Arizona state Sen. Thomas "T.J." Shope (R-Coolidge) addresses supply chain issues during COVID-19 pandemic. | Arizona State Legislature
Arizona state Sen. Thomas "T.J." Shope (R-Coolidge) addresses supply chain issues during COVID-19 pandemic. | Arizona State Legislature
Arizona state Sen. Thomas "T.J." Shope (R-Coolidge) said the COVID-19 pandemic was not only a health issue but also a supply chain problem that disrupted all forms of economics in Arizona and nationwide.
“There are many, many things that haven't really been dissected in that period of time since that I think are worthy of dissection as we go forward,” he said at last week's Novel Coronavirus Southwestern Intergovernmental Committee hearing.
Shope, a grocery store owner and third-generation elected official, serves as speaker pro tempore of the 54th Arizona Legislature and chairman of the House Committee on Ethics and Administration. He also is vice chairman of the House Committee on Rules, the House Committee on Education and the House Committee on Natural Resources, Energy and Water.
“I heard stories during that time of restaurants that wanted to do everything their competitors were doing as far as ‘to-go’ options but couldn't because they couldn't even access the to-go compartmentalized containers to be able to operate in that fashion,” he said.
Shope was among the politicians who addressed the hearing May 25-26 in Phoenix. The event was co-chaired by state Rep. Steve Montenegro (R-Litchfield Park) and state Sen. Janae Shamp (R-Surpise).
Other politicians who spoke included Arizona GOP congressmen Andy Biggs, Eli Crane and Paul Gosar.
All three are members of the committee, along with Shope, Montenegro, and Shamp who organized the local event to investigate Arizona's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It's not enough, especially for folks who have resided here in Arizona that entire time, to say that at least Arizona wasn't like California or New Mexico or Colorado or Nevada,” he said. “For many of my friends, and I come from the business community, that's just not good enough. People's livelihoods, people who own restaurants that all of us in this room probably used to frequent with regularity, were shuttered.”
In 2020, Arizona recorded 75,700 total deaths, with 25.2% attributed to heart disease, 16.7% from cancer, and 11.1% from COVID-19. In 2021, of 81,482 total deaths, 24% were from heart disease, 15.7% from cancer, and 15.6% from COVID-19, according to Arizona Senate data.
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