Lagana, Swain, Tully Laud Federal and State COVID-19 Relief Programs

Trenton – Senator Joseph Lagana, Assemblywoman Lisa Swain and Assemblyman Christopher Tully today lauded the funding their district will be receiving through the ‘American Rescue Plan Act’. District 38 will be awarded a total of $21,417,176.20 that can go towards COVID-19 related costs, lost revenues, maintaining services, avoiding layoffs, providing aid to residents and small businesses, and investments in broadband infrastructure projects.

The details of the American Rescue Plan Act disbursement coincide with five bills introduced this week to appropriate $100 million from the ‘Coronavirus Relief Fund,’ established by the ‘CARES Act,’ to various hard hit businesses and organizations throughout the state. Recipients of the funding would include small and micro businesses, restaurants, child care centers as well as arts and cultural organizations, each of which have struggled to survive during the pandemic.

“The past year has been tough for the families in my district and throughout the entire state,” said Senator Lagana (D-Bergen/Passaic). “While these programs cannot erase the hardships we have all faced, they will be a valuable source of support for municipalities, businesses and families suffering from lost income and decreased opportunity. The American Rescue Plan dollars and the COVID Relief Fund bill package I recently helped introduce will be a huge help in the coming months.”

“As a former Mayor, I can appreciate how difficult it would be to keep services going without an injection of needed relief,” said Assemblywoman Swain (D-Bergen/Passaic). “I know these funds will make a difference. On the state level, we are working on direct support to some of the hardest hit organizations with bills like my proposal to benefit child care centers to ensure they can once again help the young families who rely on them.”

“The passage of a substantial local relief funding bill was critically important, and we would like to thank our federal representatives who stood up for our state and got this done,” said Assemblyman Tully (D-Bergen/Passaic). “Municipalities and small businesses, the backbone of our local economies, need this support. These dollars will truly help us rebuild as our communities fight back against the financial difficulties inflicted by the virus.”

Senator Lagana will be a Primary Sponsor of all of the bills in the Coronavirus Relief Fund bill package introduced in the New Jersey Senate. Assemblywoman Swain is a Primary Sponsor on A-5445, Assembly counterpart to S-3519, appropriating $10 million in federal funds for child care centers. Assemblyman Tully is a Primary Sponsor of A-5444, Assembly counterpart to S-3524, appropriating $35 million in federal funds for food and beverage establishments.

The first bill, S-3519/A-5446, would appropriate $15 million in federal funds to EDA to support businesses and nonprofits in need. 

The second bill, S-3520/A-5445, would appropriate $10 million in federal funds to EDA to support child care centers in need.

The third bill, S-3521/A-5447, would appropriate $15 million in federal funds to EDA to support arts and culture organizations in need.

The fourth bill, S-3523/A-5443, would appropriate $25 million in federal funds to EDA to support microbusinesses in need.

The fifth bill, S-3524/A-5444, would appropriate $35 million in federal funds to EDA to support food and beverage establishments in need.