House Democrats just unveiled a new $3 trillion stimulus proposal to blunt the pandemic’s effects on the economy.
The chamber plans to vote on the legislation, which includes relief for state and local governments, direct payments and hazard pay for essential workers tomorrow – Friday. Republicans, who have downplayed the need for more immediate spending, are unlikely to approve the package in the Senate in it’s current form but the proposal has some important items that will see the light of day soon. In my opinion, a version of this proposal will indeed become law in the near future. The wheels are turning, and more stimulus checks are coming soon. Personally, I have no doubt about that.
In this training video, Dr. Nitin Chhoda provides a summary of this proposal:
– Nearly $1 trillion in relief for state and local governments
– A second round of direct payments of $1,200 per person, and up to $6,000 for a household
– About $200 billion for hazard pay for essential workers who face heightened health risks during the crisis
– $75 billion for coronavirus testing and contact tracing — a key effort to restart businesses
– An extension of the $600 per week federal unemployment insurance benefit through January (the provision approved in March is set to expire after July)
– $175 billion in rent, mortgage and utility assistance
– Subsidies and a special Affordable Care Act enrollment period to people who lose their employer-sponsored health coverage
– More money for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, including a 15% increase in the maximum benefit
– Measures designed to buoy small businesses and help them keep employees on payroll, such as $10 billion in emergency disaster assistance grants and a strengthened employee retention tax credit
– Money for election safety during the pandemic and provisions to make voting by mail easier
– Relief for the U.S. Postal Service
