A $2.2 Trillion relief package on the way to President Trump’s desk

WASHINGTON, D.C.  –  Today, the House of Representatives passed the bipartisan Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the third coronavirus relief package passed by Congress. It is now headed to the president’s desk.

“This bill will provide much-needed support and relief to workers, families, small businesses and communities across the country, and it is a significant improvement over the partisan bill initially proposed by Senate Republicans,” said Rep. Salud Carbajal. “On California’s Central Coast, I’ve been speaking with workers, families, small business owners, health professionals and more, and I’ve been relaying our community’s concerns back to Washington as we work to provide aid. I’m proud to see some of our community’s requests in this package—including increased unemployment benefits, more relief for small businesses, hospital and health system investments, support for our agriculture industry and student loan assistance—and I will keep fighting for the Central Coast and frontline workers as we continue to address this crisis.

“While there is more to be done to combat the impact of coronavirus across our nation, I’m proud we passed this bipartisan bill and I urge the president to sign it into law.”

Background:

The CARES Act is the third bipartisan coronavirus relief package passed by Congress. The previous two bills allocate billions in funding for coronavirus relief; provide free coronavirus testing for those who need, including the uninsured; extend additional loan support for small businesses; extend unemployment benefits; enhance food security programs; fund vaccine research and public health centers; among other provisions.

This latest piece of legislation adds to national coronavirus relief efforts by:

  • Investing $200 billion in hospitals, health systems, health research and personal protective equipment
  • Securing a $260 billion investment in Unemployment Insurance benefits to match the average paycheck of laid-off or furloughed workers. House Democrats secured an additional 13 weeks of federally-funded benefits to be made available immediately.
  • Increasing Medicare telehealth flexibilities during pandemic to help Medicare beneficiaries access telehealth from a broader range of providers.
  • Providing a $377 billion infusion of fast relief for small businesses and making rent, mortgage and utility costs eligible for Small Business Administration loan forgiveness.
  • Supporting child care and early education by providing $3.5 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant.  
  • Securing more than $30 billion in emergency education funding and eliminating income tax on student loan repayment assistance by an employer.
  • Allocating $9.5 billion to help agriculture producers, including specialty crop growers, impacted by coronavirus.
  • Preventing secret corporate bailouts by adding oversight requirements that:
    • Ban stock buybacks for any company receiving a government loan from the bill for the term of the government assistance plus 1 year on, and
    • Establish robust worker protections attached to all federal loans for businesses.
  • And more

Here is a video of the congressman heading to vote today.