CORONAVIRUS

After almost a year of planning, discussion and political wrangling, the Navajo Nation Council finally appropriated the remaining $1.1 billion of American Rescue Plan Act funds first thing Thursday morning.

If passed, a bill (No. 76-22) sponsored by Delegate Mark Freeland would compensate every Navajo Nation government employee with a $1,500 “appreciation reward” for working through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Certain Navajo government employees received large amounts of special duty/hazard pay during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. But exactly who got those payments has not been publicized.