Texas city protects itself from feds, refuses relief funds: ‘There are strings attached. We don’t want it’

The city of Brady, TX has declined the receipt of $1.3M dollars in relief funds as their share of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). By a unanimous 5-0 vote on Oct. 19th, the Brady City Council elected to send back its nearly $657,000 in federal coronavirus aid, agreeing also to decline their 2022 disbursement as well.

At the root of the decision to return the federal funds is a condition in the U.S. Treasury’s contract associated with accepting the money.

The list of stipulations in the bill is far-reaching; at times specific, but also conveniently vague enough for the federal government to potentially redefine what they encompass as they see fit.

The provision in question states:

“Recipient also agrees to comply with all other applicable federal statutes, regulations, and executive orders, and Recipient shall provide for such compliance by other parties in any agreements it enters into with other parties relating to this award.”

A concerned citizen named Sheila Hemphill expressed to the city council that “all other applicable” directives could encompass things like vaccine mandates, contract tracing programs, and anything else the federal government issues. Upon agreement to the contract, Hemphill stated in an interview with The Texan, all city employees would then be treated as “contract workers” in the eyes of the federal government and thus beholden to them and bound by any such employment directives.

“This is 100% about control. Control that we do not want. There are strings attached. We dont want it,” said Hemphill, according to the unofficial minutes of the Oct. 19th meeting.

On October 15th, Attorney General Ken Paxton sent a letter to state agencies addressing similar concerns he had about executive orders and federal overreach.

“My position is this,” the letter reads, “the Texas Attorney General has a constitutional and statutory responsibility to uphold state law.”

It continues, “This obligation does not diminish in the face of federal overreach. On the contrary, my office is charged with a duty to vindicate Texas’ laws and interests when the federal government intrudes on the sovereignty of our State or the liberties of the millions of people who call Texas home.”

“Accordingly, I must — and will — take legal action against the federal government to protect Texas state agencies and their employees from COVID-19 vaccination mandates.”

No suit has been filed as of yet, but Paxton signed onto a letter along with 23 other state attorneys general who threatened legal action against the Biden regime and its repeated power-grabbing machinations.

The city of Brady is now one of 65 municipalities in Texas with under 50,000 in population to decline the funding, according to the Texas Department of Emergency Management.

According to the minutes provided by the City of Brady, Councilwoman Jane Huffman led the way in opposing the federal handout, saying, “We live here in Brady because we want to be left alone. We want to control what happens in our community.”

She noted that the funds realistically amount to only $500 per household, adding that she was “not ready to sell the soul of this community for $500.”

The same treasury contract applies nationwide to any state or local government that accepts the oleaginous monies from the Biden regime.

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Frank Webster

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