The work we're doing in Congress is already making a difference in our community. Last week, we passed our latest COVID-19 relief package, including an additional $360 billion in small business assistance, $75 billion for hospitals and health care workers and $25 billion more for testing.
This built on three previous bills, including the $2 trillion CARES Act. I had three goals in mind for each relief package: to protect the health and safety of our community, provide support for working families and ensure our economy can weather this storm.
Here's a quick breakdown how these dollars are working for Arizonans:
- Hospitals and health care providers: $707 million to more than 6,000 hospitals and health care providers across the state. These are dollars that will go directly towards purchasing medical supplies and equipment, including personal protective equipment and testing supplies, emergency operations centers and more to fight COVID-19.
- Community health centers: $5.88 million to community health centers in our district to help meet the health care needs of our most vulnerable populations.
- State, local and tribal health needs: $12.4 million through the Public Health Emergency Preparedness program to fund laboratory testing and infection control.
- Public safety and law enforcement officers: $19.3 million through Byrne-JAG Grants to support overtime for officers and for personal protective equipment and other needed medical items.
- K-12 education: $277 million in funds to support continued learning and ensure student and teacher safety.
- Colleges and universities: $443 million in emergency funding for colleges and universities across the state, including $63.5 million for Arizona State University, to assist students, cover expenses for technology and hardware to deliver online courses and to continue to take public health prevention measures on campuses.
- Child care and early development: $87.3 million to support child care and early education through the Child Care and Development Block Grant. These dollars will be critical to working parents left without adequate child care solutions during prolonged school closures.
- Utility assistance for low-income families: $6.4 million to help low-income families pay their energy and air conditioning bills through the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).
- Help for families facing eviction or homelessness: $33.5 million in HUD Emergency Solution Grants to help individuals and families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness or facing eviction.
- Airports: $224 million for Arizona’s airports, including more than $147 million to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and $20 million to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport to ensure they can keep workers on payroll and continue airport operations.
- Transit Agencies: $311.9 million for our local transit agencies to help fund the paychecks of transit agency employees, provide personal protective equipment and maintain critical transportation services during this pandemic.
As Congress gets to work on our fourth COVID-19 emergency relief package, I’ll continue to put Arizona first. But we’re in this together and I want to hear from you: What more would you like to see from my office? Take my survey.