The Senate Majority Policy Committee recently released a report on committee meetings regarding the economic impacts of Gov. Tom Wolf’s executive order to shut down businesses.
There were four workshop discussions between March 26 and June 30.
“What we have experienced in Pennsylvania over the past five months is nothing short of a roller coaster economy,” Sen. David Argall (R-Schuylkill/Berks counties), committee chairman, said. “The Governor’s unilateral actions have taken both a mental and economic toll on our citizens. We went from a period of record low unemployment to a period of high unemployment. Some employers needed to make the heart-breaking decision to close their businesses forever while those employers that were lucky enough to weather the storm are no longer focusing on making a profit- they’re focusing on surviving. Employees that were forced to stay home turned to a broken unemployment system administered by the Department of Labor and Industry.”
The General Assembly and the governor must work together to develop plans that will both ensure the health of residents and rebuild the economy, Argall said.
Health and the economy should not be mutually exclusive, he said, and no one should be forced to choose between their health or their livelihood.