Editor’s note: This commentary is by Sen. Randy Brock, R-Franklin, who is serving his fourth term in the Vermont State Senate. He is a former state auditor and is completing his first book, “Bandits in the Boardroom: Lessons from America’s Greatest Corporate Frauds.”
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has captured the attention of the nation. It represents an existential threat to our economy and to our very lives that has not been seen in our lifetime.
Every day there is more data, more commentary, more reports, more facts. But it is increasingly difficult, even for policymakers who daily are immersed in all of this, to translate the vast amount of data into meaningful information. The huge personal and economic impact of the virus is becoming apparent. In Vermont, it is already affecting every segment of our economy, including, but not limited to, employment, business activity, manufacturing, investment, education, retail and commercial sales, government revenue, finance, and, of course health care. Every new piece of information, if added to a giant, three-dimensional spreadsheet, would compute to an increasingly dire calculus. It’s going to be bad.
Over the past two weeks, Vermont’s state government and the General Assembly have been working overtime to understand the problem, to minimize harm to life and property, to mitigate the short-term risk and to begin planning for how to move forward. Every single day – including Saturdays and Sundays – the Senate has been meeting in committees or as a whole in conference calls. On Tuesday, the results of these virtual meetings were brought together in a Senate session that resulted in passing several pieces of legislation necessary to move forward. These bills included action on unemployment compensation to ensure that Vermonters displaced by job loss are provided with protection; that the burden on employers is eased through more flexibility in experience ratings and tax payment requirements; that health care coverage is expanded; that new forms of care, such as telemedicine, are made available; that the health care workforce can be expanded; that public processes and elections can be made more flexible; and, that legal processes can continue despite the crisis.
Vermont’s 211 line, accessed best through its website www.vermont211.org, is a central resource that translates data into information that Vermonters can use to get daily up-to-date information on the virus and evolving recommendations as to what Vermonters should do to protect ourselves. The website is a gateway to links to the full range of government and nonprofit services that relate to our response to the virus, where to get help and answers to many of the questions Vermonter ask. Vermonters can also get important information from Vermont Emergency Management (verm.vermont.gov), the Vermont Department of Health (healthvermont.gov) and the Vermont Department of Labor (labor.vermont.gov).
It’s in times like these that we see the true colors of character. The contrasts sometimes cannot be clearer. In some quarters of our country, we see the continued political posturing and partisan divide. But here in Vermont – certainly in our state Senate – over the past two weeks I have seen what makes the American political system historically the envy of the world. Our Senate has displayed an example to the country of tri-partisanship, in which every member – on committees and in the body as a whole – has worked diligently and with common purpose toward the goals of responding to an unprecedented challenge, protecting the vulnerable, ensuring that government works at its best, bolstering a faltering economy, outlining approaches for dealing with an uncertain future and helping all of Vermont to weather the unfathomable. I want to express my gratitude to my colleagues for their work. They have made me proud to serve in that body.
But more than that, I am thankful to every Vermonter who every day rises to the challenge knowing that despite today’s pain, we all continue to work toward a brighter tomorrow.
