COUNTERINTUITIVE

Nebraska Governor Threatens to Withhold Coronavirus Funding From Local Governments if They Mandate Masks

Pete Ricketts says he encourages people to wear masks, but local governments can’t deny services to someone if they’re not wearing one.

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts threatened to withhold $100 million in federal funds from the state’s local governments if they follow widely accepted public health guidelines—that is, they require residents to wear masks. Ricketts has urged people to wear masks while shopping, but said that local governments would not receive any Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) funding if they mandated masks in courthouses and government offices. “The governor encourages people to wear a mask,” a spokesman for his office told the Omaha World-Herald Thursday. “But does not believe that failure to wear a mask should be the basis for denying taxpayers’ services.” Public health experts say wearing a mask helps slow the spread of the coronavirus, but to be effective it requires widespread adoption. Last month, Ricketts issued a similar ultimatum saying that if local governments wanted CARES Act funding, they needed to withdraw their lockdown orders by June 15.