WASHINGTON - Today, Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) secured key provisions in the newest coronavirus relief package unveiled by House Democrats, The Heroes Act. Among other provisions, Blunt Rochester helped secure a minimum allocation for every state, regardless of size or population, helping to spur our economic recovery. Blunt Rochester also secured prohibition on water disconnections during the pandemic and funds to cover treatment for COVID-19 patients, ensuring out-of-pocket payments are not a barrier during this public health emergency. The Heroes Act totals over $3 trillion in COVID relief funding for frontline workers, economic relief for families and businesses, and expanded testing and treatment.
“In these unprecedented times of challenge, The Heroes Act represents a bold and decisive plan for our continued battle against COVID-19. In this package, House Democrats have prioritized the heroes of our national response – those who are keeping us safe and our economy running – including our first responders, health workers, and teachers,” said Rep. Blunt Rochester. “I’m proud to have fought for and secured key provisions of The Heroes Act. These provisions will ensure Delaware has the resources we need to continue our economic recovery, protect patients who are currently battling COVID-19, and ensure that all Delawareans, regardless of socioeconomic status, are not denied access to fundamental and essential utilities.”
Key provisions Blunt Rochester secured in The Heroes Act are:
- Small State Minimums: The Heroes Act includes a minimum economic relief allocation for every state, regardless of size or population, and allows the use of this relief to cover revenue losses. This comes after Blunt Rochester sent a letter to House Leadership requesting that small state minimums be included in any further relief package.
- Aid For Rural Hospitals: The Heroes Act reinstitutes the imputed rural floor to give much needed financial relief to Delaware’s rural hospitals after Blunt Rochester joined her colleagues in introducing the Medicare Wage Index Parity Act and advocated to House Leadership for its inclusion.
- Enhances Accountability of PPP and EIDL Loans: The Heroes Act requires SBA to report on specific demographic, industry, size, and geographic data points for the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loans. This comes after Blunt Rochester wrote to SBA, demanding accountability for the implementation of the program.
- Energy Assistance Funding: The Heroes Act includes $1.5 billion for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which provides funding to help low-income families with home energy bills, energy crises, and minor weatherization and energy-related repairs. This comes after Blunt Rochester wrote to House Leadership requesting robust LIHEAP funding.
- Reforms Recovery Rebates: The Heroes Act would expand payment eligibility to allow households with adult dependents and full-time students age 24 or under to collect the qualifying child tax credit, a provision Blunt Rochester has advocated for.
- Supports the United States Postal Service: The Heroes Act provides $25 billion for lost revenue during the coronavirus pandemic and language ensuring protections to postal workers during this time, a provision Blunt Rochester has advocated for.
The more than $3 trillion legislation protects the lives and livelihoods of the American people. Among its many provisions, the bill:
- Honors our heroes, by providing nearly $1 trillion to state, local, territorial and tribal governments who desperately need funds to pay vital workers like first responders, health workers, and teachers who keep us safe and are in danger of losing their jobs.
- Establishes a Heroes’ Fund for essential workers, with $200 billion to ensure that essential workers who have risked their lives working during the pandemic receive hazard pay.
- Supports testing, tracing and treatment, by providing another $75 billion for coronavirus testing, contact tracing and isolation measures, ensuring every American can access free coronavirus treatment, and supporting hospitals and providers.
- Provides additional direct payments, cushioning the economic blow of the coronavirus crisis with a second round of more substantial economic impact payments of $1,200 per family member, up to $6,000 per household.
- Protects payrolls, by enhancing the new employee retention tax credit that encourages employers to keep employees on payroll, allowing 60 million Americans to remain connected to their paychecks and benefits.
- Ensures worker safety, by requiring OSHA to issue a strong, enforceable standard within seven days to require all workplaces to develop and implement infection control plans based on CDC expertise, and prevents employers from retaliating against workers who report infection control problems.
- Supports small businesses and nonprofits, by strengthening the Payroll Protection Program to ensure that it reaches underserved communities, nonprofits of all sizes and types and responds flexibly to small businesses by providing $10 billion for Covid-19 emergency grants through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program.
- Preserves health coverage, by protecting Americans losing their employer-provided health insurance with COBRA subsidies to maintain their coverage and creating a special enrollment period in the ACA exchanges for uninsured Americans.
- Extends unemployment benefits, ensuring weekly $600 federal unemployment payments through next January, providing a vital safety net for the record number of Americans who are unemployed.
- Bolsters housing assistance, helping struggling families afford a safe place to live with $175 billion in new supports to assist renters and homeowners make monthly rent, mortgage and utility payments and other housing-related costs.
- Strengthens food security, addressing rising hunger with a 15 percent increase to the maximum SNAP benefit and additional funding for nutrition programs that help families put food on the table.
- Protects our elections, by issuing $3.6 billion in grants to States to carry out election contingency plans to make sure voting is safe and accessible to all Americans during the coronavirus pandemic.
The legislation follows the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act enacted on April 24; the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, enacted on March 27; the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, enacted on March 18; and the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act enacted on March 6.
The text of The Heroes Act, H.R. 6800, is here. A one-pager on the legislation is here. A section-by-section summary is here. A resource on the state and local relief provisions is here.
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