October 15, 2020 Press Releases

FACT CHECK: Messner Has Campaigned on Opposition To COVID Aid for NH

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 15, 2020
Contact: Ally Livingston, alivingston@jeanneshaheen.org

At today’s debate, Republican U.S. Senate candidate “Colorado Corky” Messner lied about Senator Jeanne Shaheen’s record of delivering federal aid to New Hampshire during the pandemic.

FACT: Jeanne Shaheen has led bipartisan efforts to save NH’s small businesses during the pandemic, and delivered $1.25 billion in funding to our state when Republicans wanted $0. 

  • Shaheen has been praised by multiple Republican Senators for her leadership during bipartisan negotiations to support small businesses during COVID.

  • The bipartisan Paycheck Protection Program she helped create has delivered more than $2.5 billion to 24,000 New Hampshire small businesses and helped keep 206,000 Granite Staters employed.

  • Originally, the Republican stimulus bill included zero dollars for state relief. Shaheen helped block it and ultimately secured $1.25 billion for NH, more than it would have received if funds were allocated only by population, as well as hundreds of millions more for our hospitals and schools.

  • Shaheen continues to call on her Republican colleagues in the Senate to take COVID seriously and pass a bill with more relief for state aid, schools, hospitals and health workers.

Messner has repeatedly opposed state aid for New Hampshire, which could bankrupt local governments, hospitals, schools and addiction treatment centers.

  • FACT: Messner has repeatedly called to halt all direct state aid for New Hampshire, which could devastate health care providers, public schools, and law enforcement on the front lines of the crisis. [Union Leader, 8/17/20]

  • FACT: In the spring, Messner endorsed the Republican coronavirus bill that included zero dollars in state aid for New Hampshire, and in September he supported the Republican proposal that included zero dollars for hospitals and health care providers because he thinks hospitals are “in pretty good shape.” [Keene Sentinel, 9/24/20]

  • FACT: Messner claimed hospital funding was “not urgent,” and he said “we are no longer in crisis mode” in June, after 120,000 COVID deaths. Now, more than 210,000 people have died. [Twitter, 5/9/20; Union Leader, 6/26/20]

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