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Dave Argall
RRunning, 2024 Pennsylvania State Senate District 29, General Election
Running, 2024 Pennsylvania State Senate District 29, Primary Election
Won the General, 2020 Pennsylvania State Senate District 29
Won the General, 2016 Pennsylvania State Senate District 29
Won the General, 2012 Pennsylvania State Senate District 29
Majority Policy Chair, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Senate (2017 - Present)
Pennsylvania State Senate, District 29 (2009 - Present)
To be claimed
Former Member, Aging and Youth Committee, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Senate
Former Member, Aging and Youth Committee, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Senate
Member, Agriculture and Rural Affairs
Member, Appropriations
Member, Community, Economic and Recreational Development
Member, Finance
Vice Chair, Urban Affairs and Housing
— Awards:
Priority Issues:
Senator Argall's top legislative priorities are promoting job growth, reducing the property tax burden on homeowners and revitalizing our downtowns and older industrial areas
1. Abortions should always be legally available.
- No Answer
2. Abortions should be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy.
- No Answer
3. Abortions should be legal only when pregnancy resulted from incest, rape, or when the life of the woman is endangered.
- X
4. Abortions should be legal only when the life of the woman is endangered.
- No Answer
5. Abortions should always be illegal.
- No Answer
6. Abortions should be limited by waiting periods and parental notification requirements.
- X
7. Prohibit the late-term abortion procedure known as "partial-birth" abortion.
- X
8. Support "buffer zones" by requiring demonstrators to stay at least 15 feet away from abortion clinic doorways and driveways.
- X
9. Other
- No Answer
10. Should Pennsylvania government funding be provided to clinics and medical facilities that provide abortion services?
- No
1. College and university admissions
- No
2. Public employment
- No
3. State contracting
- No
4. Other
- No Answer
1. Increase state funds for construction of state prisons and for hiring of additional prison staff.
- No Answer
2. Support contracting with private sector firms to build and/or manage state prisons.
- No Answer
3. End parole for repeat violent felons.
- X
4. Expand the use of the death penalty for additional circumstances relating to murder.
- No Answer
5. Oppose the death penalty.
- No Answer
6. Implement penalties other than incarceration for certain non-violent offenders.
- X
7. Inform communities when a convicted sex offender moves into the community.
- X
8. Increase state funds for programs which rehabilitate and educate inmates during and after their prison sentences.
- No Answer
9. Decriminalize the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.
- No Answer
10. Strengthen penalties and sentences for drug-related crimes.
- No Answer
11. Strengthen penalties and sentences for sex offenders.
- No Answer
12. Lower the limit defining drunk driving to .08 blood alcohol content.
- No Answer
13. Prosecute juveniles who commit murder or other serious violent crimes as adults.
- X
14. Other
- No Answer
1. Provide low interest loans and tax credits for starting, expanding, or relocating businesses.
- X
2. Reduce state government regulations on the private sector in order to encourage investment and economic expansion.
- X
3. Support limits on cash damages in lawsuits against businesses and professionals for product liability or malpractice.
- No Answer
4. Increase funding for state job-training programs that retrain displaced workers or teach skills needed in today's job market.
- X
5. Privatize state liquor stores.
- No Answer
6. Support market development for Pennsylvania exports by funding an export loan program through Small Business First.
- X
7. Expand legalized gambling in Pennsylvania (e.g. slot machines).
- No Answer
8. Support public financing of stadiums and sports arenas in Pennsylvania.
- No Answer
9. Other
- No Answer
1. Increase state funds for professional development of public school teachers and administrators.
- No Answer
2. Encourage private or corporate investment in public school programs.
- X
3. Provide parents with state-funded vouchers to send their children to any participating school (public, private, religious).
- X
4. Favor charter schools where independent groups receive state authorization and funding to establish new schools.
- X
5. Support sex education programs which stress abstinence.
- X
6. Support sex education programs which stress safe sexual practices.
- No Answer
7. Increase state funds for school construction and facility maintenance.
- X
8. Increase state funds for hiring of additional teachers.
- No Answer
9. Endorse teacher-led voluntary prayer in public schools.
- X
10. Support the Links-to-Learn initiative, which purchases computers for schools and provides computer training for teachers.
- X
11. Restructure Philadelphia's school district, creating multiple districts with elected school boards.
- No Answer
12. Require teachers to continue their professional development and re-certify every five years.
- X
13. Allow schools the option of requiring school uniforms.
- X
14. Support a state achievement test and establish proficiency levels to measure student achievement.
- X
15. Limit the number of students per classroom in all public elementary schools.
- X
16. Support the current law requiring the state to provide 50 percent of local school districts' funding.
- X
17. Require mandatory full-day kindergarten.
- No Answer
18. Support legislation limiting teachers' ability to strike.
- X
19. Other
- No Answer
1. Require the use of cleaner burning fuels in order to prevent pollution.
- X
2. Support "self-audit" legislation which creates incentives for industries to audit themselves and clean up pollution.
- X
3. Require a cost/benefit analysis to determine the economic impact of proposed environmental regulations before they are implemented.
- X
4. Require the state to fully compensate citizens when environmental regulations limit uses on privately owned land.
- No Answer
5. Provide funding for recycling programs in Pennsylvania.
- X
6. Request added flexibility from the federal government in enforcing and funding federal environmental regulations.
- X
7. Suspend participation in unfunded, federally mandated environmental protection legislation.
- No Answer
8. Oppose siting additional low-level radioactive waste facilities in Pennsylvania.
- X
9. Reduce the amount of municipal waste imported into Pennsylvania.
- X
10. Protecting consumers during the electricity deregulation process should be a top state priority.
- X
11. Other
- No Answer
12. State environmental regulations should not be stricter than federal law.
- Undecided
1. Do you support amending the Pennsylvania Constitution to limit the number of terms of State Senators and Representatives?
- Yes
2. Do you support the current law which limits the number of terms that the Governor can serve? (Limited to 2, 4-year terms)
- Yes
3. Do you support current limits on corporate contributions to state legislative candidates?
- Yes
1. Individual
- Yes
2. PAC
- Yes
3. Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information?
- Yes
4. Do you support imposing spending limits on state level political campaigns?
- Yes
5. Do you support partial funding from state taxes for state level political campaigns?
- No
6. Would you vote to ratify an amendment to the U.S. Constitution requiring an annual balanced federal budget?
- Yes
7. Other
- No Answer
1. Ban the sale or transfer of all forms of semi-automatic weapons.
- No Answer
2. Increase state restrictions on the purchase and possession of firearms.
- No Answer
3. Maintain state restrictions on the purchase and possession of firearms.
- X
4. Ease state restrictions on the purchase and possession of firearms.
- No Answer
5. Repeal state restrictions on the purchase and possession of firearms by law-abiding citizens.
- No Answer
6. Favor allowing citizens to carry concealed firearms.
- No Answer
7. Require manufacturers to provide child-safety locks with firearms.
- No Answer
8. Allow urban areas to enact stricter gun control regulations than the rest of the state.
- No Answer
9. Other
- No Answer
1. Provide tax incentives to small businesses who provide health care to their employees.
- X
2. Ensure that citizens have access to basic health care, through managed care, insurance reforms, or state funded care where necessary.
- X
3. Expand the Children's Health Insurance Program, which provides uninsured children with health care.
- X
4. Transfer more existing Medicaid recipients into managed care programs.
- No Answer
5. Use state funds to continue some Medicaid coverage for legal immigrants.
- No Answer
6. Limit the amount of damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.
- No Answer
7. Guaranteeing medical care to all citizens is not a responsibility of state government.
- No Answer
8. Provide certain clinical public health services through local community providers rather than through state-run health centers.
- No Answer
9. Other
- No Answer
1. Increase state funding for programs to prevent teen pregnancy.
- X
2. Provide tax credits for businesses that provide child care for their employees.
- X
3. Increase state funds to provide child care to children in low-income working families.
- X
4. Deny or suspend state-issued permits and licenses to parents who are delinquent in paying court-ordered child support.
- X
5. Favor banning smoking in public places.
- X
6. Increase state funding for Head Start in order to serve additional children and/or increase services from a half to a full day.
- X
7. Increase state funding for community centers and other social agencies in areas with at-risk youth.
- X
8. Support state funding of programs for at-risk youth such as guaranteed college loans and job training and placement.
- X
9. Other
- No Answer
10. Do you believe that the Pennsylvania government should include sexual orientation in Pennsylvania's anti-discrimination laws?
- Yes
11. Do you believe that the Pennsylvania government should recognize same-sex marriages?
- No
1. Agriculture
- Slightly Increase
2. Education (K-12)
- Slightly Increase
3. Education (Higher)
- Slightly Increase
4. Environment
- Maintain Status
5. Health care
- Maintain Status
6. Law enforcement
- Slightly Increase
7. Transportation infrastructure (highways, roads, bridges)
- Greatly Increase
8. Welfare
- Greatly Decrease
9. Other
- No Answer
1. Alcohol Taxes
- Maintain Status
2. Capital gains taxes
- Slightly Increase
3. Cigarette taxes
- Maintain Status
4. Corporate taxes
- Slightly Decrease
5. Gas taxes
- Maintain Status
6. Income taxes (incomes below $75,000)
- Slightly Decrease
7. Income taxes (incomes above $75,000)
- Slightly Decrease
8. Property taxes
- Greatly Decrease
9. Sales taxes
- Maintain Status
10. Other
- No Answer
11. Do you support a flat tax structure for state income taxes?
- Yes
1. Require that welfare recipients sign a contract that identifies the individual steps they will take to become self-sufficient.
- X
2. Increase employment and job training programs for welfare recipients.
- X
3. Provide tax incentives to businesses who hire welfare recipients.
- X
4. Provide child care for welfare recipients who work.
- X
5. Increase access to public transportation for welfare recipients who work.
- X
6. Allow welfare recipients to remain eligible for benefits while saving money for education, starting a business, or buying a home.
- No Answer
7. Limit benefits given to recipients if they have additional children while on welfare.
- X
8. Eliminate government-funded welfare programs.
- No Answer
9. Extend state-funded welfare benefits for legal immigrants.
- No Answer
10. Other
- No Answer
Please explain what your two main legislative priorities will be if elected. Please explain how you would obtain any additional government funding needed to implement these priorities.
- My two main legislative priorities are balanced economic growth and revitalized communities throughout the region. Through cutting unnecessary spending and taxes while revitalizing older communities to create better family sustaining jobs for all of our citizens, we can also encourage our young people to remain in Pennsylvania after graduation.
Type: resolution Chamber: upper
Type: resolution Chamber: upper
Type: resolution Chamber: upper
By John Latimer A year and a half ago, Republican Dave Argall had no intention of running for the U.S. House of Representatives seat held for the past 18 years by Democrat Tim Holden. A 12-term incumbent of the state House, Argall was preparing for a new challenge after winning a special election in March 2009 to fill the 29th state Senate District seat of Sen. James J. Rhoades, who had died in a car crash. But as more and more people began urging him to run for U.S. Congress - from Republican Party leaders to Pottsville truck drivers - Argall began considering it. Watching actions unfold in the Democratic-controlled Congress as the health-care debate played out convinced him he could not sit idly by. "I guess what it came down to is that I was so upset with the direction of the Congress," he said. "I really do believe that (Democratic Speaker of the House) Nancy Pelosi and company are leading the country in the wrong direction." There are several similarities between Argall and Holden beyond the fact that both want to occupy Pennsylvania's 17th District seat representing all or parts of Lebanon, Dauphin, and Schuylkill, Berks and Perry counties. It's a post that comes with a two-year term and annual salary of $174,000. Each lives in Schuylkill County and has made a career as a lawmakers who prides himself on providing faithful constituents service and being able to work with members of the opposite party. They even agree on the hot-button issues of abortion and the SecondAdvertisementAmendment. Both are avid supporters of gun-owner rights and are solidly pro-life. While they share views on other issues - including opposing a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants and a cautious approach to the war in Afghanistan that places trust in the decisions of military leaders - there are plenty of differences that will define them for voters. As a part-time political science teacher at the Penn State campus in Schuylkill County, Argall said he understands it will be tough challenging a long-term incumbent like Holden. The first step was winning his party's primary. With the anti-incumbency climate stirred up by the tea party movement, it wasn't easy. In a rough, four-candidate race, Argall edged Cornwall accountant and retired Marine Frank Ryan by fewer than 1,000 votes. That race depleted most of Argall's funds and put him at a tremendous financial disadvantage to Holden, which still exists in the campaign's final days. "I knew he was sitting on a mountain of money and would attempt to smear me with a lot of TV ads, and that certainly has come true," Argall said. Holden has spent $800,000 on television ads that began running in September. Some have focused on Argall's involvement in the legislative pay raise in 2005, when he was the party whip and a member of the House Appropriations Committee. It is a tactic Argall was prepared for, and he doesn't duck the issue when asked about it. The Legislature eventually rescinded the pay raise, he noted, and money he was paid was given to charity. Argall also is quick to point out that he is not the only one who has voted to raise his own pay. "Holden's breathless hypocrisy amazes me," Argall said. "He has voted for four raises. I voted for one. I've said mine was a mistake. I will not do it again. I did not get a nickel from my raise. And he has never given a penny back." Money, in the form of the federal deficit, has also been at the center of Argall's campaign attacks against Holden. The Democrat's vote for the $787 billion federal economic-stimulus package was a mistake because the effort failed to lower unemployment, he said. "In my mind, Congress spent $800 billion, and the unemployment rate is still horrific," he said. "I think it is 10.9 percent in Schuylkill County yet. And I don't know that any part of the district has seen the recovery that was promised, because of all the misspending." Argall said he believes the economy could have been spurred more effectively by supporting businesses that create jobs. "I think that cutting back on some of the regulations and letting the private sector do what it does would have helped," he said. "I think unleashing the private sector rather than this orgy of spending would have been a much safer bet in times like this." Argall is for a comprehensive review of federal spending to cut the deficit. He recently finished chairing a state Senate Cost Cutting Committee that reviewed Pennsylvania's spending and found ways to save $400 million in the next three years. He is also for keeping the President George W. Bush's tax cuts in place, including for top income earners. Increasing taxes kills jobs, he said. "I think that they should be extended - period," Argall said. "One of the reasons that this economy continues to struggle is, I'm told by employers great and small that they are afraid to hire anyone because they don't understand what their health-care costs are going to be. They don't understand what Congress is going to do with the tax cuts. ... When an employer is faced with uncertainty, a lot of time the safest thing to do is nothing. And that doesn't help with the unemployment problem." Although Holden voted against the health-care reform bill adopted by Congress, Argall has been critical of his failure to urge repealing it. "I'm just frustrated that he was for it moving to the (House) floor. He was against it in final passage. And then he was against repealing it," Argall said. "In truth, neither one of us is happy with the bill as it is. But I've made a commitment to do something about it, and I don't think that he has." Argall also blasted Holden for not holding regular town-hall meetings with constituents. "I had my first town-hall meeting in 1985," he said. "It is something I generally enjoy doing. I think it is a great way to stay connected to people. And I think more members of Congress need to do that more often." While Holden paints himself as a moderate Democrat when campaigning, Argall claims he is loyal to a fault to his party and its leaders. Statistics show that he has voted with Pelosi 95 percent of the time, he said. "I'm convinced he talks one way in the district and votes another way down in Washington, D.C.," he said. "I think there is a very clear choice between me and the guy who has been doing the job the last 18 years. ... I think that the values that I represent are much more in line with the 17th District. If he voted consistently like the way he talks in Lebanon and St. Clair (his home in Schuylkill County), I'd probably be sitting at my desk in the Senate right now. That is what encouraged me to take this challenge." Age: 51 Home: Rush Township, Schuylkill County Family: Married, two children Education: BA, political science/international studies, Lycoming College, 1980; Master's, American studies, Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg, 1993; Ph.D., public administration, Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg, 2006 Website: argallforcongress.com
By Ben Wolfgang U.S. Rep. Tim Holden on Thursday defended his vote earlier in the week to adjourn Congress without passing extensions to tax cuts set to expire Dec. 31. Meanwhile, Holden's Republican challenger, state Sen. David Argall, literally called out the dogs on the incumbent. "They came within one vote of overruling Nancy Pelosi. That's what matters - who has the majority of votes on the floor" of the House, Argall, R-29, said at a press conference Thursday morning at the county GOP headquarters in Pottsville. Congress voted 210-209 on Wednesday to adjourn, with several Blue Dog Democrats voting to stay in session and continue work on a tax cut extension bill. Saying Holden, D-17, is not a true Blue Dog conservative Democrat as the Congressman claims, Argall brought with him to the press conference two "real Blue Dogs," a Kerry blue terrier named Wolfgang and Duke, a bluetick coonhound. Holden called the event a publicity stunt. "If those dogs are so good, he (Argall) ought to take them to Harrisburg where we have one of the most dysfunctional and expensive state Legislatures in the country," Holden said in a telephone interview Thursday afternoon. "He's pulling a publicity stunt, and I understand that ... but we have three months until they (the tax cuts) expire. There's plenty of time to get it done, and we'll get it done right and in a fair manner." If the cuts do expire at the end of the year, nearly everybody would be affected, according to a recent analysis by The Associated Press. A typical family of four with a household income of $50,000 a year would have to pay $2,900 more in taxes in 2011, according to a new analysis by Deloitte Tax LLP, a tax consulting firm. The same family making $100,000 a year would see its taxes rise by $4,500, according to the AP. President Barack Obama wants to extend the tax cuts for individuals making less than $200,000 and joint filers making less than $250,000 in adjusted gross income, a measure Holden said he supports and thinks will pass with broad support. The only outstanding question, Holden said, is whether the tax cuts will be extended for high-income Americans - individuals making more than $200,000 and families making more than $250,000 a year. Extensions to those tax rates are still under consideration and Holden said he may support keeping them in effect for another year or two, but is waiting to see details before making a final decision. He voted to adjourn, he said, because there was no tax cut extension bill to vote on. "There was no way it was going to get done," Holden added. "They can call us back in (to session) if they have an agreement." However, Holden said it is more likely Congress will vote on the extensions after the November elections. Thirty-nine Democrats - including Pennsylvania's U.S. Reps. Jason Altmire and Chris Carney - voted with Republicans to stay in session. "Doesn't he (Holden) understand that now, in the midst of this terrible, job-killing economy, is the worst possible time to raise federal income taxes?" Argall said in a press release following Thursday's event. Holden promised Congress will address the issue in the so-called "lame duck" session - the time between an election and when new lawmakers take office in January.
Argall's opponent, Brian Rich, filed suit over Argall's claim that Rich accepted $5 million dollars in stimulus money. Fact checkers with PoliticsPA said Rich applied for, but did not receive, the stimulus money. The money would have gone to the Broad Mountain Wind Energy Center, but the application was withdrawn before any funds were given. In addition, Rich's brother, John Rich, filed a lawsuit against Argall over campaign statements about Ultra Clean Fuels. John Rich said that the statements hurt his company's ability to secure private investment. The company produced an ad responding to Argall's claims. However, Argall filed a complaint over the ad, saying that it violated election laws.
