Granite Status: Dems eager to tie Sununu to Veterans Home deaths

Dec. 10--THE COMMANDANT of the New Hampshire Veterans Home has said it is not clear how COVID-19 got into the Tilton facility. When the first cases were detected a month ago, residents tested positive before staff.

But a group of Democratic leaders appear eager to tie Gov. Chris Sununu to the outbreak that has killed almost 30 veterans.

"The tragic and deadly COVID-19 outbreak at the Veterans Home might have been prevented, or at least mitigated, had you not vetoed House Bill 1246," read a letter that 21 prominent New Hampshire Democrats who have served in the military plan to send to Sununu, including Rep. Steve Shurtleff (D-Penacook), Sen. Lou D'Allesandro (D-Manchester) and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen's husband, William Shaheen. Shurtleff had planned to send the letter Thursday, but chose to delay sending it out of respect for Rep. Dick Hinch, whose death was announced Wednesday evening.

House Bill 1246 was the legislature's attempt at a COVID-19 response, recommending the state use CARES Act money to help nursing homes and child care centers, and would have required the state Department of Health and Human Services to review the needs of nursing homes -- including the Veterans Home -- as the state braced for a second wave.

In his veto statement, Sununu said the bill didn't add anything to New Hampshire's COVID-19 response.

"Although this bill is well-intended, it is redundant," Sununu wrote in his July veto statement. He had already earmarked a portion of the federal CARES Act funds for nursing homes.

Sununu said he thought it was unfair for Democratic leaders to criticize him over the COVID-19 outbreak at the veterans home.

"It is not only entirely inappropriate, but it is an unfair attack on the men and women who are working around the clock in the Veterans Home to keep our veterans safe and save lives," Sununu said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.

The letter from Democratic veterans also called for an investigation into the deadly outbreak.

The governor's office did not answer a direct question about the need for an investigation, saying only that the governor was sure the Veterans Home had the necessary resources to control the deadly outbreak.

Campus sexual violence

Rep. Annie Kuster is urging President-elect Joe Biden to roll back changes the Trump administration made to Title IX, the federal law banning sex discrimination in education.

The new rules, published in May, let advisors for the accused cross-examine victims and allowed schools to use a higher standard of evidence before opening an investigation -- winning praise for advocates for the rights of the accused, and dismaying victims' advocates.

In a letter she wrote with Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wisconsin) and signed by 15 other representatives, Kuster raised narrower objections to the new rules. She wrote that the 2020 rules do not align with other legislation, namely the Clery Act, which deals with reporting crime on and near college campuses.

"As the new administration considers next steps, I believe the standards set by the Clery Act are critical guideposts," Kuster said in a statement with the letter.

Flurry of bills

A few pieces of legislation supported by New Hampshire's congressional delegation have passed, including a bill aimed at curtailing the supply of synthetic opioids like fentanyl.

Sen. Maggie Hassan was one of eight bipartisan cosponsors of the bill, called the DHS Opioid Detection Resilience Act. It has passed the House and Senate, and is now headed for President Donald Trump's desk. It requires the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to have equipment that can detect synthetic opioids even with lower purity levels, and requires Homeland Security to track new synthetic opioids as they come into the U.S.

The House passed a bill that, if signed into law, would fund a handful of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects on the Seacoast. The lower chamber's 2020 National Defense Authorization Act includes research on PFAS levels in drinking water and funding for alternatives to PFAS, along with a pay raise for service members.

The biggest prize still eludes lawmakers: another COVID-19 relief bill and stimulus package.

On Wednesday, Shaheen urged action on the proposal she put forward last week with a bipartisan group of senators, including Hassan.

"Inaction is really not an option," Shaheen said Wednesday. "I urge Leader (Sen. Mitch) McConnell and Leader (Chuck) Schumer to move forward with us, to help us get this proposal over the line so that together we can deliver much-needed relief to Americans and do it before the holiday season so that people will have something to look forward to."

Contact Josie Albertson-Grove at jgrove@unionleader.com.

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