Rep. Jeff Fortenberry spoke with Fremont city leaders and community members Friday during a virtual discussion hosted by the Fremont Area Chamber of Commerce.
Fortenberry discussed the effects the COVID-19 pandemic has had on various areas, including commerce, medicine and technology.
He said the urgency to find a COVID-19 vaccine helped the federal government partner with private businesses.
“We can do things when there is a forced intensity and that pandemic brought that about in terms of health, ” he said.
The congressman said he was pleased last spring when both parties came together to act quickly after COVID-19 hit the U.S. The bipartisanship was evident with the Paycheck Protection Program, which provides loans to businesses.
“We tried to aggressively work with small business associations, chambers of commerce, bank by bank and person by person to just get in front of this,” he said.
The Senate narrowly passed the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package Saturday, sending it back to the House for expected approval in coming days.
Fortenberry, a Republican, said he voted against it, calling it “an ideological grab bag.”
Democrats have also been pushing to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
Fortenberry said the issue with that is large corporations may be able to handle the hike, but it can stress smaller businesses.
He said there needs to be a push for better wages for everyone, but that can be reached by better means.
