Shorraw signs letter sent to Congress for COVID-19 aid

By KRISTIE LINDEN

klinden@yourmvi.com

The mayor of Monessen joined with nearly 300 other mayors across the country and signed a letter sent to Congress that seeks coronavirus relief.

Matt Shorraw and Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto represented Western Pennsylvania in signing the letter. They were joined by mayors in Scranton, Philadelphia, Easton and Bethlehem on the eastern side of the state.

The letter was sent on behalf of the United States Conference of Mayors, urging Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy to take immediate action on comprehensive coronavirus relief legislation that would provide direct fiscal assistance to all cities.

“We all know first hand that our communities have been struggling — even before the pandemic,” Shorraw said. “The pandemic and the economic crisis that was caused by it have only highlighted and exacerbated the issues our communities are and have been facing.”

The letter states President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan includes a strategy to contain the virus, increased access to vaccines and a foundation for recovery.

“American cities and our essential workers have been serving at the frontlines of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic for nearly a year,” the letter states. “We have been charged with executing herculean public health efforts and an unprecedented emergency response. Despite immense fiscal pressure, your local government partners oversaw those efforts, while trying to maintain essential services and increase our internal capacity to provide support for residents and businesses who have been crippled by a tanking economy.”

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