Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler talks about medical marijuana with veterans during a public meeting last year at the Veterans Memorial Museum.
Following the passage of a $2 trillion coronavirus relief package in the House of Representatives Friday — and the subsequent approval of President Donald Trump — 3rd Congressional District Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler praised the package and outlined some of what it includes for residents of Southwest Washington.
Following approval of the package, known as the CARES Act, Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground, released a statement speaking about the importance of the legislation, which features a number of forms of financial relief for individuals, businesses and health care providers.
“There is not a single person who’s avoided the impact of this global health crisis, and countless Southwest Washington residents are being impacted severely,” Herrera Beutler said. She pointed to a few of the appropriations, which included $350 billion in loans to small businesses to prevent layoffs, $100 billion to hospitals and healthcare providers for supplies, and tax rebate checks of $1,200 for individuals, $2,400 for married couples and $500 for each child.
The CARES Act also extended unemployment benefits for four months and expanded eligibility to self-employed workers and contractors.
Herrera Beutler said she supported the package “because it will rush economic relief directly to those Southwest Washington residents who need it,” adding the legislation ensured large companies would use the assistance to keep people employed, not simply boosting stock value and executive pay.
“America has always stood strong in the face of adversity and I believe we will do what it takes to emerge from this crisis,” Herrera Beutler remarked.
Prior to the vote Herrera Beutler was stalled by some of the effects of response to coronavirus. In a Facebook post the congresswoman said a flight she had scheduled from Seattle to Washington, D.C., had been canceled, showing one of those impacts
In a subsequent post Herrera Beutler expressed relief that “cooler heads prevailed” and the House passed the legislation by unanimous consent.
