GOP lawmakers denounce Gov. Tom Wolf’s new coronavirus restrictions on restaurants and bars

Republican lawmakers assailed Gov. Tom Wolf’s new restrictions on bars, restaurants and other businesses, saying they will kill some small businesses struggling to survive during the coronavirus pandemic.

Citing a spike in COVID-19 cases, Wolf announced a new executive order limiting bars and restaurants to 25-percent of occupancy limits - down from 50 percent. And he said restaurants and bars could only serve alcohol with meals or for takeout. Clubs and bars that don’t serve food won’t be allowed to open.

The governor also is directing businesses to allow employees to work remotely if all possible, unless work can only be done onsite. Wolf said the measures are necessary to try and avoid the surge seen in the spring and to ensure schools can open for in-person classes next month.

GOP lawmakers, who control both chambers of the General Assembly, denounced the Democratic governor and said he’s acting without consulting the legislative branch. They also said his actions could wipe out small businesses.

New House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff, R-Centre, criticized Wolf’s “continued overreach and misuse of power.” He cited such actions as the reason Republican lawmakers are trying to amend the state Constitution to limit Wolf’s emergency powers.

“The irreversible impact of his countless, confusing orders cannot be overstated,” Benninghoff said in a statement. “Gov. Wolf’s decision today will close the doors of some small businesses forever and devastate the livelihoods of so many Pennsylvanians who were just beginning to feel hopeful for the future.”

Sens. Ryan P. Aument and Scott Martin, both Lancaster County Republicans, issued a joint statement faulting the governor’s approach. Saying hospitalizations and infections have declined in Lancaster County, they said the governor should be focusing on the regions where cases are spiking instead of issuing statewide restrictions.

“Make no mistake, this will be the final blow for countless businesses in the hospitality industry, a hit from which they will not recover,” Aument and Martin said in their statement. “It will cause irreparable harm and permanently hamstring the communities these businesses serve.”

Pennsylvania has slowed the rate of infections since the early spring but cases have been rising in recent weeks. The state Department of Health reported 994 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday. The state has reported an average of 788 new daily infections over the last seven days. In mid-June, the state reported less than 500 cases per day, on average.

More than 97,000 people in Pennsylvania have contracted the coronavirus and more than 6,900 deaths have been tied to COVID-19, according to the state Department of Health.

Republican lawmakers said they want to protect public health but also ensure more businesses don’t fail. More than 2 million Pennsylvanians have lost their jobs during the pandemic, according to state figures.

State Sen. David Argall, a Schuylkill County Republican who represents part of Berks County, said Wolf is acting like “King Tom the First,” without the approval of lawmakers.

“The Governor doesn’t understand rural Pennsylvania,” Argall wrote on Facebook. “We heard it firsthand during my four Policy Committee hearings in the last few weeks: Rising numbers of COVID 19 cases in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia do not mean the Governor should hurt restaurant and bar employees in Sinking Spring, Womelsdorf and Shenandoah.”

The new rules “could be the final stake in the heart for many small business employers and thousands of employees in the small towns which I represent,” Argall said.

Gene Barr, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, issued a statement expressing his frustration that statewide measures are coming in response to localized outbreaks. He said businesses now must struggle to comply “with an order that has been handed down without notice, and which leaves them with more questions than they have answers.”

“We all want to control the spread of the virus while balancing the needs of Pennsylvanians to live productive lives,” Barr said in a statement. “Unfortunately, today’s order is a major setback in our collective efforts to bring Pennsylvania back.”

I'm sick an tired of RINOs. Not once have I heard them say one of the following:
1. People need to take personal responsibility for protecting their health. It is not the government's responsibility. You can clearly see what happens when government meddles with health related issues.
2. The Marxist governor and his mentally ill health secretary are politicizing a flu to defeat Trump in November. They do not care about Pennsylvanians' future. They are willing to kill people and businesses through their unconstitutional edicts.
3. Democrats want to destroy your life and livelihoods.
4. People rise up and rebel. Ignore the governor's unconstitutional edicts. Go to work. Go to play. Live life, because life under these edicts is not worth living.
5. Commie Tommy and his dickless butt boy should be hanged for their policies that murdered thousands in old folks homes.
6. I do not respect, nor listen to people cut off their penis and dress like a woman. It is an abomination to God.

If Republicans are not thinking these things and do not have the testicular fortitude to say them, then they do not deserve to be in office.

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