WASHINGTON – Today,Rep. Marcia L. Fudge (OH-11) supported the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act to increase funding for small businesses, hospitals and increased testing capacity in the U.S. 

The bill provides $470 billion in funding, including:

• $310 billion for the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), with $30 billion reserved for community-based lenders, small banks and credit unions and $30 billion for medium-sized banks and credit unions;
• $50 billion for the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program;
• $10 billion for the SBA’s Emergency Economic Injury Grant program;
• $75 billion for hospitals and personal protective equipment for health care workers; and
• $25 billion to increase testing capacity.

“The coronavirus pandemic is hurting small businesses and pushing our hospitals to the brink,” said Rep. Fudge.  “This interim emergency funding package provides needed relief to help small businesses keep people on payroll and includes important protections to ensure funding actually goes to the businesses who need it – not corporations and the well-connected.  It also provides critical funding for our health care workers on the frontlines and for an increase in testing, which is crucial to getting Americans back to work. 

“However, far too many people are left out of this package.  More than 25 million laid off workers have filed for unemployment since the start of the pandemic.  Americans are lining up at food banks each and every day to feed their families.  Disadvantaged students are falling behind because they lack the technology and internet access to keep up as their classrooms go virtual.

“We need to get to work on another bill now that supports Americans who are wondering once again whether they will be left behind.  This means targeting testing and treatment to Black and Brown communities who are facing a disproportionate impact from this crisis.  It means providing essential workers with hazard pay and protective equipment, further increasing funding for distance learning and broadband access, and supporting unemployed and uninsured Americans.  And yes, it means boosting SNAP benefits and suspending the Administration’s harmful cuts to SNAP, measures that were blocked by Republicans this time around. 

“This is not a time for partisanship and delay – families are facing lost jobs, utility shutoffs, evictions and increased hunger.  Our people need help now.”

BACKGROUND

The legislation passed by the House of Representatives today is the fourth package passed by Congress in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.  On March 27, 2020, the House of Representatives passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security, or CARES, Act. The more than $2.2 trillion spending package directed economic stimulus payments to eligible Americans, expanded unemployment insurance, provided loans and grants for small businesses, and included funding for health care supplies, education, and state and local governments.

That package built off the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which was enacted into law on March 18, 2020.  The package included provisions to expand food assistance to vulnerable children and families, ensure coronavirus tests are free to all who need them, strengthen unemployment benefits, provide additional funding to state for Medicaid, and create a pathway for employers to provide paid sick leave to workers. 

Congress also passed a $8.3 billion emergency coronavirus spending package that was enacted into law on March 6, 2020.  That package included funding for vaccine research and development, state and local public health agencies, and loans for small businesses affected by the public health crisis.

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