LEXINGTON, Ky.: U.S. Senate Republican chief Mitch McConnell downplayed a brand new infusion of federal reduction for his residence state’s authorities, questioning the necessity Monday because the financial system appears to be like to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic.
During a cease in Lexington, Kentucky, McConnell touted federal pandemic help handed by Congress final yr with bipartisan assist when the GOP held the Senate and White House. The Kentucky senator was dismissive of the newest spherical of federal reduction championed by Democratic President Joe Biden that handed not too long ago over united opposition from congressional Republicans. State authorities in Kentucky is anticipated to finally obtain greater than $2.4 billion from the latest federal package deal.
What we did final yr was a giant bonus for Kentucky on high of what it wanted, McConnell mentioned. “This is an even bigger bonus. Im sure theyll love to have it. But I dont see that they needed it.
Kentucky’s tax collections have been strong despite the battering businesses took last year during the pandemic. Kentucky’s highest monthly unemployment rate since the pandemic hit was 16.9% in April 2020. The state’s most recent jobless figure was the 5.2% preliminary rate in February up 1% from February 2020, the last month before COVID-19 cases were reported in Kentucky.
The Republican-led Kentucky legislature allocated more than $1 billion of the new federal money on several big-ticket items before ending this year’s session last week. Those items included school construction, water and sewer projects, broadband expansion and repayment of a federal loan that kept the states unemployment insurance program afloat.
Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear has praised it as a good start to help create jobs and better position Kentucky for the post-pandemic economy. The spending decisions reflected several shared priorities between Beshear and Republican statehouse lawmakers, who feuded throughout the session as the legislature watered down his executive authority.
McConnell didn’t weigh in Monday on how the state is using the latest federal assistance.
Those are decisions made here at the state level,” he mentioned. Once we ship the cash down, Im not going to second-guess how they spent it. Im positive theyre glad to have it, by the best way. And Im positive theyre trying ahead to having extra.
Besides allocating the federal cash, Kentucky lawmakers not too long ago pumped $140 million of state funds into supporting full-day kindergarten. Before these choices, they handed an roughly $12 billion state finances in late March that was principally a continuation of the 2020 spending plan.
McConnell on Monday ridiculed the Democratic-backed COVID-19 reduction package deal for escalating the federal finances deficit, saying: Enough is sufficient. Were threatening the way forward for our nation.
Were not the place we had been a yr in the past, he mentioned. “Were on the best way out of this now.
Federal deficits additionally soared throughout Republican Donald Trump’s presidency, due partly to spending on COVID-19 reduction measures and the prices of the 2017 tax cuts that Trump championed.
As he efficiently campaigned for reelection final yr, McConnell repeatedly touted the federal reduction that assisted well being care suppliers, small companies, schooling and different Kentucky sectors.
On Monday, after touring the University of Kentuckys mass vaccination clinic, McConnell promoted the tens of billions in federal cash spent on growth of COVID-19 vaccines.
The senator hailed the event of these vaccines as a contemporary medical miracle. McConnell, who has persistently referred to as for masks carrying to curb the virus’s unfold, continued to induce folks to take the COVID-19 vaccine.
If had been going to all actually be again to regular by this summer season, we nonetheless have a method to go right here in Kentucky and all throughout America to get these photographs in arms over the subsequent few months, he mentioned.
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