Congressman Pappas on How Long the Recovery Will Take: “It Will Be Several Years Before the Economy Is Back to Normal.”
In an interview with WKXL’s Chris Ryan, Representative Chris Pappas from New Hampshire’s First Congressional District discussed the state of mind of Granite State residents in regard to the COVID-19 virus, the timetable for an economic recovery, and the need for a bipartisan compromise to pass the proposed $3 trillion Coronavirus Stimulus package.
From conversations with his constituents, Congressman Pappas has observed that people feel like they are in a state of suspended animation. Everyone wants to engage in their normal end of the school year and summer activities. However, he believes that people want to be sure that things are safe.
The Congressman has some grim estimates about how long it will take for the economy to recover from the shutdown. He feels that we are on the virus’s timetable. Any progress might be interrupted by a sudden increase in cases. The modifications which are being applied as businesses gradually reopen will help, but any economic growth will be very slow. Congressman Pappas cites estimates by the airline industry that it will be 2-4 years before they get back to the levels of air travel that they were at before the pandemic. He estimates that the economy, in general, will take several years for people to fully get back to work and for the economy to be back to where it needs to be for there to be sustained growth.
In the last part of the interview, Congressman Pappas discusses the $3 trillion stimulus package which was just proposed by Speaker Pelosi. The Democratic representative from the First Congressional District says, “No bill is perfect.” The Congressman and his staff are still digesting the 1,800-page document. He acknowledges that there has been and will be Republican opposition to various parts of the proposal, and he predicts that there will be bipartisan compromises before a final vote. Congressman Pappas is encouraged that several of the recommendations that Granite Staters and local businesses want are in the package.
