Nancy Patton Mills: Biden has a better plan for America

Families in Southwestern Pennsylvania and across the country are faced with crisis after crisis.

There’s a public health crisis — covid-19 has taken the lives of more than 8,700 of our fellow Pennsylvanians, and is only getting worse.

There’s an economic crisis — one that predates the pandemic, but has been made worse by it, with unemployment nearly double what it was last year.

There’s a crisis for our health care system, with the Supreme Court set to throw accessible care out the window when arguments begin in just two weeks on a lawsuit to dismantle the Affordable Care Act.

But above all, we have a leadership crisis at the very top of our country, with a president who, when faced with all of these issues, has only made them worse. It’s a crisis that has grown more dire by the day and will continue all the way through Tuesday, when we’ll be faced with one of the most important decisions in a generation: four more years on this path of crisis, or a change, a rebuild and real leadership.

Joe Biden has a plan to deal with the pandemic. He’ll start by listening to medical experts to rebuild trust and common purpose. He’ll build a national response that keeps our frontline workers safe, and he’ll take the common-sense steps we’ve needed — a national test-and-trace program, rebuilding our personal protective equipment stockpiles and creating a transparent vaccine process Americans can trust.

He’ll work with everyone in Washington to deliver relief measures that finally uplift working families and small businesses who’ve been left behind, because he knows we don’t have to choose between our public health and economic well-being.

Biden also knows that we can’t just return to the way things were before covid-19 — he wants to build back better than before. He’ll work to revitalize Pennsylvania manufacturing with good union jobs and implement a bold “Buy American” plan to ensure that our future is made right here in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

Whether you’re a Democrat, Republican or independent, there’s a place for you in Biden’s America. If you haven’t already made your plan to vote, visit iwillvote.com/pa to locate your polling place today so you can make your voice heard Tuesday.

Join me in casting your vote for Joe Biden and Democrats down the ballot — because we’ll always fight for Pennsylvania, not Park Avenue.

Nancy Patton Mills is chair of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party.