Senator Murray Announces Significant Federal COVID-19 Relief Funding for Washingtonians in Need

The nearly $12 million in relief funding comes from the CARES Act to help Washington state continue providing programs that assist people and families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic

Senator Murray: “I’m going to keep pushing to ensure those who are hardest hit by this crisis get the relief they so desperately need”

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced $11,905,387 in funding to assist people and families in Washington state who are struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic. Senator Murray successfully worked to include the funding in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, and it will be distributed through the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) program, which provides community service organizations with the funding to assist individuals and families in Washington state who have been negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes services and activities addressing employment, education, housing, nutrition, emergency services and/or health care. 

“I’m glad to see this vital assistance we fought to secure in Congress going to people and families in need in Washington state, and I’m going to keep pushing to ensure those who are hardest hit by this crisis get the relief they so desperately need,” Senator Murray said.

Senator Murray has made clear that getting aid to workers on the frontlines and families who have struggled to get by during this crisis must be a top priority for the federal government in its relief efforts. In the CARES Act, Senator Murray successfully included increased funding for the Dislocated Worker Grant program in addition to other assistance for people who have lost employment because of the COVID-19 pandemic—including a $600 increase in weekly unemployment benefits during the pandemic and an expansion of eligibility for those benefits. Senator Murray also helped to secure more than $50 million in CARES Act funding to support critical housing needs during the current coronavirus pandemic, in large part through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, as well as a number of other provisions to help those in need.

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