
this beneficial native species by stocking them in the Allegheny,
Ohio, and Monongahela rivers.

Historically, Blue Catfish were found
throughout the Three River System but, due to pollution and habitat
alteration, they were eliminated from Pennsylvania in the early
1900s.
Restoring their numbers will improve our water quality and
support a diverse fish population in the region.

You can read more
about the restoration plan at:
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[link 6].

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*Confirmation
Hearing for Acting Secretary of Education Carrie Rowe*

On Tuesday,
the Senate Education Committee held a confirmation hearing for Acting
Secretary of Education Carrie Rowe. I was grateful that the Committee
had the chance to hear directly from the Acting Secretary about her
experience and qualifications, and her commitment to public education
in Pennsylvania.

As the Minority Chair of the Senate Education
Committee, I've had the chance to meet with the Acting Secretary once
a month since her nomination.
It's a valuable opportunity to get into
the policy weeds on a range of issues that I care about. I regularly
encourage school leaders to bring me questions that I can raise with
her- and she welcomes these questions, which we all appreciate.

I get
a lot out of those meetings and in the past six months working
together, I have only looked more favorably on Acting Secretary Rowe's
nomination. I look forward to her consideration by the full
Senate.

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*New
Library Book Lockers*

Our staff attended a ribbon cutting on
Wednesday morning for the Sharpsburg and Cooper-Siegel Community
Libraries' new Library Book Lockers that allow residents to pick up
their holds anytime, even when the library is closed. You can
literally "unlock your next read".

There is a book locker in front
of the Sharpsburg Community Library and two in Blawnox. At least 50
books a month are returned back into the system without anyone picking
them up. Open 24/7, these lockers will be a real game-changer for
patrons and staff!

2 local libraries introduce new book pickup
lockers to expand public access to materials - WPXI [link 7]

You can
watch the Library Book Locker in action below:

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[link 8]

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*Legislative
Update**

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*Fighting
for a State Budget for All Pennsylvanians*

On Monday, I joined
advocates from Pittsburghers for Public Transit, 412 Justice, and Just
Harvest and my colleague Senator Jay Costa to advocate for a PA Budget
that invests in transit, food assistance, and education for all
Pennsylvanians.

The next day, with the Pennsylvania budget nearly six
weeks late and transit agencies across the state facing catastrophic
route cuts, Senate Republicans returned to Harrisburg for a one-day
stunt that cut public transit funding across the Commonwealth instead
of supporting it.

I voted against both bills that the Senate
Republicans pushed through the chamber on Tuesday. The first, House
Bill 257, steals money from urgently needed and already committed
transit capital improvement projects to fund daily operations- robbing
Peter to pay Paul. Pittsburgh Regional Transit alone has a nearly $2
billion backlog of infrastructure projects, an amount that grows each
year due to underinvestment. With the funding cuts in HB257, our
transportation infrastructure will be impossible to maintain, let
alone improve. Public transit will be less safe, less secure, and more
difficult to run.

Moreover, this legislation mandates fare increases
for multiple years. It punishes transit riders across the state - the
same riders that help cut down on traffic, reduce wear and tear on our
roads, and decrease air pollution.

We have revenue options on the
table that will allow us to fund public transit operations without
stealing from already underfunded capital projects. They include the
"Transit for All PA" package that I introduced with my colleague
Senator Nikil Saval (D - Philadelphia), which would help fund transit
by raising the state's car rental and leasing fees and establishing a
6% fee on ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft. We also could
finally tax "skills games". The Senate Republicans are choosing to
turn a blind eye to revenue options and claim they do not have the
money to do what our economy needs to thrive.

The transit legislation
that Senate Republicans pushed today does not provide the sustained,
predictable funding that public transit needs to serve communities
across Pennsylvania. Instead, it disregards the lives and livelihoods
of Pennsylvania residents - students and workers, the elderly and our
disabled neighbors - who use public transit every day.

But Senate
Republicans did not just fail public transit on Tuesday. By pushing
through Senate Bill 160, their version of the FY2025-26 budget, they
signaled their unwillingness to pass an agreed-upon budget that
responsibly funds public education, food assistance, healthcare, human
services, first responders, and other critical needs of
Pennsylvanians.

The ongoing budget impasse means that many of our
school districts, human service providers, and counties have already
missed critical state payments since June - at the very time that
federal funding is being pulled out from under them.

*We cannot
afford to wait. Students head back to school next week. Cuts to bus
and train routes are imminent. Pennsylvanians deserve real solutions
and meaningful negotiations towards a final budget agreement, not the
political theater that they got today.*

You can read learn about the
budget impasse and its impact on transit, education, and more
here:
Negotiations continue between Pa. lawmakers over public transit
funding [link 9]

The Big K Morning Show with Larry Richert [link 10]
- Listen to my interview during the 7:05 am chapter

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*News
You Can Use**

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*SUN
Bucks - Summer Funds That Feed Children*

School meals are one of our
biggest tools in the fight against childhood hunger.
But even though
school takes a summer break, hunger doesn't take a vacation. That's
why the SUN Bucks Program helps offset the cost of groceries during
the summer months when school is not in session.

This federally run
program offers $120 per eligible child on a prepaid EBT card. *Funds
are loaded onto the card in mid-August/September.* Students currently
receiving SNAP are automatically enrolled, other students and families
may still be eligible!

Check eligibility and benefits now at
[link removed] [link 11] before
the August 31, 2025 deadline.

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*Free
Ross West View EMS Car Seat Event*

Get your car seat installed or
inspected for free at Ross West View EMSA's annual car seat event on
Wednesday, September 10th from 2 to 6 p.m. at 5325 Perrysville Ave.
Ambulances and Rescue 40 will also be available for tours during the
event!

Call 412-931-8200 or email [email protected] [link 12] to
register.

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*Fall
Internships Available!*

We're hiring Fall Interns! These part-time,
paid positions are open to college juniors and seniors in relevant
fields starting as soon as this month.

Please apply at
[link removed] [link 13].

Questions?
Email [email protected] [link 14].

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*Summer
Office Hours*

This August, staff will be working remotely from 9 AM -
5 PM on Fridays. Call us at 412-364-0469 or 724-224-2131 or email us
at [email protected] [link 15] for
assistance!

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As
always, please feel free to reach out with any questions you may have
by phone at 412-364-0469 [link 16] (Ross Office), 724-224-2131 [link
17] (Harrison Office) or by email at
[email protected] [link 18]. My staff will return
your call/email within 24 hours (Monday-Friday).

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Senator
Lindsey Williams


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mailto:[email protected]

Contact
Information:

Website:
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Office Location:
District
Office
5000 McKnight Road
Suite 405
Pittsburgh, PA 15237
Phone:
412-364-0469
Fax: 412-364-0928
Monday ? Friday 9-5

Harrison
Office
1826 Union Avenue
Natrona Heights, PA 15065
Phone:
724-224-2131
Fax: 724-224-2145
Monday ? Thursday 9-5

Harrisburg
Office
366 Capitol Building
Senate Box 203038
Harrisburg, PA
17120-3038
Phone: 717-787-6538
Fax: 717-787-8625
By appointment
only


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