Garden State Times

State Senator Joe Pennacchio criticized the Montgomery McCracken report commissioned by Governor Murphy regarding the State's response to the Covid pandemic. Senator Pennacchio expressed his disappointment with the report's cost and content, stating, “even with its large girth of more than 900 pages, the cost of the report was not justified by its content.”

Pennacchio highlighted his concerns about the report's lack of substance, emphasizing that the report focused more on the history of the Covid outbreak and footnotes rather than addressing the failures in New Jersey's Covid policies. He pointed out that the report cost taxpayers over $10,000 per page, describing it as an exercise in size rather than substance.

The Senator criticized the report for not assigning blame for the State's failed Covid policies, particularly in nursing homes. He noted, “A disservice was done to the people of New Jersey by not assigning blame for some of New Jersey’s failed Covid policies.”

Senator Pennacchio raised questions about the discrepancy in the report's claim that over 16,000 patients and staff died in long-term nursing facilities, while the current New Jersey Department of Health's dashboard shows a lower figure of 9,221 deaths. He called for answers to clarify this inconsistency.

In his review, Senator Pennacchio focused on the actions and resulting deaths in private and veterans' long-term care facilities during the Covid pandemic. He encouraged the public to read both the Montgomery McCracken report and his review to understand the State's actions during the pandemic, stating, "I encourage everyone to read and determine for themselves the scope and significance of the State’s actions during the Covid pandemic. Thousands of citizens including the 16,000 who died in nursing homes deserve that consideration."

To read Senator Pennacchio's full review, the public can access it through the provided link.