Government Relations
Executive Director Ward Blackwell , PDA past president Dr . Bernie Dishler and PDA lobbyist Peg Kuskin met with Sen . Sharif Street and his staff members Kasib Carter and Dustin Morris at Temple University ’ s Kornberg School of Dentistry , where the group was graciously hosted by Kornberg ’ s Dean Dr . Amid Ismail and faculty members to show Sen . Street how important AoB and other PDA topics are to the senator ’ s constituents .
Sen . Street is the Democratic chair of Senate Banking and Insurance . That ’ s the committee that will be the first to touch our AoB bill . Sen . Street ’ s support would go a long way toward moving AoB out of the first committee we ’ ll encounter in our legislative journey .
Mustafa Badi , Assistant Dean of Admissions ; Peg Kuskin , PDA lobbyist ; Dr . Bernie Dishler ; Sen . Sharif Street ; Kornberg Dean Amid Ismail ; PDA Executive Director Ward Blackwell , McNees associate Natalie Cook .
In June and July , PDA met with other Senators around the state . By having PDA members who live in the specific senator ’ s district attend the meetings , we show each legislator that his or her constituents , the voters , care very much about AoB and why it is so important to support PDA ’ s efforts in getting the bill to the Governor ’ s desk .
Sen . John Di Santo represents the greater Harrisburg area . He is the Republican chair of the Senate Banking and Insurance committee . His support is absolutely crucial in getting AoB in motion . If we don ’ t make it out of his committee we are done . We met with him in June .
Sen . Dan Laughlin ( R-Erie ) is another key person who met with PDA in July . He sits on the Senate Banking and Insurance committee and the Senate Appropriations committees , two committees that will make or break the passage of AoB .
One of the most important leadership senators is Sen . Jake Corman ( R-Centre ). He is the President Pro Tempore . He assigns Senators to committees and assigns bills to committees . His assistance on AoB will be invaluable . We met with him in July .
PDA uses your PAC contributions to create opportunities to advance your legislative and policy goals . Each PDA member needs to show in a real way that you value what the PAC is and does . If you don ’ t contribute or contribute only the bare minimum , we will get rolled by the insurance industry . If we have a toothpick and they have a baseball bat , we lose every time . If you say advocacy is important you must prove that commitment by contributing . We must all walk the walk and not just give lip service .
PDA utilizes hard and soft dollars for these efforts . Political campaigns contributions can be made with a personal check or credit card . Personal contributions “ hard dollars ” can be used to support state legislative candidates , and corporate contributions “ soft dollars ” can be used only for PAC administrative expenses .
JULY / AUGUST 2021 | PENNSYLVANIA DENTAL JOURNAL 9