AARP Michigan hosts Congressman John Moolenaar for a tele-town hall on COVID-19 response

Rep. John Moolenaar's Office

More than 2,000 people joined the call on Thursday. Moolenaar took questions live, which primarily focused on stimulus efforts and the economy.

Some of the questions asked during the tele-town hall:

Many smaller hospitals are closing due to the cancellation of elective surgeries. How can we ensure these hospitals will be available to serve our communities once the spread of the virus subsides?
“Part of the CARES Act sent $100 billion to hospitals around the country. $30 billion has been received and we’ve been sure to include rural hospitals in that. We are looking at ways to open up different parts of healthcare so people are not prolonging needs.”

The President has said he can tell governors to get back to work. Is it true?
“We need all hands on deck and we need to work together for a solution. Shutting down the economy is done on a state-by-state basis through executive orders. The President will submit guidelines that states will follow. Michigan is third in the nation in cases and a plan to re-open will have to be unique to Michigan. Ultimately, states will have to decide how to get the economy going."

When will relief for small businesses be paid out? How will this process be managed?
“This has been different pieces of legislation happening at different times. What we designed was to have loans go through traditional systems, like banks and lenders rather than the government to make it happen more quickly. One of our goals is to replenish that fund and I’m hopeful action will be taken soon.” Some participants expressed concerns about the cost of the stimulus package and how it will impact taxpayers, to which he replied, “I don’t think raising taxes right now would be good in any way for our economy. You don’t want to do something that will put our economy in a further spiral.”

Others expressed concern about the availability of testing as the government considers lifting stay at home orders. “We’ve come a long way with the development of tests. They were taking a week to return with results; now they’re taking 15 minutes. Antibody tests are still being developed. Medicines to treat the virus and a vaccine will come too. A lot of this is still science in the works and we’ve come a long way, testing 4,000 to 5,000 (people) a day in Michigan,” said Moolenaar.

He encouraged constituents to contact his office stating, “We’ll call you back and help in any way. In the meantime, I encourage you to stay home and stay safe.”

For additional information, contact Rep. Moolenaar’s office at (202) 225-4872 or online at https://moolenaar.house.gov/.