Thank you for reading my e-update this week. Below you will find some more updates on the state's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As you can imagine with the unprecedented COVID-19 situation, my office has seen a significant increase in the number of constituent contacts. My staff and I are doing our very best to assist constituents of the 87th Assembly District as quickly as we can.
Aid for Our Farmers
As I discussed in an earlier e-update, I joined with a number my legislative colleagues back on April 24th to send a letter to Governor Evers asking for him to allocate $50 million of the $1.9 billion provided to him from the federal CARES Act towards direct cash relief to Wisconsin's struggling farmers. Our state's $104.8 billion agriculture industry has faced some challenges over the past several years with the weather, nuisance animals, and other issues. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has only made problems worse for many of our state's hardworking farmers.
On Wednesday, I was glad to see the governor had granted this request, announcing the creation of the Wisconsin Farm Support program. According to the governor's office, eligible farmers will be asked to apply for the program through the Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR) and that farm support payments could begin in June. In addition, the governor also announced $15 million towards the Food Security Initiative to help combat hunger by aiding food banks, pantries, and other nonprofit organizations. For more information, click here to read the press release from the governor's office.
WEDC Reopening Guidelines
As you are likely aware, businesses throughout the state are now allowed to open, as long as there are no further restrictions being imposed by the county or local municipality. The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) has released general and industry-specific guidelines for those businesses that are choosing to reopen at this time. These guidelines can be found by clicking here.
While it is important that Wisconsin gets back to work for our employers, employees, and our state's economy, it is also important that we continue to work to contain the spread of COVID-19. As of the time of this e-update, I am not aware of any local restrictions issued within the 87th Assembly District. With that said, if you’re a business owner, I encourage you to review and follow these guidelines, as well as those from the Center for Disease Control (CDC). These guidelines are good advice on how to keep you, customers, and employees safe. If you have additional questions, your local health department is also a good resource.
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