(Milford)– U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley made several stops in the region today (Tues.). Among them was an outdoor stop at Okoboji Physical Therapy in Milford where he was presented with an award for his work in passing federal legislation on behalf of physical therapists nationwide.
Among the topics the Senator addressed is the likelihood of a second round of CARES funding for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Grassley says the talks remain at a stalemate with the main stumbling block continuing to be over the rate that should be paid out to those who remain unemployed…
“If we can reach an agreement on that 300 dollars as opposed to 600 which is what Pelosi is still lobbying for, or the 200 we put in our original bill, and maybe solve the issue of more money if any money for state and local governments, we could have a CARES Act.”
Grassley says the $600 per person in unemployment benefits paid out in the first round was too much as far as he was concerned…
“When the government is an unfair competitor to the private employer by paying people more not to work than they would if they were working, it’s a real unfair competition for particularly small business.”
While talks between the two political parties remain deadlocked, Grassley says a group of Republican Senators is consulting on a regular basis on the matter…
“We in the Senate are trying to put together, working real hard atleast in the Republican caucus, to put together a bill that we can agree on and maybe we can pass and get to conference with the House.”
Grassley says a continuation of the payroll protection plan, or PPP, should also remain in any form of a secondary CARES Act along with assistance to schools and local governments.
