Mon Valley Senators support COVID relief

By TAYLOR BROWN

tbrown@yourmvi.com

Local Mon Valley senators have signed on to support legislation that could offer nearly $1 billion in relief to restaurants, schools, employers, tenants and landlords who have been hit hardest during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Carroll Township, Sen. Pat Stefano, R-Bullskin Township and Sen. Jim Brewster, D-McKeesport, all voted in support of Senate Bill 109, which would offer a comprehensive $912 million relief measure if passed by the House.

The bill allocates $569.8 million for rental and utility assistance, $197 million for educational programs that did not receive a cut of $2.2 billion in federal coronavirus aid that public schools and charter schools will receive under last month’s federal coronavirus recovery package, and $145 million to support a struggling hospitality industry as businesses and programs navigate ongoing closings and restrictions passed down by the state.

Most of the $912 million being directed by the bill is federal aid approved by Congress in last month’s coronavirus recovery package.

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