View The Videos
Rendell on Education as the Key to the Future
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Rendell on the Need for Higher Education
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Rendell on Long Term Health Care
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Rendell on his Favorite Movies
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Rendell on using eBay to Save Taxpayers’ Money
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Rendell on Cutting Expenses
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Rendell on Coming up with Innovative Ideas
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Rendell on his Agenda
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Profile
Elected: 2002 as Governor
Next Election: 2006
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
Birth Date: January 5, 1944
Prior Experience: Mayor of Philadelphia 1992-1999; Philadelphia D.A. 1978-1985.
Family: Married with one grown son.
Heartland Highlight: Rendell, an avid Eagles fan, is also well known for his weekly commentary on a post-game television show.
Gov. Rendell’s Website
Ed Rendell
Governor of Pennsylvania
After serving two historic terms as mayor of Philadelphia from 1992 to 1999, Ed Rendell became the 45th Governor of Pennsylvania on January 21, 2003. Since then, Governor Rendell has worked to make Pennsylvania a more affordable state by granting tax relief, implementing an economic stimulus program and streamlining government expenditures. Many of Rendell’s achievements have come from The Plan for a New Pennsylvania, a groundbreaking proposal sought to reform Pennsylvania’s government and services.
Rendell began implementing his plan within months of taking office and started by signing into law a prescription drug plan that made prescription drugs more affordable for Pennsylvania’s seniors. Rendell is well known for his success in improving government services at both the gubernatorial and mayoral level.
First elected mayor of Philadelphia in 1991 and then reelected in 1995 with 80% of the vote, Rendell led Philadelphia through an impressive six straight years of job growth. This prompted Al Gore to hail Rendell as “America’s Mayor.” As mayor, Rendell eradicated a $250 million deficit, created five years of budget surpluses by implementing new initiatives to boost state revenue and revamped services to Philadelphia’s neighborhoods. Rendell directed Pennsylvania through “the most stunning turnaround in recent urban history” according to the New York Times.
Prior to being elected mayor, Governor Rendell served as the District Attorney of Philadelphia from 1978-1985. Rendell is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Villanova Law School and is an Army veteran.
Governor Rendell and his wife, First Lady Marjorie O. Rendell, a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, have one son who recently graduated from the University of Pennsylvania.
Best Practices
Expansion of PACE and PACENET: Prescription Drug Programs
Within one year of entering office, Governor Ed Rendell expanded PACE and PACENET, two prescription drug programs for older Pennsylvanians. The expansion now covers 115,000 more people and is funded entirely by the Pennsylvania Lottery and the Department of Aging. PACE and PACENET provide people over the age of 65 with an affordable prescription drug plan that neither charges a monthly fee nor a premium. Over a million Pennsylvanians are now eligible for the programs. The plans cover most prescription drugs as well as insulin and insulin supplies.
Read more about the expansion of the PACE/PACENET programs.
Read more about the PACE/PACENET programs.
Relieving Health Care Workers of the High Cost of Malpractice Insurance
In Pennsylvania, Governor Ed Rendell has given the health care workers of Pennsylvania a program to reduce the skyrocketing costs of medical malpractice insurance. The Malpractice Reform Plan provides abatements for physicians and nurse midwives to help pay their malpractice insurance, a significant reduction in physician malpractice insurance costs and even an elimination of the costs for doctors in high-risk specialties.
Click here to learn more about Governor Rendell’s malpractice insurance program.
Energy Harvest Plan
Governor Ed Rendell’s Pennsylvania Energy Harvest Grant Program awards public and private sector grants to fund a clean, indigenous and diversified energy industry in the state. Home to one of the nation’s most progressive two-tiered energy portfolio standard, Pennsylvania requires a more ambitious energy program than any of its neighboring states. Providing financing to assist energy development in areas such as wind, solar, biomass, and methane, the state’s plan has doubled its green electricity purchase percentage.
Click here to learn more about Governor Rendell’s Energy Harvest Plan.
Click here to read about Governor Rendell’s efforts to expand his Energy Harvest model and to view a speech Governor Rendell made at the National Press Club.
