December 22nd, 2020 by WCBC Radio

Governor Larry Hogan issued the following statement after Congress passed a COVID-19 relief package:

“After more than eight months of pushing to get this done, I am relieved that Congress has finally passed a COVID-19 relief bill to help struggling families and small businesses. This took much longer than it should have, and the delays were inexcusable.

“While it does not do enough, this bill delivers on a number of top Maryland priorities. It provides critical resources for vaccine distribution, rental assistance, and K-12 education, while extending unemployment insurance programs. For small businesses, the bill extends the Paycheck Protection Program, and makes sure that PPP expenses are tax deductible. Working closely with our regional partners, we were able to prevent massive cuts to WMATA.

“We are deeply disappointed that this package does not include support for state and local governments, which continues to be desperately needed as we battle COVID-19 on the front lines. But with so many people hurting right now, any kind of relief—even if it is only short-term—is certainly better than nothing.

“I want to thank the leaders of the Problem Solvers Caucus, No Labels, and the bipartisan group in the Senate who reached across the aisle to find common ground and craft this compromise. They’ve shown that real bipartisan leadership in Washington is still possible.

“More still needs to be done, including by Congress, to help our economy and our workforce. In Maryland, we have announced more than $600 million in emergency economic relief. And when the General Assembly returns to work for the 2021 session, we will be proposing a larger economic and stimulus relief package to provide further support to our struggling families and small businesses.”