Senator Todd Young discusses legislative solutions for reopening economy

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind. – Indiana Senator Todd Young spoke to ABC57 about Governor Eric Holcomb’s economic reopening plan and legislation supporting businesses hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Senator Young is in favor of new legislation being proposed in Washington called the “Restart Act.”

This would cover expenses for businesses, including payroll, rent and mortgages for 6 months, with mostly forgivable loans.

The money would not have to be paid back for 7 years for loans that are not forgiven.

Senator Young told ABC57 that despite the steady increase in COBVID-19 cases, he supports the plan to move forward with reopening the economy.

“South Bend, Indiana, is not the same as New York City,” Senator Young said. “This [legislation] recognizes its probably going to take a while for so many of these companies to really get back to the level of revenue that they were experiencing last year and the year prior to that in light of the stay at home order."

The Restart Act is one of several pieces of legislation being proposed in Washington, D.C., including the 3 trillion dollar stimulus package just proposed by House Democrats.

Senator Young also spoke about conflicting information regarding the origin of the coronavirus. He would not confirm or deny that it originated in a Wuhan laboratory, but he did say that the Chinese government needs to be held accountable.

"First, they've lied about the nature of the Coronavirus pandemic," Young said. "It’s still unclear exactly where this came from, it’s not clear the Chinese know. It is clear that they've been silencing the voices of public health professionals, doctors and other individuals within Wuhan Province and beyond."

Senator Young went on to say that they are considering imposing sanctions against China if they are not fully forthcoming about what happened.