New York and New Jersey, hot spots early in the COVID-19 pandemic, have so far detailed a breakdown of their cost of releasing personal protective gear and medical equipment in the first frenzied months since the virus began .
The New York Gov. administration said. Democrat Andrew Cuomo said the state has spent $ 830 million through nearly 400 contracts on protective gear and durable medical equipment since March through November.
An online database maintained by the state comptroller’s office lists basic information about these contracts, including vendor names and payment dates and amounts.
But state officials have for months denied public record requests for purchase orders to reveal complete details, such as how many masks, gowns, and air conditioners he ordered from each vendor, how many orders were fulfilled, and how much he recovered from failed contracts.
Nationwide, reports with the Associated Press, revealed that from the time the virus began spreading in the U.S. to summer, states have spent more than $ 7 billion on personal protective gear and high-end medical equipment such as air conditioners and thermometers. -infrared measurement. Much of that cost was incurred outside of the normal competitive bidding process and has not previously been made public.
All states except New York and New Jersey responded to AP’s public records request by providing a detailed breakdown of cost and suppliers.
“That’s public information with a black letter,” said Bill Hammond, Senior Fellow of the Center for Public Policy for Public Policy. “There is nothing clearer that the public has a right to know than how their money is being spent. ”
The AP initially requested details of a purchase in the spring, but the Cuomo administration never provided them. AP was asked by the Cuomo budget office in July to formally submit an application through New York’s open records law. Since then, the administration has sent out monthly AP notifications saying it needs more time to find and review records. The latest estimate was between mid and late January.
The Cuomo office and the Department of Health did not respond to requests for comment to explain the continuing delay.
New Jersey failed to issue purchase orders for personal protective equipment, saying the fulfillment of the request would “severely disrupt the organization’s operations. ”
The state provided a one-page document showing it spent $ 164 million on 153 million pieces of equipment, including masks, gloves, goggles, bedding and even morgue trucks.
“Due to the number of contracts and purchase orders corresponding to your request, it would be very disruptive for the activity of organizations to collect each individual contract or purchase order, identify the specific source of funding, and review for any necessary reactions before they are made, ”the state Department of Health said in response to the AP’s request.
The failure to provide full transparency on the purchase of COVID-19 leaves no answer as to how much money the states spent on missing items that were sharply priced and the extent to which they turned to unproven suppliers at a time when the federal government dropped such purchases up to the states.
Cameron Macdonald, executive director of the Government’s Justice Center, said the data could also shed light on questions about the state’s stockpile of protective equipment and medical supplies ahead of the pandemic.
“Nobody knows what’s gone, what they were catching in the spring,” he said.
By the end of March, several states had banned standard protections for awarding contracts amid heating competition among states, counties, hospitals and even other countries for air conditioners and equipment to protect front-line medical workers.
Cuomo promised companies that would help make protective gear for New York that they would not oppose “red tape. “He sent workers to China as part of efforts to acquire 7,000 aircraft but warned the state that they needed federal help:” We have tried everything else. “
Some special purchases were publicly confirmed by Cuomo administration to media outlets. Those include $ 122 million in payments to Brooklyn-based Dome International for a 5,700 hopeful airman and $ 69 million to Silicon Valley businessman Yaron Oren Pines.
But little details about these purchases have been released. Cuomo supporters have said the state was trying to recover some or all of the payments returned to companies that did not deliver on promised gear.
“While most goods were received, there were a few instances where ordered items were not delivered in whole or in part,” said General Services Office spokeswoman Heather Groll.
About $ 223 million has been recovered so far, she said in a written statement.
She declined to specify what orders had not been fulfilled and how much money the state was trying to recover, saying “she does not want to jeopardize her bargaining power by giving up details. information. ”
The AP sought purchase orders that included the name and address of the sellers, the date, a description of the items purchased, the size of the items purchased, and the price. .
The New Jersey Government Records Council, which oversees the state ‘s public records law, “requires that custodians typically need immediate access to budgets, bills, vouchers, contracts. ”(New Jersey refers to purchase orders as vouchers.)
“It’s very sad that they would be denied access to payment vouchers, which are amazing public records that help people keep track of how taxpayers’ money is being spent,” said CJ Griffin, law in New Jersey that specifically deals with public records law.