So, we now have governors of states hiding tests/test kits from the federal government so they can't be seized.
The U.S. has blown way past the Twilight Zone and entered into banana republic 1.0 (or 2.0 if you prefer).
From the article:
Colorado Governor Jared Polis did not announce that the state recently received over 100,000 coronavirus test kits from South Korea over fears that federal authorities could seize them.
Multiple instances of feds seizing state supplies of tests and personal protective equipment have been reported since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Polis said on Friday that Colorado kept their latest shipment hidden because the state did not want to lose the tests to "the competition."
"We were worried that the federal government or somebody else would take them," the governor told Colorado Public Radio. "We kept it under wraps. We simply didn't know if anybody would swoop in... I mean, we didn't want another state or the feds or anybody."
"We don't want to give the competition, which could mean other countries, could mean our own country, could mean other states—we don't want to give them a heads up of what we're doing," he added.
Colorado is not the only state government to act out of concern that supplies could be taken by the federal government or others. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan told The Washington Post on Thursday that members of the Maryland National Guard and state police were at an "undisclosed location" protecting 500,000 tests that had recently arrived from South Korea.
Polis said that the state had previously attempted to buy a supply of ventilators but was unable to do so because the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) intervened to take control of supplies of the potentially life-saving medical equipment.
"With regard to a ventilator acquisition... we were basically told by the legitimate company and the CEO that, look, FEMA has delayed all the state orders," Polis said. "So, you know, it's not canceled. Maybe you'll get it someday in six months. But basically, FEMA is buying our entire production for four months. We can't fulfill yours."
So, if I were a governor, I would do exactly what the MD and CO governors did! they are trying to protect the people in their states and with a dysfunctional federal govt. they have to be entreprenurial. Good for Larry Hogan and Jared Polis!
This is the second story about a governor doing this that I'm aware of, the first was Maryland National Guard Protecting COVID-19 Tests from Feds in Undisclosed Location Says Republican Governor
So, we now have governors of states hiding tests/test kits from the federal government so they can't be seized.
The U.S. has blown way past the Twilight Zone and entered into banana republic 1.0 (or 2.0 if you prefer).
From the article: