Skip to content

Keweenaw Report: Senator Gary Peters touts new stimulus bill

With the passage of the American Rescue Plan Act, federal lawmakers are working to inform Michiganders about how the bill will help them. United States Senator Gary Peters spoke to Keweenaw Report Thursday morning, tucked into a ten-minute window in a hectic media blitz, before he was off to the next interview. Peters stresses that the bill is a continuation of work that was done last year. It has components to help alleviate difficulties on the healthcare and economic fronts.

Peters highlighted the new round of direct stimulus checks, totaling $1,400 per person. An extension for enhanced unemployment benefits is also included. Businesses will continue to get aid, including the hard-hit dining sector.

We want to make sure those restaurants survive. They are important in our community. They’re also important employers. So many folks in Michigan work in the restaurant industry, the hospitality industry, we want to make sure these businesses can get through to the other side of the pandemic.

Peters says that when you factor in disbursements to local and state governments and funds that will help boost vaccine production and the procurement of personal protective equipment for use in schools, it is a comprehensive bill. He does not foresee the need for another one as the economy is expected to progressively reopen throughout the summer.