NH Delegation Calls on Trump Administration to Extend NH National Guard Support for COVID-19 Response
NH DELEGATION: “Prematurely ceasing federal funding for National Guard COVID-19 support operations will hinder New Hampshire’s ability to respond and could contribute to increased infections in the state.”
(Washington, DC) — U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Representatives Annie Kuster (NH-02) and Chris Pappas (NH-01) have sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Mark Esper asking that he extend the New Hampshire National Guard’s authorization to assist the State’s COVID-19 response efforts. This letter supports Governor Chris Sununu’s request this week to extend this authorization through December 31st, 2020. The current authorization expires on August 21st.
The delegation’s letter reads in part, “The New Hampshire National Guard continues to play a critical role in the state’s COVID-19 emergency response. Our Guardsmen are staffing testing sites, conducting voluntary contact tracing, staging and distributing medical supplies, maintaining food bank operations, providing critical support to N.H. Employment Security and are continuing to support the transition to reopen the economy. All of these efforts are essential to mitigating the impact of COVID-19 on New Hampshire citizens and the need for this support is expected to persist into the foreseeable future … prematurely ceasing federal funding for National Guard COVID-19 support operations will hinder New Hampshire’s ability to respond and could contribute to increased infections in the state.”
The delegation’s letter can be read in full here.
