Legislative Minority Report
Submitted by Minority Leader Peter Grimm
It is not debatable; 2020 has been a year of constant challenges for all Americans. The COVID-19 crisis alone with all of the unknown variables that have come with it has, if not paralyzed us, undeniably altered our stability. The fallout from 2020 will in many cases be overwhelming to the economy, healthcare, education, and will have a rippling effect on all aspects of society. Some of these problems have begun and many are still yet to be seen, but as Americans, challenges are not something we run from.
Our history proves that our greatest moments of success and growth have come in response to such challenges. As we have faced pandemics, economic fallouts, wars and many unexpected occurrences in the past, we have found our strength and ingenuity to deal with them and we have come out of it stronger. History also defines that it is in unity we gain our greatest accomplishments.
It may seem that we are ending 2020 in desperation. The Covid crisis still plagues us; we are feeling the burden of the economic fallout; our spirits are low, and we are exhausted by the challenges of 2020. We have a division that has forced a wedge in every aspect of our society – a two-sided society lacking compromise. Families and friends have become distant to each other; the racial divide has escalated and the disparity in socio-economic classes continues to grow causing wider gaps in education, culture, unemployment and housing.
We must look ahead to 2021 with a renewed spirit. With a vaccine for COVID-19 on the horizon, people will get back to work; the economy will improve; our children will return to school, and life will begin to look somewhat familiar. We will have a new Administration. The Biden Administration promises us healing, not just from COVID-19, but from the great divide we have begun to view as normal. None of this will be possible without a national effort of understanding and compromise. As in the past, we must come together and become stronger and better. Progress for one must be progress for all and progress is neither on the left nor the right; it lies in the middle of the road. Let us not let our differences defeat us, but have them elevate us. 2021 is a time for a new beginning; let us make it the year we all rise up.