1 week Ago
Legislative budget writers and Gov. Kelly Ayotte are scrambling as they have to return to the federal treasury up to $80 million in unspent COVID-19 related funds. Federal health officials said Tuesday they were taking back $11.
4 billion from state and local public health departments across the U.S. “The COVID-19 pandemic is over, and HHS will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago,” the U.
S. Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement . Ayotte told reporters Wednesday she’s already contacted the White House and has been told this decision is not reversible.
“They are just saying these are pandemic funds and the pandemic is over,” Ayotte said. New Hampshire Health and Human Services Commissioner Lori Weaver told the Executive Council she only recently learned of this directive and is combing through her budget to determine what spending might be affected. State officials had thought they had until the end of 2026 to spend the funds.
Instead, the federal Centers for Disease Control said it expects to receive the funds 30 days after states and local communities receive the termination notices that went out Monday. Executive Councilor John Stephen, R-Manchester, a former HHS commissioner, questioned why state government wasn’t spending the money quickly. “We have been hearing about claw backs for years and now they are here,” Stephen added.
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