Carper Urges Senate to Tie Virus Aid to Utility Shut-Off Bans

Any future coronavirus stimulus funding to states and local governments should be tied to continued gas, water, and sewer service to households hard hit by the economic downturn, Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) said Thursday.

Carper, the top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, urged his colleagues “to confer upon state and local governments and utilities the responsibility of ensuring that households remain connected, or are reconnected, to utility service during the Covid-19 crisis,” as a condition of receiving federal funding.

His remarks accompanied a Democratic staff report released Thursday that found only 10 states and the District ...