Congress Passes COVID Relief Bill, Providing Temporary Relief

Capitol Hill leaders announced Sunday night that after months of partisan deadlock in Congress, they have finally managed to secure a $900 billion coronavirus relief package. This package is smaller than is ideal, but offers a sign of rare good news during an otherwise dark time and will provide some temporary relief to millions of Americans, which could avert a looming poverty crisis and the economy from falling back into recession.

For tens of millions of Americans, and hundreds of thousands of small businesses, the deal is months overdue. Since the CARES Act expired in summer, millions are still out of work and many still are in dire financial straits, struggling to make ends meet. However, this deal, though late, will still hopefully help avoid an even larger crisis and provide modest relief to those who need it the most. This could act as a stopgap measure until vaccines are made widespread in the summer next year. The deal is far from ideal, though. State and local governments aren’t receiving any more money, the package is far smaller than the CARES Act passed back in March, and many other issues have been left falling through the cracks.

Here is what will be included in this bill.

• Stimulus checks of $600 to most adults and children.
• $284 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program which provides relief to small businesses.
• $15 billion funding for cultural institutions and live event venues.
• An extra $300 per week in unemployment benefits provided by the federal government, on top of what state governments are providing.
• An extension on the moratorium on evictions through Jan. 31 and $25 billion in rental assistance.
• Tax credits to employers offering paid sick leave to employees. (It is not clear if this bill will extend the paid sick leave requirement which will expire at the end of the year.)
• $82 billion in funding for education for purposes like reopening safely.
• $10 billion in funding for child care providers.
• $13 billion extra for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the federal government’s food stamp program. This would raise SNAP benefits by 15 percent for the next six months.
• Extra funding for food assistance, including funding for food banks, nutrition programs for seniors, and the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, totaling over $588 million.
• $7 billion to help with rural internet connections and broadband access.
• Increased funding for vaccine distribution, coronavirus testing, and tracing programs.

Negotiations have gone on for months after a partisan deadlock in Congress. The Democrats passed a generous $3 trillion relief bill titled the HEROES Act back in May, but in typical Republican fashion, the GOP has complained of spending too much and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) refused to schedule a vote on the bill.

In the HEROES Act, Democrats included over $875 billion in extra funding to state and local governments, but Republicans have continually refused to give more money to struggling states and local governments. Although the current deal would provide funding for schools, highways, mass transit, Amtrak, airports, and health expenses of state and local governments, it is still far from what many struggling governments.

And this bill significantly pares back the amount of stimulus Americans receive. Most people will receive just $600 in a one-time federal stimulus check, half of what was offered back in March. $600 is not enough money for most people, considering the average American rental price is over $600 a month. Some Republicans have claimed that giving people $1,200 would cause the budget deficit to increase, but we have to remember that Republicans have supported granting massive tax cuts to wealthy individuals and corporations. These GOP senators are suddenly “remembering” their roots as budget hawks after having aided many Trump policies that significantly deepened the budget.

Some senators, like Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), even tried to limit the Federal Reserve’s authority to lend money to state and local governments to try and stop the incoming Biden administration from having so much power. He eventually agreed to pare back the restrictions significantly after heated debates with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).

Republicans wanted to provide a liability shield for big businesses, essentially stopping workers from suing companies for workplace negligence causing them to catch COVID and bad workplace conditions. This would practically strip many workers’ rights away from them at a time when everyone is in need of a job, and luckily, after harsh pushes from Democrats, was removed from this final deal.

The issues surrounding state and local government funding and Republicans’ business liability shield have been major holding points for months for each party’s relief proposals. The issue is sure to reemerge when a new deal will need to be struck under a Biden administration next year, which will be exacerbated if Democrats fail to win the Georgia Senate runoffs (and thus a Senate majority and government trifecta).

Though many Republicans have been to blame for the lack of a proposal, Democrats are not immune, either. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) reportedly turned down a $1.8 trillion deal offered by the Trump administration pre-election, instead trying to demand a far larger package than she knew Republicans would accept.

This current bill is tied to a must-pass $1.4 trillion bill that provides spending for government agencies for the next fiscal year. Other measures that are tied to this bill include a ban of surprise medical bills from when people unexpectedly receive health care from an out-of-network provider. Hospitals will be required to work with insurers rather than send bills to patients directly. Pell grants, the federal student grant program, will be significantly expanded and made available to prisoners. There are also deals to promote clean energy and reduce global warming.

The 117th Congress will have much work to do in trying to provide Americans with more relief in the coming year. America is in need of fixing in many aspects, and it will be up to the next Congress to fix it. There have been far too many unkept promises and deals that benefit the rich, and it would be great to see more funding flow to those who need it the most.