Councilwoman Viagran Releases Statement On The Passage Of The American Rescue Plan Act

Press release from the City of San Antonio:

March 11, 2021

Councilwoman Viagran releases statement on the passage of the American Rescue Plan Act

CONTACT: Kristy Hernandez, 210.207.0969
Kristy.Hernandez@SanAntonio.Gov

SAN ANTONIO (March 11, 2021) — On Wednesday, The House of Representatives approved the final version of the $1.9 trillion COVID relief plan that includes $130 billion to State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, $65 billion to Cities and Counties and $10 billion to the Coronavirus Capitol Projects Fund. This Plan will also bring additional benefits to include $1,400 stimulus checks to people who are eligible; $7.25 billion in new money for the small-business loan program known as PPP; industry support for small businesses; and rental assistance for people experiencing homelessness. President Joe Biden signed the bill earlier today.

“Our community and our nation have suffered tremendously over the past year. We have lost over 500,000 lives nationwide due to Covid-19; millions of people have been out of work; more than 400,000 small businesses have closed and now we finally have some relief for our cities, towns, and villages. As a member of the Intergovernmental Relations Committee, I believe this package will meet the urgent needs our city and our country are facing and will safely bring people back to work and send our children back to school. I would like to thank our local delegation, Congressman Joaquin Castro (District 20), Congressman Henry Cuellar (District 28) and Congressman Lloyd Doggett (District 35), who voted to pass this important bill.

In collaboration with other organizations like, the National League of Cities (NLC), and our Federal consultants the City was able to advocate and demonstrate to our legislators the adverse impact the global pandemic has had on the residents of San Antonio and Texas. We now have a sense that help is on the way,” stated Councilwoman Viagran.

Councilwoman Viagran had the privilege of joining 33 local elected officials from across the country to serve on the NLC 2020 Presidential Task Force to promote cities, towns and villages public’s interest with the major concerns that our residents face. During this time the task force had a unique opportunity as a bipartisan or nonpartisan group of elected officials to not only advance our cities’ most pressing issues to those presidential candidates, but to boost this on a national platform to guarantee that these concerns are being heard by the candidates.

This press release was produced by the City of San Antonio. The views expressed here are the author’s own.