Editor’s note: The following was sent to Gov. John Carney and members of the General Assembly.
As all Delawareans continue to experience the serious health consequences of the pandemic and the necessary restrictions on economic activity enacted by the state continue to take their toll, the Delaware Business Roundtable and the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce have remained laser focused on the important task of how to jump-start our economy. We recognize that we must do so in a manner consistent with prudent public health guidance to avoid additional impact to the well-being of residents or pressure on the state’s health care system.
The business community is prepared to immediately assist in the enormous task of vaccinating Delawareans. We are willing to work with the Division of Public Health and others in the Carney administration to vaccinate efficiently and safely as many people as possible, as quickly as possible.
We write today to share “The Road to Recovery: Putting Delawareans Back to Work,” which outlines essential priorities for our state that must be addressed urgently if we are to move more quickly to recover from the pandemic’s impact.
Last April, when it was clear the pandemic would have a significant impact on our state, we recommended priorities to address, including worker retraining, expanded broadband capacity and assistance for small businesses and their families. While there has been progress on many of those recommendations, it is clear much more needs to be accomplished.
We believe the recommendations in “Road to Recovery: Putting Delawareans Back to Work” will create opportunities for Delaware workers and their families and provide an element of hope in an otherwise challenging situation. The recommendations touch many aspects of our lives — providing tax relief to those who received unemployment compensation, retraining workers whose jobs have been permanently lost, focusing on the availability and quality of childcare, establishing education equity, protecting our supply of clean water and creating and maintaining jobs for Delawareans.
Most importantly, we believe the hallmark of the “Road to Recovery” must be collaboration and cooperation — between Democrats and Republicans, between upstate and downstate, between the public and private sectors. Just as this crisis isn’t “business as usual” for Delawareans, it can’t be “politics as usual” for elected leaders.
The business community stands ready to work with you, your administration and all members of the Delaware General Assembly to move these crucial recommendations forward.
Dr. Janice E. Nevin, MPH
chair, Delaware Business Roundtable
Katie K. Wilkinson
chair, Delaware State Chamber of Commerce
