Comment on Gov. Abbot's Order to Reopen Nonessential Businesses: Haste is the Enemy of Perfection:How to Safely Reopen the Economy

Press Release

Most Americans are anxious to get out of their homes and move past COVID-19. Believe me--I am one of them. However, the Republican plan to reopen Texas (and many other states) is sounding alarm bells across the country, particularly for those who are depending on unemployment benefits due to the viral outbreak.

Despite the economic struggles it has caused, most Americans have diligently followed stay at home orders and social distancing practices to help slow the spread of the virus. Many Republicans across the country, including TX-8 Rep. Kevin Brady (my opponent on November 3rd), are jeopardizing the progress we have made by rushing to open up businesses too soon. This is a grave mistake.

The data shows that COVID-19 is continuing to spread across the country at a consistent pace. Just today, there were nearly 35,000 new cases confirmed across the country, bringing the total confirmed cases to over 1.1 million cases. More than 65,000 Americans have died from the virus. Moreover, as more tests are conducted, thousands of new cases will continue to be confirmed on a daily basis. Therefore, relaxing stay at home orders and social distancing guidelines now will only lead to increased cases, jeopardizing the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans.

In addition, as recently reported in the Texas Tribune, Gov. Abbott's decision to allow retail stores, restaurants, movie theaters and malls to reopen on May 1 without an expanded testing regimen puts Texas workers between a rock and a hard place. Under Texas law, recipients of unemployment benefits who choose not to return to work generally become ineligible for further benefits. Notably, the Texas Workforce Commission has loosened benefit eligibility requirements, allowing certain categories of Texans to keep their unemployment benefits if they do not return to work due to COVID-19. However, that rule applies only to a limited number of workers. Moreover, if you choose not to return to work at this point due to the virus, even though you may retain your benefits, your employer may still be able to replace you and lawfully terminate your employment.

I understand that for most of us, there is no such thing as a "nonessential business." We depend on our businesses--both large and small. So we obviously need to reopen our economy as soon as possible. However, we simply cannot do so at the expense of the safety for the American people. Gov. Abbott's plan for reopening without an effective strategy for increased testing as well as workplace safety regulations will force Texas workers to either risk their health going to work or risk their livelihood staying home. That is not a choice anyone should have to make during this crisis.

Any state seeking to safely reopen from a shut down order must wait for a significant reduction in new cases before considering opening up. We must be in a position to promptly test for and contact trace new cases in order to eliminate the virus and declare victory. We simply cannot do that at this point, given the high volume of new cases we are still experiencing.

We must also formulate on the job protections and a testing program for front line workers, and have the capacity to implement such a program. We must vigilantly protect the health and safety of employees during this time, minimizing the exposure to co-workers and public. Along those lines, we must also establish paid sick leave protection for workers, so that they will be able to stay home in the event they do become sick on the job without worrying about losing their income and their job.

Finally, we must implement a child-care program for our workers. Many schools and daycares are closed across the country for the foreseeable future. Forcing working parents to return to work without childcare availability unfairly penalizes working families across the country.

It is clear that Trump's delayed and failed response from the Trump Administration has exacerbated the crisis in our country, causing far more harm to our country than would have been caused with an effective response. We cannot now ignore the mistakes of the past and further those effects by reopening the country prematurely. We must take steps to correct them and remedy the situation in which we now find ourselves. Only then, will we declare victory against COVID-19, and in the shortest possible time.

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