Rep. Daley's response to Speaker Turzai's April 2 Inquirer column
Rep. Mary Jo Daley April 7, 2020 | 2:23 PM
As a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, I humbly submit a counterstatement to the Speaker’s April 2 letter here, safely and remotely.
Mr. Speaker, it’s long concerned me and my colleagues in the minority that Pennsylvania has almost no Rainy Day Fund. Governor Wolf and Dr. Levine are not only battling COVID-19 without adequate reserves, they’re also doing so with an anemic general fund, a frustrating and now dangerous hallmark of your majority’s control.
Mr. Speaker, we’ve seen “borrowing” from restricted funds to balance the budget, harmful department cuts, a lack of broadband in rural counties, and inadequate funding for schools that could use technology for remote learning right now.
Mr. Speaker, $60 million to help small business during the crisis sounded good, but it ran dry in six days.
Mr. Speaker, now you want the Governor to open construction sites across Pennsylvania at the peak of a pandemic. These sites don’t work in a vacuum – they require lengthy supply chains to get materials, and healthy workers, inspectors and customers on the ground. Again, opening sites up might sound good, but the experts must properly plan that mission and identify all the repercussions.
Mr. Speaker, Pennsylvanians will return to work, but first they want to protect themselves and their families from a disease killing thousands of people per day.
I’m confident that under strong leadership, the General Assembly and Governor can get Pennsylvania back to work safely.
But, please, Mr. Speaker, leave President Trump out of it!