Tom Malinowski: “Over the last 3 months, the people in my State of New Jersey have pulled together in extraordinary ways to fight the…”

“Over the last 3 months, the people in my State of New Jersey have pulled together in extraordinary ways to fight the coronavirus. Our leaders made good decisions. But, more important, all of us understood that public health had to come first. The sacrifices we made were worth making. Today, all our numbers are looking good. The rate of spread of the infection, testing positivity are way, way down. If all of America were New Jersey, we could stand here today and say that America is beating COVID-19. But that doesn't make the sacrifices any less hard to bear. And among those who sacrificed were our young people who were looking forward to graduation; not just the formal ending of their high school education, but the celebration of it with family and friends, the dances, the big games, the rites of passage that all of us experienced when we were their age and that we want for our kids. {time} 0930 Many of our graduating seniors did end up having outdoor graduations, but they came late and with social distancing. And let's face it, a socially distanced graduation is kind of an oxymoron. But we have also seen our communities come together in creative ways to celebrate the accomplishments of our young people, and I want to recognize those efforts today.…”