Rowe, Phillips-Hill Letter to U.S. Attorney General Applauds Federal Review of State Shutdown Policies

May 1, 2020

HARRISBURG - Leading the effort in the House, Rep. David Rowe (Snyder/Union) together with his Republican Caucus colleagues in the House and Senate led by Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill (R-York) wrote to U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr in support of the Department of Justice’s directive to monitor state and local COVID-19 shutdown policies to ensure the protection of the constitutional rights of American citizens.

“My constituents are sincerely thankful to Attorney General Barr for his respect for their constitutional rights in this unprecedented time of crisis and extreme government action,” said Rowe. “Gov. Wolf has taken many steps too far without input from the Legislature, employers and health care professionals, and his actions have led to over 1.6 million Pennsylvanians forced into unemployment by the state. This has set a dangerous precedent and I hope Attorney General Barr is able to assist Pennsylvania in reigning in the governor.”

"The people of Pennsylvania have been extremely patient through this whole pandemic and have entrusted elected leaders and public health officials to act in their best interests,” said Phillips-Hill. “This bicameral effort led by Rep. Rowe will ensure the letter of the law was followed by our governor and his administration. The constitutional rights of Pennsylvanians must never be jeopardized. This request of the Justice Department will provide proper oversight so that no one's constitutional rights are eroded throughout this pandemic."

The following is an excerpt from the letter:

“This unprecedented public health emergency has tested our Commonwealth’s resilience in many ways. But just as the emergency has tested the resilience of our citizens, so too has it tempted the authority of our Executive. Overbroad limitations on commerce have unduly paralyzed regions of Pennsylvania, the Second Amendment rights of citizens have been impacted, and many fear that their rights to worship will remain constrained. Certainly, we recognize the reasonableness of temporary restrictions to preserve public safety, but we also are vigilant in defending against the encroachment on inviolate constitutional rights.”

“I thank my colleagues in the House and in the Senate, especially Sen. Phillips-Hill, for their support in reaching out to the attorney general for assistance in this constitutional crisis,” Rowe added.


Representative David Rowe
85th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Alison Haas
717.772.9843
ahaas@pahousegop.com
www.RepDavidRowe.com\ www.Facebook.com/RepDavidRowe

Senator Kristin Phillps-Hill
28th District
Pennsylvania State Senate
Media Contact: Jon Hopcraft
717.787.7085
jhopcraft@pasen.gov
Senatorkristin.com / Facebook.com/SenatorKristin