BLACKSBURG, Va. – Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner have been vocal about the need for a new COVID-19 relief bill before the holidays. If that will happen remains unknown.
Dr. Karen Hult, professor of Public and International Affairs at Virginia Tech, says she is more confident that one may be passed, but the particulars are still unknown.
Recent bipartisan compromise may be the key to finally getting it passed, Hult says.
“That’s a somewhat smaller bill than what we had in the Spring, and certainly smaller in magnitude than what the U.S. House passed with the HEROES Act in May,” said Dr. Hult. “However, from the republican side in the Senate especially, there is still concern that it costs a little too much money and that it provides money to state and local governments, which not all republicans support.”
However, Dr. Hult does anticipate some money for state and local governments, as well as for federal unemployment benefits, small businesses and first responders.