Lawmakers must continue to combat the global health and economic crisis, even though Congress extended its recess to May 4.
What further assistance can people hope for from the federal government? That's what we asked Sen. Michael Bennet on Colorado Matters today.
He said he would support additional cash assistance for individuals.
“It's taking us so long to set up the unemployment system across the country because we've got 50 different unemployment systems with 50 different systems of software, many of which are 50 years old. So it's critical for us to be able to keep people on their feet until we get the unemployment stuff set up,” Bennet said.
Republicans and Democrats in the Senate are at loggerheads over a GOP proposal for the next economic stimulus package. In general, Republicans want to pass a package with $250 billion for small businesses. Bennet, along with most Democrats, wants that package to also include additional money for state and local governments as well as hospitals.
Bennet said he believes the Senate will reach an agreement on the next stimulus measure “sooner, much better than later.”
Republicans say that assistance for small businesses must be the top priority because the Paycheck Protection Program could run out of funding for small business loans this week.
