Congresswoman-elect Ashley Hinson was pressed for her thoughts on the COVID-19 relief package that passed through Congress and was signed by President Donald J. Trump during her weekly press call.
Hinson said she was glad they finally came to an agreement and extend important elements of the agreement like unemployment benefits and direct payments to “those who are suffering.”
I’ve been supportive of that,” she said. “I think $600 is a start, although for some families that’s not enough right now. I know there are families that need it, but I also had someone message me — they wanted to send theirs back. So I think there is a way that maybe we could better target some of that, to narrowly focus relief going forward, maybe even tailor it further.”
As for the $2,000 payments, Hinson said she will continue to listen to Iowans about what they need and take that feedback with her to Congress, nothing she had not read the bill going through the process right now.
“As you know, things change very quickly,” she said. “But, I said the $600 payment is a good start and we can go from there.”
Ultimately, Hinson said the length of time it took for Congress to come together and agree on a package is “unacceptable.”
“I think the real issue here is the fact that it took months and months to even start negotiating,” Hinson said. “They pushed it clearly to the last minute, which is very frustrating.”
