Bob Hughes, president of the Missouri Foundation for Health, also did not respond to a request for comment about the funding switch.
Moreland said all state agencies participate in forums coordinated by the company to hear new information, analysis and updates on ongoing actions.
“The McChrystal Group makes no policies — only provides the structure and management to allow decision-makers to determine policies. The McChrystal Group does not generate data — the group helps pull together Missouri-based data and information to share with analysts and policy-makers,” Moreland said.
Parson’s opponent in the November election, Democratic Auditor Nicole Galloway, slammed the spending.
“Today, all we have to show for it is rising infections, delayed school reopenings, a positivity rate over 10% and a spot on the White House Coronavirus Task Force’s ‘Red Zone,’” Galloway said.
Missouri has spent over $1.5 billion of the more than $2 billion it has received as part of the federal aid to battle COVID-19.
While much of the money has gone to counties to help local governments combat the pandemic, the state has doled out the aid for everything from meals and lodging for emergency workers to hand sanitizer and masks.
Among the more recent purchases was a $418,000 lease for a warehouse in Jefferson City to store 11,000 pallets of personal protective equipment. The lease will run for a year.
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