Hoeven Statement After Targeted COVID-19 Relief Package Blocked in The Senate

Senator John Hoeven today issued the following statement after Senate Democrats blocked consideration of a targeted COVID-19 relief package. As chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee, Hoeven worked to include $20 billion in direct funding to assist the nation's farmers and ranchers in the legislation. Additionally, the bill would have provided targeted relief for health care, education and economic needs. That includes support for COVID-19 testing and vaccines, up to a $300 federal unemployment boost, $105 billion in assistance for schools, support for the U.S Postal Service, and another round of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to help small businesses.

"This legislation provided relief in a targeted way to help to address the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic," said Hoeven. "It provided resources for health care needs including testing, to help our schools and teachers, and to support small businesses. We also worked to include $20 billion in funding for our farmers and ranchers. These are bipartisan priorities that we all agree need to be addressed. While we are disappointed that this targeted legislation was blocked from consideration, we will continue working to advance our priorities. That includes working with USDA to help our farmers and ranchers utilizing the $14 billion CCC replenishment we secured as part of the CARES Act."

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