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Press Release Published: Nov 6, 2023

Wenstrup, Malliotakis Expose New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s Obstruction of COVID-19 Nursing Home Investigation

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WASHINGTON — Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Chairman Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) and Representative Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) are pressing New York Governor Kathy Hochul to hand over information related to her state’s disastrous COVID-19 nursing home policies after repeated obstruction. Since the start of the pandemic, the Select Subcommittee has sent more than eight letters to Governor Hochul, former Governor Andrew Cuomo, and the Cuomo Administration requesting access to all documents and communications surrounding New York’s deadly “must-admit” COVID-19 nursing home mandate. Governor Hochul’s office has failed to produce a single responsive document.

In a recent attempt to obfuscate and deflect responsibility, Governor Hochul’s office asked the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) to respond to the Select Subcommittee on behalf of the Governor. This evasion of accountability raises further questions about Governor Hochul’s role in covering-up for the failures of her predecessor — Andrew Cuomo. Today, Chairman Wenstrup and Representative Malliotakis are calling on Governor Hochul and New York State Department of Health Commissioner James McDonald to act transparently and provide the Select Subcommittee with all information related to the fatal COVID-19 nursing home directives.

“This Select Subcommittee expects your response to this letter, not another deflection of responsibility. These deflections are especially concerning considering your promise to “be fully transparent” regarding the data surrounding COVID-19 deaths and nursing home readmissions. We are simply requesting that transparency,” wrote the lawmakers in their letter to Governor Hochul.

“Instead of fulsomely producing documents—especially those in the custody or control of the Governor’s Office—the Governor deflected responsibility to the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH). While the NYSDOH has produced limited responsive documents, to date, it has yet to answer all of the Select Subcommittee’s questions,” wrote the lawmakers in their letter to New York State Department of Health Commissioner McDonald.

Read the letter to Governor Kathy Hochul here and the letter to New York State Department of Health Commissioner James McDonald here.

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