HEALTH FREEDOME COALITION: Public Comment Requested as Louisiana's Select Committee on Homeland Security Convenes to Review the State's Response to COVID-19

Next week begins the first in a series of legislative hearings to review Louisiana’s response to COVID-19. Following the passage of State Representative Chuck Owen’s HR133, a resolution requesting the hearings, the House Select Committee on Homeland Security will convene on September 25 and 26 with discussions focused on the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) and the state’s medical licensing boards. The agendas for Wednesday, September 25th and Thursday, September 26th include testimony from the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP), the Louisiana Department of Health, the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners, the Louisiana State Board of Nursing, the Louisiana Hospital Association, and the Louisiana Nursing Home Association.

The government’s response to covid was an attack on our civil liberties which subsequently threatened the health, economy, and security of our state. As such, the House Select Committe on Homeland Security has been assigned the task of evaluating the state’s response to covid and offering effective policy changes so that public health is never again used as a means of undermining our state’s security. Chairman Jay Gallé and Vice Chair Chuck Owen along with Representatives Beryl Amedée, Josh Carlson, Raymond Crews, Kathy Edmonston, Peter Egan, Brett Geymann, Danny McCormick, and Phillip Tarver have been entrusted to ask tough questions to ensure that harmful policies are addressed. Many of these legislators fought covid overeach for years while others stepped into public office because of the government’s response to covid.

These hearings are an opportunity to examine all aspects of covid policies implemented by LDH in regard to public health including isolating loved ones in long-term care, social distancing, universal masking recommendations, and vaccine mandates.

The public, including healthcare workers and those affected by policies implemented in healthcare settings like hospitals and long-term care facilities, are invited to comment publicly or submit written testimony.

Future hearings will review covid policies in education and executive orders from the governor’s office.

Statements may be filed with the House Select Committee on Homeland Security via e-mail at hschs@legis.la.gov.