To date, we’ve successfully passed four overwhelmingly bipartisan pieces of legislation that have been signed into law by the President: H.R. 6047, the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, H.R. 6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, H.R. 748, the CARES Act, and H.R. 266, the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement (PPP/HCE) Act.
Combined, these bills have allocated $2.9 trillion to initiate a comprehensive medical response, give small businesses the flexibility to care for their employees, and bring much-needed financial relief to families, businesses, disrupted industries, individuals, state and local governments, and healthcare workers through new programs like the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) funds, and the Provider Relief Fund. Click here to view last week’s update for a more detailed breakdown of the specific funding included in each package.
In addition to this $2.9 trillion in coronavirus relief funding, the CARES Act also created an Exchange Stabilization Fund (ESF), giving the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve the ability to leverage another $4 trillion in loans aimed at helping businesses of all sizes, state and local governments, and consumers.
One of the reasons Congress has been successful in achieving an immediate and comprehensive legislative response for the American people, can be attributed to our willingness to work collaboratively on these funding packages, a detail that is further evidenced by the fact that these four bills have a combined total of 1,967 votes from Members who support helping those impacted, versus just 62 ‘no’ votes, making the congressional support for these relief bills 97% bipartisan.
What we’ve accomplished so far is pretty significant in terms of making sure America is on track for recovery. Right now, we should be focused on figuring out the best ways to move our country forward by looking at the action we’ve already taken, determining what action might be appropriate to take next, if we missed any areas that need attention, and if the money we’ve already allocated is being spent wisely.
Unfortunately, that is not the type of leadership we’re seeing displayed in the House this week. Here we are in the middle of the biggest economic and healthcare challenge of our lifetimes, and in yet another Groundhog Day spectacle, Speaker Pelosi has once again decided to hold a political show vote, this time on a $3 trillion wish list totaling 1,800 pages of partisan priorities.
If you’re wondering why I didn’t try to “buy” your vote this week by supporting this bill, especially when we still have the ability to leverage another $4 trillion in assistance for the American people, please keep reading.
Not only was this bill drafted up behind closed doors while Speaker Pelosi kept the House out of session, but it does not stand a chance of being signed into law, nor does it accomplish anything in terms of getting the jobless back to work or mitigating any of our current economic and healthcare challenges. Instead, this appropriations bill from Hell, contains a laundry list of provisions that would derail all of the significant strides we’ve made, making it even more difficult for our country to recover through its:
- Anti-work provisions: The bill spends about $360 billion to ensure unemployment continues, by paying individuals more to stay out of work, forcing businesses to compete with unemployment benefits;
- Incentives for illegal immigration: Provides work authorization for illegal aliens working in jobs that could be held by unemployed Americans, and also allows illegal immigrants to receive direct stimulus payments since the bill does not require Social Security verification;
- Suppression of Vital Healthcare Information: Prevents the government from sharing information with families about lower cost health insurance options like association health plans or short-term limited duration plans at a critical time when American families need to know what their options are;
- Wholesale election law changes: Allocates $3.6 billion to federalize elections by including stringent mandates on how states must run elections, including early voting, no ID requirement for in-person voting, same-day registration, and no-excuse vote by mail, in addition to providing absentee ballots to all registered voters without restrictions on ballot harvesting; and
- Wasteful Spending: Includes $285 million for programs completely unrelated to the pandemic, $180 billion for new programs that discourage communities from re-opening and returning to work, and provides a total of $915 billion in unrestricted taxpayer dollars to cities and states, all before ensuring the funds Congress has already allocated are actually being spent wisely to help people.
This list is just a further illustration of the Speaker’s reckless intention to use this pandemic as an excuse to message on her Conference’s priorities instead of focusing on the country’s best interests. In fact, her bill is so egregious, that it even has House Democrats grumbling over having to take a vote on such a sharply partisan package in the middle of a national crisis – with some conceding this legislation feels more like ‘an effort to appease the most liberal members’ of their caucus.
At the end of the day, I have a responsibility to vote in the best interests of the people of CD-2. I will vote against today’s legislation, because we should be focused on getting America back on track. I do not find it effective or responsible to be advancing bills through the House that stand no chance of becoming law, especially at the expense of the American people. It’s shameful and unacceptable, and I will not support these tactics.
Nevada News & COVID-19 Updates
Mobile Testing Site Now Available in Rurals
In addition to the mobile testing sites currently operating in the Quad Counties (Carson City, Storey, Lyon, and Douglas Counties) and the Truckee Meadows, I’m pleased to announce that starting on May 14th, Humboldt County began offering drive-thru COVID-19 community screenings at the Winnemucca Events Center. Testing is open to community residents of all ages. Click here for more information and a schedule of specific screening times.
Additionally, Walmart has established three new COVID-19 drive-thru testing sites in CD-2, with one of those locations opening in Elko and two opening in Reno. These new sites join seven other Walmart testing sites located across Clark County, Las Vegas, and North Las Vegas. The Elko testing site is open Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays weekly from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., weather permitting, at the Walmart located at 2944 Mountain City Highway in Elko.
Truckee Meadows Residents: The Washoe County Health District is operating drive-thru testing at the Reno Livestock Events Center with support from the Nevada National Guard. Please Call (775) 328-2427 for more information.
As mentioned above, Walmart has opened two drive-thru testing sites in Reno which are each open Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays weekly from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., weather permitting, at the following Walmart store locations in Reno: 5260 W 7th Street and 155 Damonte Ranch Parkway.
Quad County Residents: Beginning last week, the Nevada National Guard, in collaboration with health authorities in the Quad Counties – launched a mobile testing site in Carson City that will rotate around 11 locations. The goal of this testing is to provide state and local officials with data on where cases are developing among an asymptomatic population, and support continued efforts to reopen communities and help them safely return to economic functionality. Please call (775) 283-4789 for more information.
Expanded Unemployment Insurance Assistance
The Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR), has implemented another one of the CARES Act’s expanded Unemployment Insurance (UI) programs – Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation – which provides an additional federally-funded 13 weeks of 100% UI benefits to claimants who have exhausted their regular UI claim. Nevadans are encouraged to go to ui.nv.gov for more information and eligibility requirements.
Veterans Update
This week, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced its launch of the COVID Coach app, a new mobile app designed to help both Veterans and civilians cope with feelings of stress and anxiety they may be experiencing during the COVID-19 pandemic. As the VA works to ensure veterans have access to all resources that can assist with mental and physical health during this uncertain time, its app includes practical tools, information, and resources that can all be used from the safety of one’s home to track well-being, mood swings, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms.
You may Download the app on iOS and Android devices or from the VA’s Mobile App Store.
Additionally, information on extensions for ongoing VA claims may be found here, and CARES Act resources and options for veterans experiencing financial hardship may be found here.
As always, thank you for subscribing to the Amodei Report. I look forward to continuing to keep you up to date on the issues you care about most. For additional information, please visit my website at amodei.house.gov or call my Washington office: (202) 225-6155, Reno office: (775) 686-5760, or Elko office: (775) 777-7705. To receive updates on what I am doing in Washington and in Nevada’s 2nd District follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
