The Republican Plan To Reopen Washington State

Hi ho, hi ho, to work we want to go.  Thousands of Washingtonians are desperate to get back to work and looking to Olympia and State Government to get the go ahead.  The latest word from the Governor's office is that Gov. Inslee could make an announcement soon on what some say may be another extension of the lock down.  He says his understanding of "the science" will direct his call,  but not everyone is on board with the limited data he's using to scientifically formulate policy (see post here)

In the meantime Republicans in the state Senate and House of Representatives are  sharing the first plan for safely restarting Washington’s economy while state government’s response to the COVID-19 emergency continues.

In a press release Senate Republican Leader Mark Schoesler says, "Employers across our state are looking to government for a strategy that starts to take the brake off the economy. Republicans have come through with a safe and reasonable approach for beginning the recovery.....many sectors of our economy can operate safely, and employers have every incentive to take the precautions needed to guard the health of their workers and their customers. We trust that if they have an opportunity to open their doors, they’ll make it work.”

The Republican legislators’ Safe Economic Restart Plan recommends three tiers of actions, starting with steps that may be authorized immediately by Gov. Jay Inslee. They include:

•  Convene a Restart Task Force comprising legislative leaders, relevant executive-branch directors and representatives of the business and organized-labor communities.
• Allow operations to resume in economic sectors that fit one or more of expanded  criteria .
• Fully disclose the “metrics” that must be met before the governor’s March 23 stay-at-home proclamation, which closed more than 230,000 businesses abruptly, can be lifted or amended.

There is more to the plan, it's easy to read, it makes sense and it's available HERE.

The press release concludes "Republicans work for all of Washington, and we recognize how a strong economy makes for strong families and strong communities. Our state’s economy was particularly strong before things caved in, and we believe it can get there again – and sooner if the governor and Legislature will support these very reasonable ideas."

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