U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler took part in a remote debate today focused on the response to COVID-19.
U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler is seeking more federal support of smaller cities as part of nationwide COVID-19 relief, speaking for better funding mechanisms for those municipalities as part of the House’s “Problem Solvers Caucus.”
Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground, was one of 24 members of the House who took part in proceedings hosted by teleconference May 7 to debate what subsequent relief packages should look like. Presided over by Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minnesota, a dozen Republicans and a dozen Democrats made their cases for how follow-ups to March’s CARES Act should be designed.
Among points from representatives focused on careful determination of where funds were headed in relief packages, Herrera Beutler argued that those outside of big cities should be able to have better access to potentially billions of future funding in subsequent aid packages following the $2 trillion CARES act approved by Congress.
Herrera Beutler mentioned that only local governments with populations greater than 500,000 could directly apply for funds from a $150 billion Coronavirus Relief Fund that was a part of the act.
“Meanwhile, medium and small cities were thrown into a big pool — and I might add, it feels like under the bus — forced to compete for too few federal dollars,” Herrera Beutler remarked. She said any future relief package should be more responsive to smaller local governments for their recovery efforts.
Herrera Beutler said she had discussions with Vancouver Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle who said the city took at least a 41-percent revenue hit. Though the biggest city in her constituency, Vancouver’s population was estimated at about 185,000 as of the latest published count by the state Office of Financial Management.
“We’re at a critical point in our nation’s history,” Herrera Beutler remarked. “By helping cities and counties that provide citizens with the most essential services, we’ll be taking vital steps to return to whatever our new normal is as quickly as possible.”
Outside of local government support, Herrera Beutler also noted the CARES Act’s support of businesses, which included $350 billion in small business loans designed to prevent layoffs. She said that aid wasn’t given due to any mismanagement, “but they (businesses) were shut down by the government through absolutely no fault of their own.”
“The government, in effect, took something from them — their ability to earn revenue,” Herrera Beutler remarked. “They did it in the name of public good, but that’s the reality.”
Initially founded in 2017 and co-chaired by New York Republican Rep. Tom Reed and Democratic New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer, the Problem Solvers Caucus aims “to create a durable bloc that champions ideas that appeal to a broad spectrum of the American people,“ according to the caucus’ website.
