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Titus: Stimulus Bill Aids Entertainers, Other Jobless Contract Workers

Rep. Dina Titus talks to supporters in this 2016 file photo.
Associated Press

Rep. Dina Titus talks to supporters in this 2016 file photo.

Rep. Dina Titus called the $2 trillion stimulus bill “worker-up,” saying the coronavirus pandemic response focuses on individuals, not corporations.

The Las Vegas Democrat said Thursday the original GOP proposal “was corporate-down. We amended it so it’s worker-up. The emphasis is on workers, and small businesses and then corporations.”

The bill, which faces a House vote on Friday, has several provisions that could help hard-hit Southern Nevada, Titus told KNPR.

She said many in Las Vegas will benefit from direct cash payments, small-business loans, and allowing rideshare drivers and other contract workers to collect unemployment.

“We have a number of performers here in Nevada, especially Southern Nevada, who are on contract and didn’t know if they could be covered, but now they can,” Titus said.

Titus said loan officers at the Small Business Administration are currently “being overwhelmed” by demand for emergency loans, “but we also put administrative money in the bill to help them hire more people.”

 

Dina Titus, Congresswoman, Nevada's First District

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Nikole Robinson Carroll was a Morning Edition host at KNPR. She also produced segments for KNPR's State of Nevada.
With deep experience in journalism, politics, and the nonprofit sector, news producer Doug Puppel has built strong connections statewide that benefit the Nevada Public Radio audience.