Shaheen-Negotiated COVID-19 Emergency Relief Legislation Attached to Final Government Funding Bill

**Senate, House leaders released government funding legislation for FY21 that includes COVID-19 relief legislation Shaheen helped negotiate over the past few weeks and unveiled last week with a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers**

**A senior member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Shaheen once again helped negotiate provisions to assist small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 crisis & also steered negotiations on nutrition assistance and support to address the substance use disorder epidemic**

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a senior member of the Senate Appropriations and Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committees, issued the following statement after Senate and House leaders unveiled final government funding legislation for fiscal year (FY) 2021, which contains Shaheen-negotiated emergency COVID-19 relief legislation that would provide urgently needed assistance to American students, families, businesses, workers and health care providers impacted by the public health and economic crises.  

“The need and urgency for this relief cannot be overstated. I’m pleased that congressional leadership finally struck a deal based on the bipartisan legislation I wrote with a small group of lawmakers – now our attention needs to be fixed on delivering it to the President’s desk as soon as possible,” said Shaheen. “Our bipartisan effort included in the government funding legislation is critical to helping American families, small businesses, health care providers and others on the frontlines of this crisis to get through the next few months, but more assistance will be needed. This is short-term relief. I stand ready and willing to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to restart bipartisan negotiations in the next Congress with the Biden administration to provide a stimulus bill that addresses the long-term needs of our recovery, including assistance for Granite Staters and New Hampshire local governments. Our work goes on.” 

Senator Shaheen is a member of the bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers that has met around the clock for the last month to negotiate COVID-19 relief legislation, which they unveiled last week. Shaheen once again helped craft the provisions to assist small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 crisis -- taking on a similar leadership role that she held as a negotiator for the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act -- and also steered negotiations on nutrition assistance and support to address the substance use disorder epidemic.