LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- U.S. Congressman John Yarmuth, the only Kentucky Democrat in Congress, said President Joe Biden’s nearly $2 trillion coronavirus relief plan is what the country needs to recover from the pandemic.
“Our goal was very simple: to provide the resources needed to finally defeat the pandemic,” Yarmuth said.
Yarmuth said more than $14 million of that money is going to three local community health care centers that provide medical, dental and mental care for thousands of people in Louisville's most underserved communities, which have been hard hit by the virus.
Here is how the funding breaks down:
- Family Health Centers $8,820,500
- Park DuValle Community Health $4,352,250
- Shawnee Christian Healthcare $1,086,375
The centers said they will use the money to hire staff and expand services even beyond the pandemic.
“We are going to put boots on the ground,” said Stan Wardlaw, CEO of Shawnee Christian Healthcare. “We are going into the community. We're going to do door-to door.”
“We need to get out beyond the walls of our health centers to meet people where they are: in their homes, in their churches, in their neighborhoods,” said Bill Wagner, CEO of Family Health Centers.
But critics, such as like Kentucky Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell, claim the American Rescue Plan is a bloated spending spree.
“Only 9% of it is for health care,' McConnell said. "That's problem."
Yarmuth said McConnell misses the point. He said the plan is about more than COVID-19 testing and vaccinations. Yarmuth said the virus has disrupted everything.
“It's been in every aspect of life: education, health care, transportation, housing, everywhere,” he said.
While the debate rages in Washington, the leaders of community health care centers in Louisville said their share of the plan will have a big impact.
“This funding is God-sent,” Wardlaw said.
The community health centers have 60 days to present their plans for spending the money to the federal government.
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