To the editor:
Open Letter to Governor Phil Scott and the Vermont Legislature:
We appreciate the challenge of governing during a global pandemic. Instead of meeting with colleagues and constituents, we now rely on video chat, texts, emails, and phone calls. We are in an extraordinary time, where safety requires us to maintain physical distance from one another. We believe government is essential and applaud the efforts to adapt. We cannot allow this virus to grind the gears of government to a halt.
Even so, this is not the time for business as usual, especially for the Vermonters we represent. Although state leaders have strived to keep engagement up between the citizens, committees and the Administration, the 2020 session provided many examples showing major challenges to gathering necessary data and testimony to craft quality policies. The organizations listed below represent hundreds of thousands of working Vermonters. We ask that our elected leaders of all political parties focus on the most immediate task at hand this legislative session and to chart a path to our economic recovery.