Granger named to congressional task force advising Trump on reopening economy
U.S. Rep. Kay Granger is one of five members of Texas’ congressional delegation tapped to serve on President Trump’s bipartisan task force that will advise him on how to reopen the economy that has been hard hit by the novel coronavirus’ spread.
Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn are also part of the “Opening Up America Again Congressional Group” announced Thursday, in addition to Reps. Kevin Brady, a Republican, and Henry Cuellar, a Democrat.
Granger serves as the top Republican member on the Appropriations Committee, which oversees federal spending, and has been central to Congress’s efforts in passing stimulus packages.
In a statement Thursday night, Granger said she’s honored to serve on the the task force and that it’s necessary to also address the country’s economic health.
“I completely agree with the decision to fight COVID-19 by requiring people to isolate, as we battle what the President calls the ‘silent enemy’. But we knew when this began that we faced two threats: to our health and our economy,” Granger said. “Having been a small business owner myself, I support that we have provided $349 billion in loans to small businesses through the Paycheck Protection Program, but that is just a start. We need to look at all markets and parts of our economy as we become ready for recovery.”
During Wednesday’s briefing from the White House, Trump said elected officials would be consulting his administration “as we work to restore our economy to full speed.”
“And we really think, with all of the stimulus and all of the pent-up demand, we’re going to have an economy that really comes back quickly,” Trump said. “And we’d like to see it more than match what we had before. What we had before was a miracle. And we think this is going to be even more than a miracle.”
Trump had also said that some states “can actually open up before the deadline of May 1st.”
According to the Associated Press, Trump unveiled a three-phase plan Thursday on a call with governors, outlining measures to gradually scale back social distancing requirements in areas that have seen a decrease in cases.
Gov. Greg Abbott said during a press conference Monday he would announce more details related to reopening businesses in Texas this week, but stressed it would be a slow process.
This story was originally published April 16, 2020 at 5:00 PM.
