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WASHINGTON - Today, Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) voted in favor of H.R. 6800, The Heroes Act. The $3 Trillion package was the fourth comprehensive package passed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Heroes Act also included many key provisions secured by Blunt Rochester to benefit Delaware families, workers, and small businesses, along with expanding testing and treatment for COVID-19. 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. 

“I was proud to join with my colleagues to pass The Heroes Act this evening,” said Rep. Blunt Rochester. “The package was a bold and necessary step to urgently address our battle against COVID-19 and I’m proud to have fought for and have secured key provisions in the bill that will benefit Delaware families, workers, and small businesses. The bill builds on a number of pieces of relief packages which have already passed in an overwhelmingly bipartisan fashion. It is my hope that the Senate will take up this bill as quickly as possible so that American families can be delivered the relief they deserve.”

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. 

• No Out-of-Pocket Expenses for COVID Patients: The Heroes Act includes Blunt Rochester’s COVID-19 Treatment Act of 2020, which would ensure that patients do not pay out-of-pocket expenses for treatment during this public health emergency. 

• 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.

• Preventing Drug Shortages: The Heroes Act includes provisions from Blunt Rochester’s bipartisan bill, H.R. 6660, the LOSS Act, to prevent prescription drug shortages by requiring manufacturers to develop a risk mitigation plan. 

• Bolstering National COVID-19 Contact Tracing Efforts: The Heroes Act contains $75 billion for state and local health departments to carry out vital contact tracing program activities. This comes after Blunt Rochester called on Congressional Leadership to give robust funding and support for a national testing strategy.

• 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. 

• Moratorium on Water Shutoffs: The Heroes Act includes a moratorium on water shutoffs during the COVID-19 crisis. This comes after Blunt Rochester publicly called on Delaware utility companies to commit to not cutting off lights or water during the crisis.

• 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.

• Expand Nonprofit Access to Paycheck Protection Program: The Heroes Act would expand access to the PPP to include all nonprofits that are struggling to maintain the services they provide to their communities. This comes after Blunt Rochester joined colleagues in writing to House Leadership requesting the change. 

• 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.