(R) Congressman Garret Graves - District 6
Congressman Garret Graves feels we could have an agreement in place on a COVID relief bill in Washington sometime next week.
The price tag is reportedly around 900 billion dollars. Graves said much of that is another round of the Payroll Protection Program and funding for COVID response and vaccine distribution.
“There is pretty broad support for things like additional testing funding, funding for schools, some type of targeted stimulus payments to individuals,” said Graves.
An initial bipartisan relief proposal did not include any stimulus checks, but the White House has stepped in requesting at least 600 dollar direct payments. Graves said it’s one of the four biggest issues left.
“There are certainly a lot of folks that are pushing for direct payments to individuals and families that are most in need but there are certainly conversations about whether that is a better approach or if some type of unemployment is a better approach,” said Graves.
Under the Trump Administration proposal, the checks would be in lieu of restarting federally boosted unemployment payments.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said a deal can’t be done without another round of aid to state governments, but Graves said current proposals are too weighted towards big states.
“We are looking at ways to try and find other programs that can provide a better return on investment for Louisiana and address some of the specific needs the state has,” said Graves.
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