Yellen promises that local aid will be distributed quickly after the stimulus is approved

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen promised on Tuesday that the money for state and local government aid in the new stimulus project will come out the door as soon as possible.

With the House’s imminent approval of the $ 1.9 trillion spending plan, Yellen said that channeling the $ 350 billion intended to offset reductions in revenue will be a priority.

“The rescue plan will finance a massive immunization campaign. It will ensure that people can keep a roof over their heads and that unemployment insurance checks still arrive in the mail,” she said at a virtual conference of the National League of Cities. “In the coming days, our Treasury team will work to get this aid out as quickly as possible – and one that has the greatest impact.”

Government aid was one of the main weaknesses in approving President Joe Biden’s stimulus plan in Congress. The measure did not receive Republican support in the Senate and is likely to have the same fate in the House.

Republican Party members say the allocation is a bailout for poorly managed states and municipalities, while Democrats say it is an important part to see through the recovery.

“If we do our job, I’m confident that Americans will get to the other side of this pandemic – and will be rewarded with some measure of prosperity. At the end of the year, I hope your city’s economy will look much more like 2019 than it does. 2020, “said Yellen.

Along with state and local aid, the project also provides another $ 1,400 cash injection for individuals and appropriates funds for the health care battle against Covid-19 and a number of other measures not directly related to the pandemic. .

Yellen said the spending package “is not just to fight fires and resolve crises, but to build a better country”.

“This law will help us to overcome the immediate crisis; clean up the chaos that is before our eyes and, eventually, we will raise our eyes to the future ”, she added.