Jared Polis’ top deputies appeared before a panel of leading state lawmakers on Tuesday to talk about the governor’s response to the coronavirus crisis.
Specifically, Polis’ surrogates outlined how Colorado has spent billions in federal aid and the ways in which the governor has used his executive authority to prevent COVID-19 from spreading out of control.
The day-long hearing was a result of a bill passed by state lawmakers in recent months in an effort to provide them with more oversight over and insight into how the governor has handled the pandemic.
Here are five big takeaways from the hearing:
$19 billion in federal aid, but more is neededColorado has received more than $19 billion in federal coronavirus aid since the pandemic began, the largest portion — $10 billion — of which came in the form of Paycheck Protection Program loans to small and medium-sized businesses.
(The Colorado Sun was a recipient of one such loan)
Another $4.4 billion flowed to the state in the form of direct stimulus checks to Coloradans, while $1 billion went toward increasing unemployment benefits for people who lost their jobs.
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