Learn more about Rep. Jennifer O’Mara’s policy priorities:

Improving public education

Expanding and improving public education is Jennifer’s number one priority as a legislator. As a certified social studies teacher for secondary education, Jennifer understands the challenges faced by Pennsylvania’s teachers. Jennifer has committed to fully implementing the entire fair-funding formula generated by the Basic Education Funding Commission and ensuring quality public schools across Pennsylvania. Jennifer opposes merit pay for teachers, favoring instead a model in which teachers can run their classrooms creatively without worrying about standardized test scores for their paycheck. Jennifer is fighting hard for the rights of teachers to organize for better pay, fair hours, and continued pensions, and will do whatever it takes to address the teacher shortage our state is currently facing.

Jennifer is also committed to ensuring that public schools are equitable and well-funded. Pennsylvania ranks 47th in the country for public school funding, providing only 37% of basic education and 25% of special education costs. Additionally, as an increasing proportion of public school funding is collected through local property taxes, educational inequity is exacerbated – wealthy areas continue to have well-funded schools, while lower-income areas suffer. In Harrisburg, Jennifer has fought to increase other sources of school funding and take the burden off working taxpayers.

Moreover, at a time when teachers across the country are under pressure from far-right activists to stop teaching their students about everything from the history of slavery in this country to the existence of the LGBTQIA+ community, Jennifer will stand up to attempts by the radical right to rewrite our children's history books, ban challenging books from our curriculums and libraries, and make students feel unwelcome because of their identities.

As a first-generation college student and former university administrator, Jennifer also understands the challenges facing higher education. As a legislator, she was appointed to the Public Higher Education Commission helping to ensure that our public colleges and universities are fully funded. She is also a co-founder of the bipartisan Student Debt Caucus, working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to prevent Pennsylvanians from facing crippling levels of student debt into adulthood. Recently, she has been working to ensure that our state budget addresses food insecurity and hunger at Pennsylvania’s colleges.

Protecting women's rights

At a time when women’s access to basic healthcare and the right to choose is under unprecedented attack across the country, Jennifer is a staunch advocate for women and will do everything in her power as a legislator to ensure that the women of Pennsylvania retain their essential rights.

Jennifer has steadfastly opposed legislation that would restrict a woman’s right to make choices for herself, her family, and her own body come across the floor of the House, including bills that would force women to register miscarriages and severely restrict access to abortion. When Republicans in Harrisburg attempted to pass a bill that would have required women to have a ritual burial or cremation for any loss of a fertilized egg, including embryos in a lab, Jennifer spoke out against the bill on the House Floor and shared her experiences with IVF in a speech that went viral. Afterwards, Jennifer heard from many women about their own experiences with fertility, including how expensive it can be. Inspired by their stories, Jennifer began working with a group of her fellow legislators on a bill that would require insurers to cover fertility treatments in Pennsylvania.

Jennifer also recognizes that steps need to be taken to protect working mothers, including ensuring private spaces to breastfeed in the workplace and allowing for the certification of lactation consultants. Jennifer will continue to support women’s right to choose to breastfeed and fight to establish safe spaces for working women to do so. She has also co-sponsored legislation to require public restrooms to provide feminine hygiene products.

fighting for working families and unions

Both Jennifer’s parents were union members – her father as a firefighter in IAFF Local 22, her mother as a bus driver in PSEA – and she has experienced firsthand the important role unions play in the lives of their members. The decline of union membership marked the decline of the American middle class, and Jennifer knows that it was thanks to unions that hard-working Americans won important fights over sick leave, a 40-hour work week, child labor laws, and workplace safety standards. Jennifer strongly supports the rights of unions to organize and collectively bargain for better pay and better standards of living. Ensuring the safety of union members, both physically and from verbal and physical harassment and abuse, is one of Jennifer’s key priorities.

As a legislator, Jennifer has stood against right-to-work legislation and introduced a bill to strengthen the rights of workers to collectively bargain. This right is fundamental to fair labor conditions and must be protected by lawmakers for workers across the state. Recently, Jennifer introduced legislation to establish paid family and medical leave in Pennsylvania, which would give our state’s workers the opportunity to address crises and transitions in their personal lives.

Additionally, Jennifer voted in support of the Governor's plan to ensure a $12/hour living wage with a plan to incrementally increase it to $15/hour, adjusted or cost-of-living and inflation. This gradual increase will both ensure workers are paid enough to stay afloat while avoiding increases in unemployment or putting a strain on small business owners.

Expanding and protecting the right to vote

The right to vote is essential to any robust, functioning democracy. Pennsylvania is where American democracy was born, and Jennifer believes that our state should be leading on reforms that will protect and expand the right to vote and make it easier for our state’s citizens to cast their ballots. She was proud to vote in favor of Act 77, the election reform bill that established no-excuse mail-in voting in Pennsylvania, and will strongly oppose all efforts to weaken and rollback the progress achieved by that bill. Additionally, Jennifer introduced a bill to create a robust early voting period in Pennsylvania. While Jennifer’s bill has not yet become law, she is pleased that Act 77 effectively allows early vote in the state by allowing voters to request and return their ballots ahead of Election Day.

But Jennifer’s commitment to pro-democracy reforms extends farther than that. She’s firmly in favor of automatic voter registration. She is opposed to gerrymandering and similar practices that create an unfair advantage for one political party, and spoke out against attempts to tamper with the fair, bipartisan redistricting process that concluded earlier this year.

Access to quality Healthcare

Jennifer understands that quality healthcare is fundamental to a successful, flourishing society. She supports expanding Medicaid and ensuring that Medicaid waiver programs do not limit access to quality care for Pennsylvania’s communities. As a legislator, she advocates for streamlining the waiver process to reduce wait times for essential care and works to uphold the Affordable Care Act’s provisions protecting individuals with pre-existing conditions.

Jennifer is also fighting to improve health coverage for Pennsylvanians with disabilities. As the daughter of a chronically-disabled worker and the wife of a severely-disabled veteran, Jennifer knows firsthand the challenges facing those who are disabled. As a legislator, she has worked to expand the health benefits savings account so people with disabilities can save more than $10,000 without losing their benefits.

Jennifer further recognizes that large steps need to be taken to help treat those with substance use disorders to keep them and their communities safe. She supports lowering barriers to treatment and ensuring that all communities, including poor and rural communities, have access to high-quality, evidence-based care for those struggling with addiction. Jennifer advocates for the treatments supported by the American Medical Association to give everyone struggling with opioid addiction the chance to get back on their feet.

In her district, Jennifer has fought to make healthcare as accessible as possible to the people who need it. She has worked with Springfield Cares to provide those struggling with substance use disorder with the resources they need to combat addiction. She is an advocate for the new Delaware County Health Department and helped secure funding for the department in the state budget. Lastly, she’s been an opponent of hospital closures, and is working hard to keep these important sources of medical care—not to mention jobs—in Delco.

Advocating for our environment

During her first two terms, Jennifer has emerged as a strong advocate for the state’s environment. She’s consistently voted against bills that would weaken our environmental protections and prevent Pennsylvania from joining RGGI, a regional greenhouse gas market that has helped reduce carbon emissions throughout the northeast while saving consumers over $2 billion on their utility bills.

But Jennifer knows it’s not enough to simply vote against legislation that would rollback our environmental protections, and she’s also supported or introduced several pro-environmental bills that would help our state address the challenges of climate change. As Pennsylvania is the only state in the country with a substantial fracking industry that does not have an extraction tax, Jenn has fought to implement a tax on natural gas drawn from the Marcellus Shale and use the additional revenue to improve schools and welfare programs across the state. She introduced a bill to require energy efficiency standards on commercial appliances, and co-sponsored legislation to transition Pennsylvania to 100% renewable energy by 2050.

Jennifer has also worked tirelessly to bring back state dollars to address critical storm water projects, to secure funding to maintain and preserve parks throughough the community and address other critical environmental issues. Some of these grants include funding for the Springfield Trail, improving Meadowgreen Park in Springfield, revitalizing Veterans’ Memorial Park in Broomall, and advocating for $600,000 for a new EV fleet for the Delaware County Health Department.

STANDING UP FOR THE LGBTQIA+ COMMUNITY

Jennifer is a proud ally of the LGBTQIA+ community. She’s been a member of the LGBTQ Equality Caucus since her first term, was endorsed by the Human Rights Campaign during both of her previous elections, and is committed to voting against any hateful, anti-LGBTQIA+ bills that are proposed in Harrisburg.

She has supported legislation to extend nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQIA+ individuals, and will do all she can to ensure that we create a welcoming, nondiscriminatory environment in the state of Pennsylvania for the LGBTQIA+ community.

Increasing Racial Equity

The murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Daunte Wright and countless others, as well as the fact that too often those who have committed acts of violence against people of color are never held accountable for their crimes, has made the urgent need for action to protect people of color clear. As a legislator, Jennifer has stood in support of Black lives and worked to advance legislation that addresses systemic racial inequity.

Jennifer has worked with local police departments in her district to increase accountability and reduce violence, including getting grants for body cameras for police personnel. Additionally, she was proud to join her colleagues in the House in voting in favor of HB 1841 and HB 1910, two bills to reform policing in Pennsylvania. Together, they prevent officers with a history of misconduct from being rehired, mandate additional implicit bias and cultural awareness training, and require officers to undergo mental health screenings. She has also worked to support the Black communities within her district, including by sponsoring contactless food drives to support local churches and food banks.

Common sense gun legislation

Having lost her father at a young age to gun suicide, Jennifer knows firsthand the horrendous toll gun violence can take on a family and a community and she strongly believes that the state has a duty to protect its citizens from gun violence. As a legislator, Jennifer has fought to close loopholes in firearm legislation and keep our state safe. Jennifer fully supports measures to allow local cities and municipalities to pass their own common sense laws without the threat of lawsuits from outside organizations, including the NRA.

Jennifer also supports statewide efforts to enact reasonable firearm legislation. She’s co-sponsored “red flag law” legislation to allow judges in our state to issue Extreme Risk Protection Orders to remove firearms from individuals who the court has found pose a significant risk to themselves or others. Because more gun deaths occur by suicide than by homicide, she’s a strong advocate for measures that keep firearms out of the hands of people who pose risks to themselves and to others, and is a strong advocate for expanding access to mental health treatment. Other statewide measures that supported by Jennifer include mandating lost and stolen firearm reports, requiring domestic abusers to turn weapons over to law enforcement, limiting the sale of high capacity magazines, restricting the sale of military-style assault weapons, and restricting the sale and use of bump stocks.

quality care for our veterans

Jennifer has seen firsthand how important the Department of Veterans' Affairs is for the country’s heroic veterans. Her husband, a combat veteran who served two tours in Afghanistan, received a 100% disability rating and subsequent pension from the VA due in part to Jennifer’s hard work as an advocate. Now, Jennifer strives to do more to support Pennsylvania’s veterans, by strengthening the VA, advocating for improved care at the state level, and improving the healthcare opportunities available to veterans. Jennifer believes no person who served the country should have to worry about their paycheck or their next meal.

In Harrisburg, Jennifer joined the Veterans and Emergency Preparedness Committee and wrote and passed into law two bills that secured more funding for the Veterans’ Trust Fund, helping to ensure this vital program has enough resources to handle the needs of our veterans. Recently, she co-sponsored a bipartisan bill authorizing a study of psilocybins as a treatment for veterans struggling with PTSD.

Jennifer also works with veterans within her district, hosting a veterans appreciation breakfast every Veterans’ Day and holding monthly appointments with a Veterans Service Office in her district office to help veterans get the benefits they deserve.

Aiding our First Responders

Jennifer’s father was a firefighter who worked for 25 years as a member of IAFF Local 22. His experience taught her firsthand the crucial role first responders play in our society Tragically, she lost her father to gun-suicide when she was only 13 years old. Sadly, more fighters and police officers die by suicide than they do in the line of duty annually both in Pennsylavnia and across the United States.. Since being elected, Jennifer has worked hard to fulfill our promise to our first responders to make sure that their concerns are well represented in Harrisburg. As a legislator, Jennifer chairs the Fire and Emergency Services Caucus, a bipartisan Caucus that advocates for the concerns of firefighters and EMS workers throughout the state.

Jennifer recognizes the incredible risk our first responders take as they put their lives on the line to save others. Yet these brave men and women often receive inadequate care throughout their lifetimes. To address these issues Jennifer has co-sponsored legislation that would ensure that our first responders receive Post Traumatic Stress Injury coverage and has fought to provide our first responders with access to mental health services. Jennifer also convened a bipartisan joint state-federal task force to address firefighter recruitment and retention, working with national leaders to find solutions to the crisis facing our volunteers.

Working For You

Jennifer campaigned on the idea of bringing the government back to the people of her district. She has worked hard to listen to and deliver for her constituents and for all Pennsylvanians. Since being elected, she has had 100% session attendance, co-sponsored over 400 pieces of legislation, and brought over $11 million to her district to support local first responders, higher education, sexual assault prevention, trails and park renovations, water quality improvement, and investments in our roads and other infrastructure.

Jennifer knows that fundamentally, her role is to serve her community – which is why she has held over 83 (and counting) in-district events, including 23 town halls, to offer services to her constituents, listen to their concerns, and answer their questions. She’s honored that her efforts at constituent outreach led to her being named as one of the country’s 11 most accessible legislators by the Town Hall Project.

Commitment to Mental Health

Jennifer’s commitment to health care extends beyond physical health—she understands the value of mental health treatment, especially for communities in which it is often inaccessible. The death of Jennifer’s father by gun suicide when she was 13 showed her firsthand the broken state of mental health treatment in this country and how important it is to ensure that everyone has access to the care they need. Jennifer also recognizes the intense stigma surrounding substance use disorders, which adds an extra barrier to treatment for those suffering from using substances and other mental health disorders. To address the issues of stigma and mental health treatment, Jennifer joined the Statewide Suicide Prevention Taskforce and the Pennsylvania Mental Health Caucus, where she works to increase access to mental health resources throughout the state.

Additionally, Jennifer is far too aware of how challenging the COVID-19 pandemic has been for many people—especially our students—and how it’s led to new mental health struggles for far too many of us. For this reason, Jennifer supports measures that would make behavioral and mental health support more accessible for all Pennsylvanians. She believes additional funding for mental health support should be made available to public schools, and has co-sponsored a bill that would grant students mental health days.

In her district, Jennifer is committed to connecting people with mental health services, and hosts open houses to ensure that those suffering from mental health disorders get the help that they need.

Protecting seniors and homeowners

As a new homeowner, Jennifer understands that Pennsylvania residents are faced with skyrocketing real estate taxes used to fund public schools. For first-time homeowners, rising taxes can be devastating and prevent families from fulfilling their American dream and owning their own home. These taxes can be especially detrimental for senior citizens, who live with fixed incomes that do not rise in proportion to increased property taxes. Many seniors are confronted by the difficult choice of whether to downsize or move in with relatives just to make ends meet.

Jennifer has fought to protect the rights of seniors and homeowners in Harrisburg by helping to pass legislation that creates savings accounts for first time home buyers. She’s co-sponsored bills to expand eligibility for the Property Tax/Rent Rebate (PTRR) Program to make it easier for those on fixed incomes to remain in their homes, to freeze property tax increases for senior citizens, and to prevent municipalities from selling the homes of seniors who fell behind on their real estate taxes. Jennifer has also co-sponsored bills to eliminate the one-time cost of a REAL ID for seniors and to expand eligibility for PACENET, a program that helps older Pennsylvanians afford life-sustaining medications. She also supports finding new sources of school funding, such as taxes on advertising or fracked gas, to take the burden of funding our schools off of property tax payers.

As a legislator, Jennifer continues to work to pass this legislation and actively searches for more ways to build revenue and protect our hard-working communities. Jennifer is also committed to helping seniors in her district. She hosts monthly events for seniors, including an annual senior expo and seminars featuring local law enforcement to prepare seniors against fraud scams, and her office works hard to help seniors gain access to senior Septa ID cards.

taking on the harrisburg establishment

The current state legislature, held by a Republican majority, has taken advantage of weak campaign finance laws to benefit from massive influxes of dark money and fought to gerrymander our maps and keep private interests directly involved in politics. Jennifer believes the government should work for the people, and has fought for campaign finance reform, restrictions on lobbyists, and fairly drawn districts.

As a legislator, Jennifer teamed up with nine of her Democratic colleagues to introduce a set of ten bills to change the State House rules and make Harrisburg more transparent. Jennifer was the primary sponsor of a bill provide the public with 24 hours to review any legislation the House will be voting on so as to increase transparency. Other bills in the package would balance the partisan makeup of committees and close procedural loopholes that allow the majority party to disenfranchise the minority party in committee meetings, prevent bills from being passed between committees without ever coming to the House floor for a full vote, require proposed constitutional amendments to be subject to a public hearing, give the entire House—not just its leadership—the last opportunity to amend a bill, require every bill to have a public hearing, and protect the right to debate proposed bills before they go to a full vote.

Jennifer knows the importance of a government that is open, honest, and connected to the citizens, and has worked hard to ensure the state legislature is one in which all Pennsylvanians—not just the wealthy few—feel they have a voice. With the critical issues facing our Commonwealth and our region, we need legislators who care about the communities and people they serve.