Posted on 07/16/2020 1:10:04 PM PDT by lightman
The two out of three Lebanon County Commissioners who voted to reopen the county during the coronavirus pandemic before they got the directive from the state should have listened to the rules, Gov. Tom Wolf said at a press conference on Thursday.
The county is losing out on $13 million in federal funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, known as the CARES Act, according to a letter written by Lebanon Valley Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Karen Groh.
Approved by Congress in March, the act was passed to help ease the looming financial burden of businesses, nonprofits, and government entities from state-required shut down orders meant to flatten the novel coronavirus curve. Lebanon didn’t wait for the governor’s administration’s approval to reopen.
“Lebanon County made the threat, I mean there were other counties that made the threat, but they actually didn’t go through with it,” Wolf said.
County governments are eligible to receive COVID-19 County Block Grant Program funding through the state department of Community and Economic Development. The latest update on federal funds to Lebanon County shows that there isn’t any in the pipeline for the rest of the year.
U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser also supports the same efforts as Groh. He wrote a letter to Wolf on July 15 saying withholding available funds from Lebanon County is a contradiction of the act’s purpose.
“While Act 24 outlines that all counties shall receive formulaic funding based upon population, DCED added additional requirements requiring counties to follow all state-issued closure orders to guarantee eligibility,” he wrote. “This is in direct conflict with the legislative intent of the parameters of the County Relief Block Grant program.”
All counties should stand to receive the financial support, Meuser wrote.
“Sixty‐six of 67 counties have received their funding and are working quickly to infuse it into their local economies, helping thousands of businesses, non‐profits, municipalities, and more,” Groh wrote. “Lebanon County is the only one left in Pennsylvania that has not received the money as promised by the Federal Government.”
State department of health officials said Lebanon County got ahead of Wolf’s reopening strategy. They said that was evident in the number of increased cases reported there of people contracting COVID-19. Lebanon was among the last of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties to be allowed to lift restrictions.
Wolf’s message to the county’s leaders, “OK, then don’t come say you want something from the state, uh, when you haven’t followed the rules.” He also said it isn’t punishment.
“There are consequences, and these are the consequences,” Wolf said. “I think I’m being consistent here.”
But, Lebanon’s business community is pushing back.
“This is an unacceptable exclusion of just one county,” Groh wrote. “This money, close to $13 million, is desperately needed to help our business community continue to recover and survive the ongoing restrictions and added costs to follow CDC guidelines. Tourism, small business, non‐profits, and more have been patiently waiting to apply for this grant money as announced by the state. To take that away is an unfair punishment.”
She concluded: “We implore you to reconsider this decision as Lebanon County deserves every right to provide this recovery funding as the other 66 counties in Pennsylvania.”
Don’t just spend money there. Spend cash. If I owned a business in that county I’d make it my mission in life to report $0 in revenue for sales tax purposes for the rest of this year.
It’s mostly farm country here.
The Lebanon Area Fairgrounds would work if the weather cooperated.
Last time I checked, Lebanon county had 38 total deaths attributed to the covid since the beginning of the outbreak. There are a lot of nursing homes throughout the state that were compelled by the wolf administration to admit covid-positive residents into a closed environment with the most vulnerable population. This is tyranny.
Wolf is an F’n bastard. This absolutely proves that this is all politics. Everyone knows Lebanon County will go for Trump in November. Businesses in Lebanon should say, “FU Tommy the Commie. We ain’t collecting state sales tax any longer. Everyone come buy from our fully open businesses and get an automatic 6% discount.”
It doesn’t matter what Philadelphia and Pittsburgh think. Wolf is a lame duck. He’s term limited. He is just doing as much damage to Red counties as possible. The Rats in Philadelphia, Allegheny and Lackwanna counties are so ignorant and low-IQ’d that they don’t know they are being abused. They are useful idiots that will vote Rat every election. Wolf is trying to convince a bunch of Karens that are otherwise conservative in red counties to vote for against Trump. I doubt it will work.
That’s only a valid argument if every company within the county entirely operated within the county, and if the county never shut down; none of which is the case. Their violation, if I recall correctly, was opening a few days before the governor gave his approval.
Hardly something which would make up for the 13 million in aide.
And again, we roll back to the same argument used by sanctuary cities, their not abiding by every regulation and rule does not make them ineligible for federal assistance. Since the courts have certainly made enough rulings on that topic (not to mention national speed limits and smoking rules), there’s a large body of rulings which the county can claim that the governor is illegally withholding federal funds.
Representative Daryl Metcalfe (R-Butler) sent the following open letter today offering Gov. Tom Wolf the opportunity to resign or face impeachment and potential removal from office:
“With each passing day the General Assembly and those we represent are gaining further momentum in pursuing your impeachment through House Resolution 915. Following the shame and struggles you have placed upon the state, we ask that you save us further strife by resigning on your own accord. Your further authoritarian dictates, as of yesterday, have only strengthened our resolve.
“On behalf of our shared constituents, shuttered businesses, and the families who have lost loved ones due to your unconscionable dictates, it is time that you vacate the position of governor and allow for a leader more in line with our citizens’ values to guide the Commonwealth. Do not allow this to devolve into a situation like we experienced in 2016 with your lawless and duly convicted Attorney General Kathleen Kane...
I dont know what the laws are. If we are able, we need to have a petition to impeach or on to recall Emperor Wolf.
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