North Dakota Emergency Commission Set to Double-Dip on Failed Approach to Pandemic

The 6-man Emergency Commission is set to finalize their plans to reallocate approximately $221 million in CARES Act funding this Friday. The unspent money can be attributed to their short-sighted approach that lacked public input since the beginning of the pandemic. Now, with the clock ticking on when that money must be spent, the same six people have a plan and it leaves a lot of questions.

A quick refresher, the CARES Act was passed by Congress and allocated $1.25 BILLION to North Dakota. Instead of Republican legislative leaders demanding a special session to allocate those dollars, they whimpered to the Capitol and begged Governor Doug Burgum to refuse calls of a special session. They figured they could make their deals without a lot of public scrutiny while passing the buck elsewhere if this approach didn’t work. Seven months into the pandemic and their dereliction of duty, how has that worked out for North Dakota?

As more people become infected with an uncontrolled spread of coronavirus in our state, it would be logical to expect the Commission to focus on the needs of North Dakota families. For example, instead of adding $16 million to the $66 million already allocated to the oil industry, the Commission could spend $20 million on a state-level paid family leave program. That program would allow for peace-of-mind for those living paycheck to paycheck and are sick or have come into close contact with someone sick. It wouldn’t be safety versus financial security for these workers. Logic is lacking in North Dakota’s response to the pandemic.

Instead, people across the state are continuing to get sick. Some of them are forced to stay home because of close contact and must forgo their paycheck for two weeks without any assistance that would otherwise be available from ND leadership. Crocodile tears from politicians behind podiums don’t fill the fridges of North Dakotans in need.

Read more: https://ndxplains.com/2020/10/21/nd-emergency-commission-set-to-double-dip-on-failed-approach-to-pandemic/