CONCORD – On Thursday, during his weekly press conference, Gov. Chris Sununu went back on his previous statement that all of the CARES Act funding had been allocated and that any remaining funds would be poured into the unemployment trust fund.

This follows a previous meeting of the Governor’s Office for Economic Relief and Recovery (GOFERR) Legislative Advisory Board where Commissioner Taylor Caswell stated that less than $1 million remained in unallocated funds.   

Gov. Sununu’s spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Friday night.

Senate Democratic Leader Donna Soucy (D-Manchester), Senator Lou D’Allesandro, D-Manchester, Representative Steve Shurtleff, D-Penacook, and Representative Mary Jane Wallner, D-Concord, who  serve on the Governor’s Office for Economic Relief and Recovery (GOFERR) Legislative Advisory Board, released the following statement in response:     

“Over the past month, the public has received inconsistent figures from the Governor’s office regarding the remaining CAREs act funds ranging from $1 million, to $30 million, and in the latest report, nearly $200 million that remains unspent. Just yesterday, the Governor made new allocations totaling $23 million after Commissioner Caswell reported there was nearly no money left to be allocated. 

“In the last meeting of the Legislative Advisory Board, Commissioner Caswell stated that resources were being put into a ‘few, final high priority investments,’ yet those investments have not been made public. To say that this process has lacked transparency is an understatement. The people of New Hampshire deserved to know how much of their money was left, where it was being spent, and how decisions were made.”  

On Background: