A bipartisan group of lawmakers wants to expand the payroll assistance program to help struggling local media.

Democratic Senators Maria Cantwell and Amy Klobuchar and Republicans John Kennedy and John Boozman urged Senate leaders to revise the rules to make thousands of local newspapers, TV and radio stations eligible for assistance under the Paycheck Protection Program.

Many local outlets are ineligible because they are owned by parent companies too large to qualify. "Ensuring that local news outlets remain viable at this critical time is not only a matter of fairness but is essential to public health," the senators wrote in a letter.

The four senators said local newspapers had lost as much as 50% of advertising revenue, while the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) says some local broadcasters have reported as much as a 90% loss in advertising revenues.

Groups like Tegna are issuing furloughs to employees, while Meredith is cutting the pay of their employees.

NAB President Gordon Smith said on Sunday that "local stations are suffering advertising losses of historic proportion that will undermine this critically important service.”

H/T Reuters