LOUISVILLE, Ky. — More federal help is in the works, but it may not be exactly what mayors like Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer are hoping for.
Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was at Norton Brownsboro thanking healthcare workers and touting the CARES Act. Norton officials thanked the Majority Leader for a $43M dose of financial medicine when they needed it most. That CARES Act funding, they said, helped them keep everyone employed even as they awaited permission from Governor Andy Beshear to resume elective surgeries.
Leader McConnell thanked those on the front-lines and talked about balancing getting life back to normal.
“I want to encourage everyone in Kentucky, now that things are beginning to open up, be brave enough, go out. Be smart enough to go out safely by wearing a mask and practicing social distancing. And if you're in a certain age group, and have certain pre existing conditions, maybe you ought not to be going out," said Senator McConnell.
This was the Republican leader’s first in-person news conference in Louisville since early March when COVID-19 concerns began.
“So, it's good to get out of the house," Sen. McConnell joked. "And it's good to get out of Washington.”
In describing an unusual time in DC, where Congress pivoted from partisan impeachment to bi-partisan passage of that aid package, he admitted mistakes were made like the unemployment bonus he says is hurting small businesses.
“By paying people more not to work than to work, we encourage them not to work," he said. “I’m still in favor of unemployment insurance, everybody is, and we want to extend that if we need to. What I thought was a mistake was the bonus we added that small businesses all across the country are saying make it more lucrative not to work than to work. That’s the exact opposite of what we want to do.”
The next spending plan, he said will tackle mistakes and include crisis liability protection for healthcare, small businesses and universities.
“It will be very carefully crafted and it will not be a $3T left wing wish list like the House cobbled together the other day that even the New York Times has criticized," Mr. McConnell added.
The Senate Majority Leader made it clear that any money to cities and counties will not be to bail them out of problems from before the coronavirus. Mayors such as Louisville’s Greg Fischer have been asking the public to contact federal officials, including Leader Mitch McConnell, asking for funds to keep municipalities afloat as they struggle in the uncertain coronavirus economy.
►Contact reporter Chris Williams at cwilliams@whas11.com. Follow him on Twitter (@chriswnews) and Facebook.