In the News
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — State and cities around the country have lost massive amounts of tax revenue that will impact everything from school to police and fire budgets.
Lawmakers in Congress are using virtual meetings and phone calls to debate whether to give more help to states. In a virtual debate, Democrats and Republicans on the House Problem Solvers Caucus seemed to be in agreement: city and state governments need more federal help.
The bipartisan House Problem Solvers Caucus held a "virtual Congress," in which members participated in an unofficial floor debate via video conference. Members debated the next coronavirus relief bill, which they largely agreed should include assistance for state and local governments impacted by rising expenditures and falling revenues due to the pandemic. The "virtual Congress" also served as an experiment for how House members could debate legislation while maintaining social distancing.
Help for cities
As Congress eyes a fourth relief bill, Nevada lawmakers are making the case to address the needs of the state, which was hard hit by the closure of casinos, hotels, entertainment venues and other businesses.
The National Governors Association, a group of bipartisan officeholders, is seeking $500 billion to help offset costs and the loss of revenue due to coronavirus. Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak, a Democrat, as well as Republican Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland, chairman of national governor's group, support the request.
A new federal coronavirus relief law aims to provide protections for student military veterans.
President Donald Trump signed the Student Veteran Coronavirus Response Act of 2020 into law late Tuesday.
Rep. Susie Lee, D-Nev., was one of the cosponsors of the bill, which allows the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to pay student veterans who have work-study jobs at college and university campuses canceled by the COVID-19 outbreak. Provisions also include ensuring student veterans receive a housing allowance if their school has shut down.
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Congressional leaders from the state of Nevada joined 8 News Now to answer your questions on air and online. Congresswoman Dina Titus, Congresswoman Susie Lee and Congressman Steven Horsford all answered questions about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in this special broadcast.
The representatives joined leadership from Urban, Latin and Asian chambers of commerce Monday through Facebook live to discuss issues faced by small businesses during the shutdown and to emphasize the steps needed to be taken prior to them reopening.
"We are determined to fight to open up our economy in a science-based, safe manner," Lee said. "That means we need to focus on testing and making sure that testing becomes more and more widespread. We're nowhere close. We are one-fifth of where we need to be in terms of providing testing."
They call themselves the House Problem Solvers Caucus and they've met every day by teleconference since the coronavirus shut down Congress.
The bipartisan group offered a plan to get the country moving again based on widespread testing for the virus and rebuilding the healthcare system.
WASHINGTON — Frustrated with the uneven federal response to the coronavirus outbreak, Nevada lawmakers stepped up their complaints Friday for relief funds and medical supplies to rural hospitals battling the disease.
Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., said rural hospitals treat a higher percentage of patients with Medicare and Medicaid coverage, a fact the Department of Health and Human Resources should take into account as it doles out relief funding to fight the virus.
She signed onto a bill that would create a federal formula that would guarantee funding from relief legislation.
Local seniors may be gone from the Senior Center of Boulder City, but they are certainly not forgotten.
Since March 17, when the facility closed to the public, staff has been working behind the scenes to provide meals, regular wellness checks and surprises to its patrons.
Victoria Mason, executive director, said the number of meals they are delivering each weekday through the Meals on Wheels program has jumped since the service began including "congregate" participants, those who would traditionally dine at the center.
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — U.S. Congresswoman Susie Lee sent a letter on Apr. 7 to U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Jovita Carranza and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin regarding SBA's newly enacted Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), requesting it also include gaming small businesses.
This program was enacted to provide relief to small businesses to allow them to keep employees on payroll while non-essential businesses remain closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Congresswoman says they failed to include gaming small businesses.