Neguse touts passage of COVID bill with $15 million-plus for local towns, Eagle County

U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, whose district includes Vail and part of Eagle County, issued the following press release on the passage of a COVID relief bill early Saturday morning:

Washington, D.C. — Early this morning, Congressman Joe Neguse helped usher the American Rescue Plan through the U.S. House of Representatives. The package would provide robust COVID-19 relief for struggling Americans through direct cash assistance, funds to ramp up vaccinations nationwide and help reopen schools and support for the most hard-hit small businesses. 

“As the pandemic continues to take lives and hurt Coloradans’ livelihoods, providing robust economic relief is our number one priority,” said Congressman Joe Neguse. “The American Rescue Plan will help us crush the virus, return children safely to the classroom, get vaccines to the people, put dollars into families’ pockets and put people back to work. The plan will mount a national vaccination program that includes setting up community vaccination sites nationwide.  It will deliver immediate relief to working families bearing the brunt of the crisis through $1400 checks for Americans, direct housing and nutrition assistance and it will provide crucial support for the hardest-hit small businesses through EIDL grants, expanded Payroll Protection Program eligibility and more. When America is hurting, we cannot turn our backs. This plan will address both the public health and economic needs produced by this crisis and ensure we are answering the many devastating impacts our communities have witnessed over the last year — feeding hungry kids and families, supporting workers who have been laid off and businesses who are struggling and providing the necessary infrastructure to get Americans vaccinated and our economy reopened as quickly as is safe.”

The bill would provide long-overdue relief for state and local governments, a provision Congressman Neguse has been advocating for since last April. Local governments in the 2nd Congressional District would receive the following approximate funds under the bill: 

• Boulder County: $63 million,
  • City of Boulder: $21 million
  • Jamestown: $53,438
  • Lafayette: $6.5 million
  • Nederland: $329,000
• Broomfield County: $14 million
  • City of Broomfield: $7 million
• Clear Creek County: $2 million
  • Central City: $165,251
  • Idaho Springs: $383,297
• Eagle County: $11 million
  • Avon: $1,397,340
  • Town of Eagle: $1,499,281
  • Minturn: $245,731
  • Vail: $1.1 million
• Gilpin County: $1 million
  • Black Hawk: $27,470
• Grand County: $3 million
  • Fraser: $284,576
  • Granby: $459,055
  • Grand Lake: $108,594
• Jefferson County: $113 million
• Larimer County: $69 million
  • Fort Collins: $28 million
  • Loveland: $10 million
  • Berthoud: $1.9 million
  • Estes Park: $1.3 million
• Park County: $4 million
• Summit County: $6 million
  • Breckenridge: $1 million
  • Dillon: $207,530
  • Georgetown: $238,649
  • Silverthorne: $1,051,170
  • Telluride $532,024
• Colorado: $5.927 billion

For a full list of projected funds for Colorado cities and counties see here. 

The American Rescue Plan will: 

• Provide direct payments to working families & expand the child tax credit;
• Initiate aggressive action to speed up COVID-19 vaccinations and contain the virus, including $20 billion to establish a national COVID-19 vaccination program and scale up COVID-19 testing, contract tracing, and mitigation, in order to stop the spread of the virus;  
• Provide the resources needed to allow schools to safely re-open;
  • Nearly $130 billion to help K-12 schools re-open safely, $40 billion for institutions of higher education and $7.6 billion to expand internet connectivity to students and communities; 
• Provide immediate economic relief for Americans hit hardest by:

o    Expanding unemployment benefits, extending and increasing the Federal Supplemental Unemployment Benefit; and extending the Critical Pandemic UI Programs, 

o    Expanding health coverage and lowering Americans’ health care costs; 

o    Providing $26 billion for emergency rental assistance; 

o    Providing $10 billion to help homeowners struggling to afford their housing due to the pandemic; 

o    Supporting solutions for Americans experiencing homelessness; 

o    Make key investments in food security, by expanding SNAP and WIC; 

o    Ensuring accessible and affordable child care and early learning for families; 

• Provide support for struggling communities; 
  • Supporting small businesses through increased Paycheck Protection Program Funding, EIDL Grants, and creating a Restaurant Revitalization Fund,
  • Providing support for first responders and essential workers, 
  • Improving worker safety and workers’ compensation coverage, 
  • And supporting veterans and servicemembers.