After leaving the military, Phil married his wife, Michele, and returned home to Ebensburg. He quickly became active in local veterans’ groups, fraternal organizations, and civic events.

Meet Phil | Phil Rice 72

After graduating from Valley Forge, Phil attended Gettysburg College on an ROTC scholarship and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Finance.

Phil Rice returned home to Ebensburg after leaving the military. He attended Gettysburg College on an ROTC scholarship and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Finance. He married Michele after leaving the military.

After college, Phil was commissioned as a Field Artillery Officer in the United States Army and went on to serve more than twenty years on active duty, including over nine years deployed overseas.

Phil earned two Bronze Star Medals, the Combat Action Badge, the Ranger Tab, and Parachutist’s Wings, and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel.

From 2021 to 2025, he also served as Cambria County’s Director of Veterans’ Services, helping veterans and their families secure the benefits they earned.

Phil Rice most recently served as Cambria County’s Director of Veterans’ Services. He previously served as a Field Artillery Officer in the U.S. Army for more than 20 years, retiring as a lieutenant colonel.

Phil most recently served as Cambria County’s Director of Veterans’ Services. He previously served as a Field Artillery Officer in the U.S. Army for more than 20 years, retiring as a lieutenant colonel.

Philip Rice - Ballotpedia

Phil previously lost the 2014 race for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 72.

2026 Pennsylvania General Election 

STEP 1
Hold Spending Growth to Inflation

Harrisburg must reduce spending. Just since Governor Shapiro took office, our state budget has grown at 2½ times the rate of inflation—almost $2 billion more spending than if it had simply kept up with inflation.

Budget growth should not exceed inflation. Doing that alone will keep taxes lower and money in our pockets. Fourteen states cut their income taxes over the last two years.

The Savings Plan | Phil Rice 72

Budget growth should not exceed inflation. Doing that alone will keep taxes lower and money in our pockets. Fourteen states cut their income taxes over the last two years. If we cut our income tax by even just 10%, the average family would save about $180 a year.

STEP 2
Cut the Gas Tax

Pennsylvania has the third highest gasoline tax in the nation: 59 cents per gallon!

If we reduced that to the national average (33 cents), the average family would save almost $200 a year.

Proposes limiting state budget growth to inflation.

Proposes cutting Pennsylvania's income tax by 10%.

Proposes reducing Pennsylvania's gasoline tax to the national average.

- Proposes limiting state budget growth to inflation.
- Proposes cutting Pennsylvania's income tax by 10%.
- Proposes reducing Pennsylvania's gasoline tax to the national average.

Economy

Pennsylvania is facing a serious rural healthcare crisis driven by workforce shortages, financial strain on hospitals, and a lack of specialty care. While Frank Burns has had an adversarial relationship with the medical community in our area, Phil Rice is determined to work with our medical providers to attract and retain doctors and nurses and to increase our access to quality healthcare. Phil Rice supports:

Medical liability reform
Eliminating venue shopping
Capping non-economic damages
Attracting and retaining skilled doctors, nurses and specialists
Incentives to practice in rural areas
Loan forgiveness, scholarships and bonuses
Supporting local pharmacies, hospitals and medical centers

Phil Rice’s Priorities | Phil Rice 72

Plans to work with medical providers to recruit and retain doctors and nurses and expand access to quality healthcare.

- Plans to work with medical providers to recruit and retain doctors and nurses and expand access to quality healthcare.

Healthcare

Pennsylvania is currently in the top seven states in the nation for K-12 education spending, spending over $41 billion. Despite that spending, 69 percent of Pennsylvania eighth graders are not proficient in math and cannot read at grade level. Phil Rice believes that every child deserves a quality education and that parents have a right to choose the academic setting that best meets their children’s needs. That’s why Phil supports:

Scholarships for children in failing schools
More choices for parents, such as charter schools
Homeschooling
Expanding the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) tuition assistance program
Opting into the federal EITC program to allow more scholarships for students

Supports parental choice in education, including scholarships, charter schools, homeschooling, and expanded Educational Improvement Tax Credit tuition assistance.

- Supports parental choice in education, including scholarships, charter schools, homeschooling, and expanded Educational Improvement Tax Credit tuition assistance.

Education

We in Cambria County are paying more for electricity, and bills continue to soar while liberal Harrisburg politicians try to impose even more costly mandates. Pennsylvania’s leaders must find ways to produce more energy to reduce our costs and create jobs. Phil Rice supports:

Modernizing our infrastructure to boost energy production
Ending costly green energy mandates
Cutting red tape to encourage growth
Data Centers

STEP 3
Unleash Pennsylvania Natural Gas

Pennsylvania has more natural gas under our feet than any state except Texas—more energy under our feet than Saudi Arabia. Yet we pay more for natural gas than about a dozen other states, because of taxes and regulations.

If we unleashed more of the gas under our feet and had commonsense regulations and taxes, households using natural gas or propane could save up to $250–$300 a year.

Harrisburg politicians have welcomed big tech billionaires with open arms and tax breaks to build data centers throughout Pennsylvania. State Representative Frank Burns voted to give away state tax dollars to out-of-state tech companies and lobbied for additional tax breaks for tech companies and data center developers. Phil Rice’s plan for data centers includes:

Prioritize our communities’ needs over those of big tech
Require data centers to provide their own energy and recycled water sources
Require data centers to meet noise and environmental standards
Use brownfields and existing industrial sites, not farmland and neighborhoods
Collaborate with communities to ensure responsible development

Supports modernizing infrastructure to increase energy production, ending green-energy mandates, and reducing regulations affecting growth.

Advocates for expanded Pennsylvania natural-gas development and changes to related regulations and taxes.

Proposes requiring data centers to supply their own energy and recycled water and meet noise and environmental standards.

- Supports modernizing infrastructure to increase energy production, ending green-energy mandates, and reducing regulations affecting growth.
- Advocates for expanded Pennsylvania natural-gas development and changes to related regulations and taxes.
- Proposes requiring data centers to supply their own energy and recycled water and meet noise and environmental standards.

Energy & the Environment

It seems like every night there is another story on the news about rising violent crime in Johnstown. Phil Rice believes that public safety is the number one responsibility of government. As State Representative, Phil Rice will:

Oppose and ban sanctuary cities
Secure more funding for our police, EMS, and firefighters
Defend our right to bear arms and protect our families
Work to stop big cities from importing their problems here

Second Amendment

Phil Rice is a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment. He has been endorsed by Gun Owners of America (GOA) and Firearms Owners Against Crime (FOAC) and received an A rating from the National Rifle Association (NRA). As State Representative, we can count on Phil to:

Support concealed carry for law-abiding gun owners
Support our constitutional right to bear arms
Oppose municipalities’ attempts to impose unconstitutional gun restrictions
Never vote for an anti-2nd Amendment Speaker of the House

Plans to oppose and ban sanctuary cities and seek additional funding for police, emergency medical services, and firefighters.

Supports concealed carry for law-abiding gun owners and the constitutional right to bear arms.

- Plans to oppose and ban sanctuary cities and seek additional funding for police, emergency medical services, and firefighters.
- Supports concealed carry for law-abiding gun owners and the constitutional right to bear arms.

Public Safety

Phil Rice spent his career fighting to protect the Constitution, our freedoms and liberties, and free and fair elections. Phil supports Voter ID, increased transparency, and ballot security.

Phil’s goal: making it easy to vote and hard to cheat.

Supports voter identification requirements, increased election transparency, and ballot security.

- Supports voter identification requirements, increased election transparency, and ballot security.

Voting & Elections

Facebook

Phil Rice

Supports medical-liability reform, including eliminating venue shopping and capping non-economic damages.

Instagram

Isaac Brickman

Buket Urgen

Frank Burns

- Your state representative represents the interests of your local district in the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives. The State House of Representatives, along with the State Senate, makes up your state lawmaking body: the Pennsylvania General Assembly.
- Your state representative can author, sponsor, and vote on bills that may become state laws, including introducing tax bills. 
- State representatives and their staff respond to constituent concerns and questions through emails, phone calls, and website announcements. 
- State representatives oversee the executive branch and can vote to overrule a veto by the Governor.  
- They are elected to two-year terms and have a salary of $106,000, with a 1-3% annual increase

Your representative and state lawmaker in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives