The legislature has been hard at work to
offer safe alternatives to the governor’s blanket shutdown
approach. Representatives and Senators have
reached out to experts across medical and business fields to
learn about and
propose reasonable and responsible ways to reopen our state.
On Thursday, our Assembly Republican caucus
issued a public statement raising our concerns with extending
the governor’s “Safer at Home” order. Below is our full
statement:
“Our
phones have been ringing off the hook since the announcement
came out. People are frustrated and so are we. Many citizens
can’t get through to the governor’s office and have asked us to
be their voice. While everyone shares the goal of protecting
public health, the governor’s order goes too far. The Safer at
Home order’s main intent was to flatten the curve, which we have
successfully done to this point, not devastate our families.
“Legislative Republicans are planning to
act with legal and legislative options to deal with the
extension of the order and get answers to the questions our
constituents are demanding.
“Today’s briefing gave no actual metrics,
no measurable goals, and most importantly, no clear plan to
reopen going forward. The governor can’t just keep extending the
date, waiting for some new knowledge to appear. We need to hear
from the economic and medical experts who support his
continuation of the order as appropriate for Wisconsin's
circumstances and not from more politicians.
“The health crisis is changing by day in
the state - just three weeks ago, Governor Evers announced the
state needed to buy 10,000 ventilators, yet placed an order for
only 1500. The prevailing model out of University of Washington
has substantially scaled back predicted impacts repeatedly in
recent days. The hardest hit city in the nation, New York City,
is expected to reopen on May 15. These rapidly changing data
points leave in question what indicators the governor is using
to continue the extension of an order, which is having
far-reaching economic and human impacts in the state.
“The people of Wisconsin are owed a
comprehensive, economic recovery plan. We must begin to plan for
an easing of restrictions and gradually, possibly through a
regional approach, reopen the economy.
“The Evers administration also can’t
ignore other health concerns. Wisconsinites can no longer
receive preventive care or important health screenings.
Unfortunately, one of the unintended consequences will most
likely be undiagnosed medical issues left untreated due to this
never-expiring order. These emergency orders don’t allow much
for citizens to do for their own physical and mental well-being
beyond isolating themselves from possible infection of the
coronavirus.
“People are not only afraid of the virus,
they’re afraid of losing their livelihood. We all know the
governor can’t control the coronavirus, but he can control the
impact on the state’s economy.
“With the economic costs growing daily,
we must begin the recovery process before the economic damage
can’t be undone.”
On Friday, many of my colleagues and I
signed on to a letter authored by Rep. Horlacher that proposed a
specific and achievable way for Wisconsin to reopen in a
reasonable and responsible way. You can read the full proposal
by clicking on the letter below:
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