A MESSAGE FROM GOVERNOR IVEY
Dear Fellow Alabamian,
Since the end of summer, I have been busy traveling the state attending several state conferences ranging from meeting with local chambers of commerce, state leaders and the business community to hosting the Southern Automotive Conference in Birmingham to having productive conversations with folks that live in rural Alabama at the recent Rural Developers Summit. I have heard from constituents daily on numerous topics, but none more so than the outrageous, overreaching Biden vaccine mandates. My Administration always welcomes your ideas and concerns and use them when making decisions and advocating on your behalf.
I am all for the COVID-19 vaccine – have encouraged Alabamians to consider rolling up their sleeves for the shot at every turn – but I am absolutely against Americans being forced to get the jab. This absurd disregard to the principles of our U.S. Constitution is plain out un-American, and I truly do not believe our federal government should be putting Alabamians and all Americans in a predicament that forces them to choose between putting food on the table for their families and getting the shot. This should be a decision for the American people, and I am adamantly opposed to the Biden Administration’s outrageous mandates that exceed their legal and constitutional authority.
Therefore, in recent weeks, I issued Executive Order 724 [8] and joined several of my fellow conservative governors in suing this administration. In fact, we are suing the Biden Administration on three different fronts. Additionally, I signed Senate Bills 9 and 15 to further fight these mandates and protect our citizens and businesses. These reckless decisions were clearly not vetted and have put our citizens and businesses in the middle of a dire situation that will ultimately be up to the Supreme Court to resolve. I will continue to do everything I can as governor of the state of Alabama to protect Alabamians’ liberties.
The good news is Alabama is currently experiencing one of the strongest economic recoveries in the country since the start of the pandemic. For 13 consecutive months, Alabama has had the lowest unemployment rate in the Southeast! In fact, at 3.1%, we have the eighth lowest unemployment rate in the nation. However, we have more jobs open than people to fill them, and these unconstitutional federal mandates will surely threaten our workforce capabilities but not without a fight.
As we approach the holiday season, I encourage you to support our local businesses when you are picking out gifts or filling your shopping carts. The current national supply chain issues should motivate us even more to buy from our home state and support Alabama businesses and workers. We are just days away from some of our favorite holidays, and I, like many of you, am grateful to be getting ready to spend time with family and friends.
Our state’s COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have steadily declined since the end of summer, and I hope we will keep improving. I continue to encourage those that are interested in learning more about the COVID-19 vaccine, which is now available to anyone 5 and older, to consult your physician or visit alcovidvaccine.gov. Let’s put COVID-19 behind us folks.
As you can see, we have a great deal going on in the state, and I hope to showcase more of this throughout this newsletter. I assure you I will continue to work on these issues and so many more and keep you updated along the way. I hope all of you enjoy this fall weather, the rest of football season and a wonderful Thanksgiving! May God bless each of you, our veterans and active duty service members and the great state of Alabama.
Sincerely,
~ Kay Ivey
