U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., on Friday dropped by the governor’s press conference for some air time.
As bills flew out of Statehouse committees ahead of the day’s crossover deadline, Sanders touted the $1.9 trillion federal American Rescue Plan at Gov. Phil Scott’s twice-weekly presser.
Sanders joined via video conference to explain how the newly enacted law would help kickstart the state’s economy. It’s expected to send $2.7 billion to Vermont, including $731 million in direct stimulus payments. Those who earn up to $75,000 may qualify for payments of $1,400.
The package also includes $293 million for Vermont’s K-12 school system, $152 million for rental assistance, $65 million for colleges and universities and $47 million for child care subsidies and support for childcare providers.
The City of Burlington would receive $19 million in aid, while other municipalities would get $57 million.
Sanders hailed the direct payments to Americans and the enhanced unemployment benefits.
“I have believed for a long time the most important thing we could do is just get cash into the hands of struggling families,” he said.
Sanders also said federal funding could be used to create after-school initiatives and summer school programs for Vermont kids so they could “regain some of what was lost during the school year.”
Scott, a Republican, gushed over the stimulus package and thanked Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, for his work in Congress. “This should be just the booster shot we need — a booster shot for the economy and for families in Vermont to get us to transition, again, to some sort of normalcy,” Scott said.
Sanders, who rarely appears at state press events, is also scheduled to hold a virtual town hall with Vermont college students on March 15 to discuss how young people are coping with the Covid-19 pandemic.
Last week, Sanders made headlines when he told his Senate colleagues they must pass the relief package to help young people start dating again.
“You’ve got young people who want to go to school, who want to socialize, want to date, want to do things that young people do,” Sanders said last week on the Senate floor. “And they can’t do it and have been unable to do that for the last year, and that has resulted in a very sharp increase in mental illness in this country.”
At least on Friday, Sanders and Scott seemed like a match made in heaven.
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The Link Lonk
March 14, 2021 at 10:00PM
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Final Reading: ‘A booster shot for the economy’ - vtdigger.org
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