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OP-ED: Wolf’s order too restrictive

4 min read
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Gov. Tom Wolf and his allies in the House of Representatives have made it a point to vigorously oppose allowing certain industries to return to work while the shelter-in-place order is active. This past week, and the week before, and the week before that, House Republicans have been advocating and voicing our opposition to the strictness of the governor’s order.

He objects to our efforts, citing science. But he doesn’t cite our unemployment number – which now has soared over 1.5 million – or the thousands of people who have yet to receive unemployment compensation, even though they filed for said relief in March. He doesn’t talk about the $6 billion budget shortfall on a $32 billion budget that will force the Commonwealth to make dramatic and painful cuts.

Gov. Wolf is also silent on the efforts of House Republicans that are completely consistent with science and with what the vast majority of governors are doing across the United States. House Bill 2400, which passed the House with bipartisan support last week, would allow construction projects to continue during the shelter-in-place order, so long as those projects comply with the safety guidelines set forth by the scientists and experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

I wonder what our governor thinks of the science Gov. Gavin Newsome of California is considering. California’s governor, one of the most liberal in the entire country, has allowed construction to continue with a shelter-in-place order. Washington Gov. Jay Enslee, the voice of science in the Democrat Party, has even allowed public construction projects for public housing and transportation to continue. Maybe this is just a West Coast approach.

Actually, that’s not the case. Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio, Gov. Jim Justice of West Virginia, Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland and Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia are all allowing construction too.

Construction is just one example. Every state surrounding Pennsylvania has allowed car dealerships to remain open. Not Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania has also been so restrictive that two states have barred Pennsylvanians from purchasing alcohol after so many crossed state lines to purchase what they can’t at home.

The vast majority of governors, but not the one in Pennsylvania, have allowed real estate transactions and sales at garden centers during their shelter-in-place orders. States surrounding the Commonwealth and all across the country found ways to examine science, apply common sense and require employers, employees and customers to follow guidelines while remaining open for business.

No wonder our unemployment numbers are the highest of any state by percentage of population and second in raw numbers only to California. Plus, our numbers are staggeringly higher than all our surrounding states.

We must look at commonsense approaches, such as those being employed in Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland and even New York, that protect the public health and allow people who can go back to work safely to do so.

Walmart remains open but our small businesses in Western Pennsylvania are shut down. Does anyone actually believe Walmart will do more to protect our wellbeing than our neighbors who own and run these small businesses?

I trust my constituents to be safe, to do the right thing and to own individual responsibility. More than 1.5 million people filed for unemployment compensation because of state action. We have a $6 billion budget shortfall and a hospital system that is losing more than $2 billion a month statewide. It’s time for the governor to do the right thing and trust the people of Western Pennsylvania.

State Rep. Joshua Kail is a Republican and represents the 15th Legislative District, which includes parts of Beaver and Washington counties.

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