- The New Hampshire Legislature on Friday approved Republican Gov. Chris Sununu’s request to send 15 National Guard volunteers to the Texas border with Mexico.
- The move comes after the governor cited fentanyl as the Granite State’s most pressing health crisis.
- “There’s no bigger health crisis in our state right now than 400 to 500 people dying every year, every year, for the last 10 years,” Sununu said, adding that New Hampshire has spent “a lot of money and a lot of money.” ” he pointed out. It’s about the effort you put into it. ”
The New Hampshire Legislature on Friday approved Republican Gov. Chris Sununu’s request to send 15 National Guard volunteers to the Texas border with Mexico after he called fentanyl the state’s most serious health crisis. Acknowledged.
He traveled to Eagle Pass, Texas, with more than a dozen other Republican governors earlier this month to support Gov. Greg Abbott, who has been at odds with the Biden administration since Texas began denying U.S. Border Patrol agents access to the park. did. Rio Grande. The governors of Montana and Georgia also announced they would deploy National Guard troops to help Texas crack down on illegal immigration, a trend that began in 2021.
“There is no greater health crisis in our state right now than the 400 to 500 deaths each year for the past 10 years,” Sununu told the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee. “We spent a lot of money and a lot of effort into this. This is less than a million dollars to do what someone else should be doing, and they don’t want to do it.”
House Republicans introduce bill to reimburse Texas for nearly $4 billion spent on border security
Sununu said that “someone” is President Joe Biden, and states must step up to help Texas. “The states are going to do what we do best, and we are going to stand up and protect our people.”
Republican New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu waves as he prepares for his final State of the State address on Thursday, February 15, 2024 in Concord, New Hampshire. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Democrats on the committee accused Republicans of blocking a bipartisan border security plan in Congress.
“The real problem is that Congress is funding what it should be funding to protect our southern border,” said Sen. Lou D’Alessandro, D-Manchester. “Fifteen of us don’t make much of a difference. But certainly… given your abilities as a senior public official and as a Republican, that effort should be spent on influencing Republicans in Congress.” I think it’s ‘come up with the money. ”
Rep. Peter Leishman, whose son died from a fentanyl overdose, said the money would be better spent on law enforcement and New Hampshire’s addiction prevention and treatment programs.
“No respect for the Guard, but 15 years old? What difference does that make at a border where people flow unchecked for thousands of miles?” he said. “That $850,000 would be better spent here in New Hampshire.”
But Republicans outnumbered Democrats 6-4 on the committee and agreed with Sununu.
Senate President Jeb Bradley said it was entirely appropriate for Sununu to seek funding under the state’s civil emergency law.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“If 400 deaths a year from fentanyl since 2015 is not a civil emergency, I don’t know what is,” he said.
