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State Rep. Frank Ryan is taking steps to safely reopen Pennsylvania’s economy and help repair economic damage done to citizens and businesses by the COVID-19 crisis.
“While shutting down much of the economy appears to have slowed the spread of the disease, it is clear that we need to refine an approach that has been overly broad and arbitrary,” said Ryan.
“Rather than attempt to distinguish between essential and non-essential business in determining what activities are allowed, we should work to identify what is safe and unsafe —and how to increase safety where necessary — as people return to work.
“We have learned much about social distancing and personal hygiene that can be applied as places of business gradually resume normal operations,” said Ryan, who is seeking election to a third term in the state House of Representatives.
Ryan has introduced legislation to establish a task force to develop an economic recovery plan aimed at restoring housing, transportation, education, public services and economic activity to levels equal to or better than their pre-disaster status. The legislation would also seek to restructure state debt to take advantage of low interest rates and save taxpayers money.
The task-force proposal has been incorporated into a bill under consideration in the state senate.
“The artificial interruption of business activity — though necessary for public health — has the potential to collapse the state’s economy if care is not taken in reversing the shutdown,” said Ryan, a retired Marine colonel expert in economic warfare and a CPA who specializes in helping companies avoid bankruptcy.
To provide assistance to people and businesses during the crisis, Ryan authored legislation (House Bill 68) to ease requirements for both employers and their workers seeking unemployment relief. The legislation was signed into law by Gov. Wolf.
“Actions to protect the public health cannot be allowed to destroy the economic lives of Pennsylvanians. Otherwise, we will be replacing a medical crisis with a financial disaster that could be just as deadly,” said Ryan.
Ryan was first elected in 2016 to represent the 101st District, which covers the city of Lebanon; the boroughs of Cornwall, Mount Gretna and Palmyra; and the townships of North Cornwall, West Cornwall, North Londonderry, South Londonderry and South Annville.
