Time to plan for a robust and sustained recovery for all Washingtonians, says Democrat Manka Dhingra.
Washington state’s Indian American Democratic senator Manka Dhingra has been appointed to a newly formed bipartisan Special Committee on Economic Recovery to address the state’s long-term economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
“The pandemic is not over by any means, but it is time to begin planning for a robust and sustained recovery for all Washingtonians,” Senate Deputy Majority Leader Dhingra said in a press release.
“Thanks to the hard work and ingenuity of many workers and businesses, our state is adapting at breakneck speed to the new conditions that the virus has brought,” she said.
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“And it is imperative that we prepare legislation now to harness that innovation and adapt our systems for the long term,” Dhingra added.
The seven member committee will hold its first meeting in June and is tasked with making recommendations on covid-19 recovery legislation in advance of the 2021 legislative session, or before that if lawmakers are called back into a special session this year.
Democratic senator David Frockt will serve as the committee’s chair. Republican senator Randi Becker will serve as vice chair.
“The purpose of this select committee is to look deeply at the ways in which the pandemic has structurally changed our state and regional economies, and to make recommendations on how we can come out stronger on the other side for workers and the businesses that employ them,” Frockt stated.
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Dhingra also serves as Chair of the Behavioral Health Sub-Committee, and Vice Chair of the Senate Law & Justice Committee. She also serves on the Health & Long Term Care Committee and the Ways & Means Committee.
Elected to the state Senate in November 2017, Dhingra is a Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Prior to being elected, Manka was a co-founder of Chaya, an organization that assists South Asian survivors of domestic violence and led the organization’s work to end systemic violence through education and prevention. She also serves on the board of the National Alliance on Mental Illness Eastside.
Manka has worked with King County law enforcement agencies, Harborview Hospital, mental health professionals, and courts to improve criminal justice outcomes for individuals with mental illness—seeking to close the revolving door of jail, homelessness, and crime, according to her official biography.