Alex Padilla: “I rise today, alongside my colleague, the senior Senator from Texas, to speak in support of our bipartisan effort to…”

“I rise today, alongside my colleague, the senior Senator from Texas, to speak in support of our bipartisan effort to continue to give States, local, Tribal, and territorial governments the support they need as they continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. While no corner of the United States was untouched by COVID, we also know that every town and, frankly, every Tribe, every city, every State, and every local community was impacted in a different way. As a result, they have different, specific needs for that recovery. Over the last 2 years, Congress has provided critical lifelines to communities across the country that are trying to get through the pandemic and begin to rebuild, but today, almost 3 years since the start of the pandemic in the United States, there is still more we can and should do to help tailor the Federal resources that we have previously approved to better fit each local community and give them the tools they need to address their most pressing local needs. At its core, this bill is about flexibility and empowering local governments that are closest to the people--flexibility for State and local governments to use their fiscal recovery dollars as strategically, as effectively, and as efficiently as possible; flexibility for the Treasury Department to continue to implement critical assistance for communities that need it; flexibility for counties and Tribes that host our Nation's public lands.…”