PARSIPPANY — Co-Chairs Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11) and Pete King (NY-02) today led a meeting of the Regional Recovery Task Force with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont to discuss the region’s plans to reopen the economy.
The Members of Congress and the Governors underscored the need for cooperation and communication at the state and federal level to help the Northeast. They also addressed specific areas where officials could work together, including contact tracing and testing, infrastructure investment, support for small businesses, and support for state and local governments.
“Our task force is built upon the simple fact that it is going to take all of us working together to address the needs of our region as we look to reopening the economy,” said Rep. Sherrill. “That means not only working with members across the aisle, but also working closely with our state partners. I thank Governor Murphy and Governor Lamont for speaking with the Regional Recovery Task Force and emphasizing key areas where more coordination between the states and Congress can help our region move forward.”
“I truly thank Gov. Murphy and Gov. Lamont for the cooperation they have given New York and the entire Northeast region,” said Rep. King. “I made it a point to assure both Governors that our Task Force addresses this terrible pandemic not as blue states or red states but as Americans.”
“Staying in contact with state officials in our region is paramount to successfully reopening our country,” said Rep. Fitzpatrick. “If one state or locality in our region doesn’t safely open, it puts us all in jeopardy. I am grateful that this Task Force has continued to organize these discussions, and I look forward to continuing to work with our colleagues at the local, state, and federal levels as we work to safely open up our country.”
“States and municipalities are going to need to do an enormous amount of testing and contact tracing to get us to the point where we can safely reopen,” said Rep. Watson Coleman. “As the Task Force’s only member of the Appropriations Committee I’m committed to ensuring that we have the resources necessary to keep our residents safe.”
“We need to ensure a regional response to the COVID-19 pandemic and leverage the full resources of the federal government during this unprecedented time,” said Governor Murphy. “I’m proud to work with the Congressional COVID-19 Regional Recovery Task Force, especially Co-Chairs Representative Sherill and Representative King, to guarantee the tri-state region receives its fair share of direct federal assistance.”
“Communication and coordination among states and between states and the federal government has never been more important than it is now,” said Governor Lamont. “Connecticut shares a border with three other states, but is part of a much larger and interconnected regional economy. And we know that this virus doesn’t care at all about our borders. So I applaud Representatives Sherrill, King, Himes, and all the other members of this bipartisan Task Force for banding together on a regional basis to consider what more Congress and the federal government can do to support our state and local governments. Their leadership is commendable. And I was pleased to participate in their meeting along with my friend and colleague, Gov. Murphy.”
Rep. Sherrill and Rep. King formed the Regional Recovery Task Force with Representatives Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Jim Himes (D-CT), Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY), Dan Meuser (R-PA), Elise Stefanik (R-NY), and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ). The task force is working with leading experts across key fields to put forth bipartisan recommendations and policy proposals for near- and medium-term efforts to get Americans back to work, and address critical questions facing the United States in the coming weeks and months, particularly in the Northeast.
Click here to download The Regional Recovery Task Force’s first report.
