Sen. Kelly Statement on Gov. Lamont’s Free Bus Service Plan

March 31, 2021

Senate Republican Leader Kevin Kelly (R-Stratford) released the following statement re: Governor Lamont’s plan to offer free bus service from Memorial Day through Labor Day using $3.5 million from the state’s pandemic relief funding.

 

“Our state is facing a once in a generation opportunity to use federal support to transform government and services to help people recover from the pandemic and put our state in a better position going forward. A few months of free bus service starting two months from now is not going to reshape what Connecticut looks like in a post-COVID world. Republicans have proposed using federal relief dollars in areas like telehealth and to support our unemployment trust fund which has been a lifeline for thousands who were out of work during the pandemic. We want to support nursing home upgrades and our vulnerable senior population. We need conversations with all perspectives on how to best use this funding.  We have a chance to use federal funds to address deep structural challenges, and to fix systemic problems that have limited our state’s ability to grow and thrive for decades. This is a defining moment and perhaps there is a better use for these dollars.”