Hutchinson Calls for ‘a Better Way’ Than State Governments Competing in a ‘Global Jungle’ for Medical Supplies

Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R-AR) argued there should be a better system than state governments competing in a “global jungle” to get the medical supplies needed in their states for the coronavirus pandemic.

Partial transcript as follows:

TODD: Governor Hutchinson, there was — the CEO of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, in the medical center there, said the state lost an order of 500 ventilators. Essentially, you got outbid by another state. Should you be in that situation? Should you be forced to be bidding against — is this something the federal government needs to step in and handle?

HUTCHINSON: Well, it’s difficult. And we have had circumstances that — we’re trying to collect our PPE, our protective masks and we’ve been outbid by another state after we had the order confirmed. So yes, that has been challenging for us. But we recognize that the federal government has said, ‘We’re your backstop. You’ve got to get out there and compete.’ And it literally is a global jungle that we’re competing in now —

TODD: Do you think that’s the way it should be?

HUTCHINSON: Well, I urged —

TODD: Do you think that’s the way it should be? I mean, look, I know ideologically and philosophically where a lot of people believe in federalism. But in a moment like this, should this be the case, states competing?

HUTCHINSON: No. There needs to be — I’d like to see a better way. But that’s the reality in which we are. We put $75 million to do our procurement. And we’ll work through this. The federal government has made it clear they are the backstop. And if we need more ventilators, right now they’re going to be going to the hotspots, New York and California. But I’ve been assured that when we get to the point, if we need ventilators in Arkansas, they’re going to be there. We’re not waiting on that. We’re going out in the marketplace. We’re trying to buy ventilators. You know, whether it should or shouldn’t, that is where we are right now. Let me come back, if I can though, and I want to compliment Governor Inslee. I think we’re watching his success, some of the things that he’s done there. But I would point out that, even in the stay-at-home order that’s one of the most stringent, as he points out in Washington state, you can still go buy your marijuana. And that’s why it’s important that we add to that social distancing and the masks that we’re advocating if you can’t social distance. And that’s why every state, whether we’re procuring or whether we are determining what’s best in our state to reduce the spread, we have to be able to have some flexibility making those decisions. And that’s what we’re seeing. We’re learning from each other.

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