Republican Governor Chris Sununu lost big today as all four Republicans on the State’s Executive Council voted against federal contracts he has pushed hard to approve.
This, according to Sununu, makes New Hampshire the only state to refuse the money which opponents say has lots of federal strings attached. I guess we’re special.
From the Union Leader.
CONCORD – With more than 100 anti-vaccine mandate protesters looking on after a few were physically removed, the state Executive Council turned down two contracts to accept $27 million in federal money to continue administering state oversight of the COVID-19 vaccine and other immunizations throughout New Hampshire.
And, here are the “strings” summed up in a previous post on these pages.
- comply with existing and/or future directives and guidance from the Secretary regarding control of the spread of Covid-19,
- assist the U.S. Government in the implementation and enforcement of federal orders related to quarantine and isolation,
- provide to CDC copies of and/or access to COVID-19 data collected with these funds, including but not limited to data pertaining to COVID-19 testing
Related: The Governor Has Already Suspended State Law Once to Satisfy the Fed’s “Boiler-Plate” Language…
The governor, famously, had his AG “investigate” and conclude that the language did not bind the state. AG Formella even said a few words to that effect at the promoting of the Governor before the vote. To no avail.
YOU reached out in large numbers to make sure your elected representatives on the Executive Council knew your mind on this matter. Congratulate yourselves. Make sure you thank them for standing up for you and your insterests.
What about the Arrests?
As reported earlier there was a zero-tolerance policy for any sort of outburst which appears to have involved anything. The Union leader reports that several folks are being removed for shouting. We had people on the scene saying folks were removed for no reason. That there were people escorted out who were not shouting or even speaking loudly. In other words, they were not interrupting the meeting.
There will be more pics and video I’m sure, and we’ll get to the bottom of that as soon as we can.
One more point. Sununu got spanked today politically and won’t like it much. Too bad. But I think he can bring these contracts back for a vote anytime it suits him.
You must, as always, remain vigilant.
