HARRISBURG, Pa. — For nearly a month, Republican lawmakers have been pushing for the redistribution of personal protective equipment also known as PPE to other locations in the Commonwealth.
Republican lawmakers' reasoning is to allow the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex to reopen for events.
Rep. Dan Moul of the 91st Legislative District in Adams County says the complex's closure causes the state to miss out on funding.
"Whenever anybody buys anything in there, the state collects 6% sales tax on that, so the state is missing a huge amount of revenue that that building can create," said Rep. Moul.
Rep. Moul and two other Republican lawmakers were scheduled to take a tour inside the complex. To do this, however, they would have to sign a non-disclosure agreement in which they declined to do.
Rep. Moul says they wanted to visit the complex to see how they can help in fostering a rapid action for distribution.
"Just how much is it," he said, "how hard is it going to be to find an alternate space for it, and can we get it moved so we can get back to planning events."
The Department of General Services provided a statement to FOX43 in reaction to the lawmaker's claims saying:
"Those members should focus on prioritizing public health and safety as we continue to navigate this pandemic."
The department stressed their priority right now is distributing the equipment to sectors that need it during this time.
"Most recently, the commonwealth’s strategic assets have managed the receipt and redistribution of several million masks for the educational sector, and PPE is currently being shipped out as needed to support vaccination sites across the state."
Rep. Moul says he understands the department's response but also would like a push for normalcy.
"That building needs to be utilized for what its intended purposes was, said Rep. Moul, "As long as that PPE is there, we're not able to get on with life, so to speak, in the farm show building."