Around 400-million dollars in state aid to COVID-closed bars and restaurants — the number lawmakers seem to be closing in on, as Governor Tim Walz pushes for a deal so he can call a special session. Walz says he wants help for about 14-thousand businesses, “every single one of them…. So I think you can extrapolate this will be a fairly significant package. It will fall within Minnesota’s ability to pay for it.”
Democrats also want to extend state unemployment benefits for bar and restaurant workers. Minneapolis Representative Mohamud Noor says, “We have to be out there to support those who are struggling the most and to ensure that we support each other during this difficult moment.” But Republicans want the *federal* government to release 137 billion dollars in the Paycheck Protection Program and
Maple Grove Representative Kristin Robbins says, “We also would support efforts to make the federal changes necessary to provide additional unemployment.”