Gov. Laura Kelly today asked the Congressional delegation from Kansas to continue to push for additional funding for state and local governments.
Direct aid to state and local governments to support critical services was not included in the $900 billion coronavirus relief bill that passed the Senate last night and the House earlier, the governor said at a 4 p.m. news conference Tuesday.
“Without that funding we risk having to make further budget cuts,” Gov. Kelly said.
She said she was grateful for the relief bill that passed, providing funding to individuals, small businesses, vaccine distribution, extension of unemployment benefits and extension of the amount of time to use the CARES Act funding. But states and municipal governments did not receive direct aid.
She encouraged the Congressional delegation to continue to push for additional funding for states and local governments to beat back the virus and shore up their economies.
Kansas delegation supported new COVID-19 relief legislation, to include $600 payments to individuals and $300 increases for unemployed
New relief is on the way for residents, small businesses and health care providers with the passage of the new coronavirus relief bill.
Voting in favor of the relief bill was U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, D-3rd Dist., U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, and U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kansas.
The stimulus bill was awaiting a signature from the President on Tuesday to become law.
The $900 billion bill was expected to provide $600 stimulus payments to individual Americans and $300 per week extra for unemployed workers. It also contained funding for small businesses, health care providers, schools and renters.
‘Much-needed relief for families, workers, small businesses and health care,’ Rep. Davids says
An omnibus spending bill also passed that would end surprise medical billing, and provide funds for flood prevention, according to Rep. Davids.
“For months, I have been pushing for congressional leaders to come together and reach a deal on a bipartisan coronavirus relief package – one that meets the scope of the crisis we’re facing and has the support needed to actually become law. Today, I was glad to vote for a package that, while far from perfect, will provide much-needed relief to our families, workers, small businesses and health care system in the face of immense hardship and uncertainty,” Rep. Davids said in a news release.
“As is the case with any compromise, this package did not include every measure I’d hoped for and championed. Most notably it lacked funding for state and local governments to avoid devastating cuts to our public schools, roads, fire and police departments, public health agencies and other services that we depend on. I’ll continue to fight for state and local funding in the upcoming Congress as well as strong oversight and transparency measures for the distribution of relief funds. I’m optimistic that with a new Administration we can finally deliver the assistance our communities need,” Rep. Davids stated in the news release.
The bipartisan Water Resources Development Act, which Rep. Davids has long supported, strengthens vital water infrastructure and implements a proactive approach to flood management that will help protect Kansas communities from the dangers of flooding, according to Rep. Davids.
‘A better future for every Kansan,’ Sen. Roberts says
U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, voted to support the $1.4 trillion omnibus spending bill, including the $900 billion for COVID-19 relief.
“We must continue to strive for better days. Ad astra per aspera,” Sen. Roberts said in a news release. “This legislation helps to ensure a better future for every Kansan, their neighbors, local businesses, schools, and the economy – while also providing direct, targeted relief to Kansans’ pocketbooks.”
Besides the provisions for individual payments of $600 and an unemployment boost of $300, mentioned above, the bill also includes:
• A second round of the Paycheck Protection Program to continue to support the employees of small businesses.
• $20 billion for buying vaccines, $8 billion for distributing vaccines, and $20 billion to states for testing.
• $82 billion in funding to help schools and colleges open safely and responsibly, as well as additional student loan relief.
• Investments in hospitals, community health centers, and telehealth so Kansans can get the care when and how they need it.
• Resources to improve testing, tracing, and treatment.
• Approximately $26 billion for agriculture and nutrition programs.
• Roberts’ bipartisan legislation, S. 2695, the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) Act of 2019. This bill directs NBAF to protect the food supply, agriculture, and public health of the United States by carrying out relevant objectives of the Homeland Security Presidential Directive 9 and the National Biodefense Strategy. The bill also outlines the national security mission of the facility and the duties of the agencies responsible for implementing that mission, including research, training, and coordination efforts related to animal health, veterinary countermeasure development, emerging foreign animal disease threats, and threat detection.
• Roberts’ Lifetime Learning Credit Enhancement Act, which will simplify the tax code and make it easier for everyone, especially lower income families, to afford their education.
Sen. Moran: Bill provides necessary resources
U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, voted for the COVID-19 relief bill, also.
“Last week marked the beginning of our return to normal with the distribution of the first COVID-19 vaccines in Kansas and across the country,” Sen. Moran said in a news release. “This was a historic moment as we work to end this pandemic, and today we are providing additional targeted relief to support front-line workers, schools and hospitals. This targeted relief package also includes additional funding for the successful Paycheck Protection Program, which will help keep small businesses open and employees on the payroll, and a second round of aid to families during the holiday season.
“This targeted relief package should have been completed months ago, but ultimately I’m pleased that many of my priorities were included and that it provides necessary resources to continue manufacturing and distributing the vaccines to our communities.”
Sen. Moran’s priorities included in the targeted COVID-19 relief package:
• Increase flexibility for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to help those that have fallen through the cracks.
• Simplify and improve PPP loan forgiveness, including a solution to the conflicting treatment of EIDL advanced payments and the unnecessary subtraction from PPP forgiveness.
• Ensure qualified business expenses paid for by PPP loans are tax deductible.
• Provide direct, set-aside support for live event venues.
• Extend the deadline for expenditures from the Coronavirus Relief Fund, allowing states and local governments to strategically target areas of need over a longer period of time.
• Create additional flexibilities for rural hospitals, including removing restrictions on mental health visits provided via telehealth.
• Provide additional funding for testing, contract tracing and development and supplies resources for the Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) to monitor the distribution and administration of the COVID-19 vaccine.
• Provide relief for farmers and ranchers, including cattle producers affected by CFAP sales date.
• Establish grant program for small packers to upgrade facilities to become federally inspected and be able to sell across state lines.
• Allow state departments of agriculture to supplement ongoing farm stress initiatives.
• Include funding for commodity purchases for food banks.
• Provide support for Amtrak and other critical transportation industries hit particularly hard during this pandemic.
• Provide support to federal broadband deployment efforts, including dedicated funding to rural broadband connectivity, telehealth grants, improvements to broadband availability maps to ensure taxpayer dollars are directed to unserved communities, and the removal and replacement of equipment from foreign entities that pose national security risks to U.S. networks and consumers.