The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Special session needed to address systemic inequities
We hear the voices of those in the streets, on the greens, in places of worship and on the steps of town halls and police departments. The moment is now.
This moment in America is different than what many of us have ever experienced before. While we are in the midst of a global coronavirus pandemic, we are also watching live on television the people of our nation stand up against the continued problem of police violence in black communities, and in other communities of color such as Hispanic, Asian, and Native American, which occurs more than it does in white neighborhoods.
This is truly a unique moment. And what is important is that we not simply recognize this moment for what it is, but that we also recognize the call to action of this moment. Signaling our support by donning a t-shirt, holding a sign or joining a protest is easy. The difficult part for elected legislators is actually doing the work of justice. But that is the work we must do in Connecticut’s State Capitol, creating through new public policy what years of old public policy has torn apart and inflicted on our society.
It is to these noble ends that we look inward to our own Senate Democratic Caucus and the entire state legislature to once again refocus our thoughts, actions and votes to ensure that all lives truly matter in this great “Constitution State” of ours by ensuring that Black Lives Matter — in public policy and in law.
We demand that a special summer session be focused on righting the social inequities that have brought out so many people across Connecticut who may never have protested in their lives, but are now out on the streets and town greens of their communities, with white, brown, Asian and Native American allies standing behind black leadership and alongside the black community, to voice the message of our time.
What are those public policy issues? Police accountability and greater absentee voting are important, but this unique moment in American history demands that our legislative response examine systemic racism and inequities in all areas.
For example, how is economic opportunity structured in Connecticut? Businesses and financing opportunities must be available to everyone, including people of color. The location of and access to affordable housing across Connecticut must be equitable. We must close the opportunity gaps in our public school system, especially when it comes to the digital access and literacy divide that the COVID-19 crisis has exposed. The COVID-19 crisis has also exposed dangerous gaps in health care policy; a majority of the essential workers who have direct contact with the public (retail service and nursing home workers, to name just two groups) are people of color. We must improve their access to health care and better medical outcomes. The same can be said about the environmental injustice of the power plants, trash facilities and carbon-spewing manufacturing plants that impact so many communities of color.
We need a bold agenda around health equity in Connecticut. We need better rules and protections for nursing home residents and employees. Connecticut needs to tackle systemic health inequities, protect telehealth insurance coverage and access for Medicaid recipients, create a workers’ compensation presumption for employees who regularly face coronavirus exposure on the job, make the Connecticut Access Health insurance exchange more affordable and competitive, allow working adults with disabilities impacted by COVID-19 to buy Medicaid, allow undocumented families to purchase private healthcare and receive Medicaid, thereby shifting those costs (which are going to occur anyway) off of hospitals and taxpayers in general. The impact of criminal convictions. Reducing homelessness. Expanded economic opportunity zones. Diversifying our community and state college system. The list goes on.
The Connecticut legislature has remained in neutral for far too long on basic, vital changes to our existing public policies, changes that can make a real and substantive difference in the lives of a third of our population. It is the 21st century, yet we have remained stalled on real progress. But we hear the voices of those in the streets, on the greens, in places of worship and on the steps of town halls and police departments. The moment is now. Let us capture it, and move forward together, equal and united at last.
The Connecticut Senate Democratic Caucus members are Sen. President Pro Tempore Martin Looney, Sen. Majority Leader Bob Duff, Sen. John Fonfara, Sen. Doug McCrory, Sen. Saud Anwar, Sen. Steve Cassano, Sen. Derek Slap, Sen. Matt Lesser, Sen. Gary Winfield, Sen. Christine Cohen, Sen. Mary Abrams, Sen. James Maroney, Sen. Joan Hartley, Sen. Cathy Osten, Sen. Marilyn Moore, Sen. Dennis Bradley, Sen. Julie Kushner, Sen. Will Haskell, Sen. Carlo Leone, Sen. Mae Flexer, Sen. Norm Needleman and Sen. Alex Kasser.