Rep. Brett Guthrie anticipates pandemic financial help for state, local governments
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Thursday, April 30, 2020 — Congressman Brett Guthrie said that the next COVID-19 relief package approved by Congress will have funding to help state and local governments whose budgets and revenues have been hit hard by the shutdown of their economies by pandemic precautions.
He acknowledged the stories in the media that mentioned large corporations who qualified for large loans through the Paycheck Protection Program, he said the stories seldom focused on loans that went to help small local businesses. Many of those businesses have given back the loan monies they received.
With the first round of PPP, the average loan was $200,000, and more than 1.7 million loans were provided by the Small Business Administration through local banks.
The need for business relief quickly outstripped the available PPP program funding — approximately $350 billion — and the most recent CARES Act extension adds another $310 billion into the PPP program.
Guthrie said the PPP is working, and the average loan right now is about $100,000. The legislation recently approved by Congress also provided $75 billion for hospitals, many of which have been forced to lay off or furlough employees due to the shutdown of elective surgeries and diagnostic testing and treatment.
MORE TESTING NEEDED. He said he’s frustrated by the lack of testing in Kentucky so far, though he acknowledged that new testing sites are continuing to be added around the state. Adequate testing will be necessary as the state moves forward with plans to reopen Kentucky’s non-essential businesses that have been closed during the pandemic.
The federal government’s role should be to enable testing and provide resources , though the testing should have local control.
RELIEF ADDING SUBSTANTIAL DEBT. Guthrie said he understood the concerns of some members of Congress about the amount of money the government is spending on Coronavirus relief legislation.
“Its on my mind and I’m sure its on everyone’s mind in Congress,” he said.
The reality is that the federal government had to act to provide relief to Americans and American businesses who found themselves shut down and unemployed by the pandemic. The current level of borrowing hasn’t been seen since World War II, he acknowledged. Not taking action was not an option for the federal government, he said.
BROADBAND ACCESS. With Kentucky schools now dependent on Non-Traditional Instruction (NTI) to finish out the school year, Guthrie said he would support legislation that would encourage expansion of broadband into currently unserved rural areas.
The fact is that students who live in unserved rural areas do not have the equivalent educational experience as students who have dependable broadband internet. The issue doesn’t affect only rural areas, he said. Some areas on the outskirts of his hometown of Bowling Green do not have broadband access.
“If you don’t have broadband, you’re not learning as effectively,” he said.
SAFEGUARDING THERAPEUTICS ACT. Guthrie said legislation he co-sponsored with New York Democratic Congressman Eliot Engel would help U.S. Customs stop the importation of fake COVID-19 tests into the United States.
The Food and Drug Administration recently warned people to be wary of bogus COVID-19 tests.
Guthrie said the legislation would allow U.S. Customs to seize fake tests as well as fake medical devices imported from overseas for sale in the U.S.
He cautioned Kentuckians to be wary of COVID-19 testing that doesn’t come from approved medical providers.
LONG-TERM CARE VIRUS TESTING. Guthrie said that increased Coronavirus testing in the state’s nursing home should be a priority moving forward, for both the safety of workers and those who receive their care.
More testing is essential to contain the virus if it is found in a nursing home, he said. Protecting the most vulnerable population is essential to the state’s recovery
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