As the stalemate continues in the U.S. Congress on a bipartisan bill to provide additional relief funds to businesses and individuals who have been impacted by COVID-19, Iowa officials are not worried.

Lieutenant Governor Adam Gregg tells Raccoon Valley Radio he doesn’t believe there will ever be another round of relief funds allocated by Congress. He says the funds that were allocated to the state from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act have been used effectively. He points out one main element where Governor Kim Reynolds could utilize $1.25 billion at her discretion.

“We’ve put over $100 million into supporting Iowa farmers and ag businesses. We’ve put funding into small business grants for those businesses that were impacted by the closures in March and April. One of the things that she’s had me lead is the Feeding Iowans Task Force to deal with food insecurity. We’ve put millions of dollars to help food banks to acquire food, and to come up with creative ways to meet the increased for Iowans who might be experiencing food insecurity for the very first time.”

Gregg adds, the Iowa Legislature put the state in great position to weather the COVID-19 initial impacts and allowed Governor Reynolds to utilize leftover funds that the Legislature had saved in its “rainy day” fund.