FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 20, 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: Shaheen delivered $1.25 billion in funding to our state when Republicans, including Messner, wanted $0.

• The GOP’s CARES Act that Messner supported in March 2020 provided no funding for state and local governments [Center for Economic and Policy Research, 3/20/20].

• Shaheen delivered a better deal, securing $1.25 billion for our state in the final CARES Act that passed, plus hundreds of millions more for our hospitals and schools. [Congressional Research Service, 8/25/20]

  • Messner said the $1.25 billion was “not worth the wait.” [Union Leader, 4/1/20]

• The partisan, GOP “skinny” relief bill in September would not have included any additional funding for state and local governments. It also had zero dollars for hospitals and health care providers. [CNN, 9/8/20]

  • Messner endorsed it, even though it could devastate health care providers, public schools, and law enforcement on the front lines of the crisis. He said that hospitals are “in pretty good shape.” [Keene Sentinel, 9/24/20]

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: 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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