As previously reported by the Associated Press, the Alaska House of Representatives are currently dealing with a reported outbreak of COVID-19 cases, which has resulted in the House Speaker requiring masks in the chambers until further notice. Recent House floor sessions were canceled because House Speaker Louise Stutes said that some members of the House chose not to mask up and, as a result, canceled session due to some members choosing not to comply.
In response to the second floor cancellation, the Alaska House Republicans say that they take personal responsibility for their own health and the actions they take inside and outside of the capitol facilities. They state that if they are feeling sick or have tested positive, they will not report to work and will take the necessary precautions.
Nikiski Rep. Ben Carpenter, said that further delaying the important and constitutionally required work he was elected to do is frustrating:
“It is a silly policy. It is a knee jerk reaction. It is not based on science or anything other than just fear. The reality is you got a couple members of the body that say they’re not going to come onto the floor if everybody is not wearing masks.”
Carpenter said he’s the one taking the blame:
“I decided not to wear a mask. It wasn’t to fight the mask mandate; I just was not going to do it. If they’re going to remove me, if the body was going to remove me, then that’s what they are going to do. That’s what got threatened. This thing escalated from ‘please put your mask on’ to ‘we’re going to have the armed guards remove you’ to ‘now we’re going to shame you for not putting your mask on, the whole body’s business is going to be held up because you won’t put your mask on’. It’s nonsense. Five more minutes on the floor and we could have passed the bill, but instead we gaveled out to make a political point. Honestly, the majority, the speaker, can’t get done what she wants to get done. They can’t pass their budget because they don’t have the numbers on the floor. This is a convenient excuse for her to not get stuff done.”
The Alaska House Republicans have said, in a statement, “The fact that some chose not to wear a mask is not a viable excuse to abruptly adjourn or cancel the floor session. Debatable science must not dictate the people’s business every time COVID makes an appearance.”
The Alaska House Republicans state that they don’t want the people’s business to be thwarted due to ‘obvious delay tactics’.
