During a virtual forum hosted on Zoom by the Bartlesville Regional Chamber of Commerce on Friday, Congressman Kevin Hern explained why he supported the $600 stimulus checks rather than the $2,000 checks.

When it came to the possibility of sending out $2,000 in stimulus checks to everybody in America, Congressman Hern said it would've cost the American people another $457-billion for that one check to go out to all of America.

Representative Hern also shared ways in which the federal government could better target future stimulus payments to ensure that the funds that are spent will increase economic activity.

According to Rep. Hern, the federal government has poverty level wages and other data that is listed by all 50 states in the country at their fingertips that they could've directed the monies toward. He said the $75,000 cap that they see before it goes up to $99,000 per year is for everybody in America, so somebody making $75,000 in Oklahoma is doing much better with disposable income and the ability to buy than someone with $75,000 in New York City.

Rep. Hern said they could do a better job of targeting those funds based off of the data they have available to them. Rep. Hern would go on to share his thoughts on the increasing national debt as America inches closer and closer to $30-trillion. He said the federal government is not talking about the mounting debt when debating the stimulus program, and be they should be.

Congressman Hern said the coronavirus pandemic has nothing to do with America's insatiable appetite to spend and borrow money. There was a supplemental budget of $4-trillion to be able to fund all of the COVID-19 issues, but Rep. Hern said they had a problem with spending way before the coronavirus arrived.

Rep. Hern said they can't keep doing what they're doing.

The topic of having public schools open to in-person instruction despite the on-going coronavirus pandemic was also discussed by Congressman Hern, who said he is not in favor of having someone in Washington D.C. or Oklahoma City telling schools what to do. Rep. Hern said local school boards, local parents, and local administrations know better about their situation than anyone in Washington or in OKC.

Schools are a local decision in Rep. Hern's opinion. Congressman Hern said schools should not bow down to any external pressures when it comes to making a choice as to whether or not to hold in-person instruction or not. He said the schools should do what they feel is best for their communities.

Representative Hern said there is not an administration in Bartlesville that doesn't know parents or their kids. He said Bartlesville also knows the implications of not educating students.

You can listen to all of Rep. Hern's comments during the virtual Bartlesville Regional Chamber of Commerce forum here.

For those with questions about the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loans, can click here. This information was provided by Rep. Hern at the conclusion of Friday's Chamber forum.