April 29th marked 100 days since the first case of COVID-19 was diagnosed in the United States. During these first 100 days, we saw a comprehensive response from Congress, the Administration, state and local governments, and America’s medical professionals and first responders as we all did our part to slow the spread and deliver historic levels of relief to those impacted by coronavirus.
It is because of these direct and immediate response efforts that we’re seeing stay-at-home orders being lifted across the country and businesses and restaurants slowly being allowed to reopen their doors to the public.
In Nevada, Governor Sisolak announced plans this week for our “Phase 1” reopening, which is now slated to occur before the May 15th date previously set. Click here to view the full list of Nevada’s Phase 1 standards for individuals, businesses, and employees.
While we’re definitely on the road to recovery, we cannot say mission accomplished. As I continue working with my colleagues in Congress and our state and local partners here in Nevada to ensure we’re on track for recovery, I wanted to share some of the response efforts that have contributed to the significant strides we’ve made as a country.
RECENT & ONGOING FEDERAL RESPONSE EFFORTS
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Phase 1
H.R. 6047, the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act provided $7.8 billion in emergency support for our state and local partners to initiate a comprehensive medical response to the outbreak in the United States. It specifically provided:
- More than $4 billion to expand diagnostic testing availability, support treatment and vaccine development, and to maintain integrity of the international supply chain of medical products and address potential shortages;
- $2.2 billion for the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for a robust response;
- $20 million to administer disaster assistance loans for small businesses impacted by the virus; and
- $1.25 billion for the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to protect Americans abroad and prevent the spread of the virus worldwide.
Phase 2
H.R. 6201, the second coronavirus bill, expanded testing for all Americans, provided paid sick leave for workers impacted by COVID-19, and gave small businesses the flexibility to care for their employees. It specifically provided:
- $1.2 billion to help cover the costs of coronavirus testing, including $142 million to eliminate copay requirements for service members and veterans;
- Flexibility to employers through a 100% refundable payroll tax credit for paid sick and family medical leave wages paid to employees affected by COVID-19;
- $1.25 billion to provide emergency nutritional assistance for senior citizens, women, children, and low-income families; and
- $1 billion for emergency grants to states for activities related to processing and paying unemployment insurance (UI) benefits, under certain conditions.
Phase 3
H.R. 748, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, delivered a robust response to the economic impacts cause by COVID-19 by bringing $2.2 trillion in relief to families, small businesses, and health care workers. This package started the process of delivering economic relief to our private sector industries which form the tax base for all levels of government. It specifically provided:
- $1.25 billion in funding to Nevada’s state and local governments, with $155 million specifically allocated to our State’s rural cities;
- $127 billion for a Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund at HHS, $100 billion of this fund was allocated to provide financial assistance to healthcare providers;
- $290 billion in direct payments to eligible taxpayers. To date, Nevada has disbursed 1,279,890 checks to individuals totaling $2,131,071,471 in assistance;
- $377 billion in new loans and grants for small businesses through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) programs:
- As of April 17th: The Small Business Administration (SBA) had approved 8,674 PPP loans in Nevada totaling $2,013,939,889 in assistance.
- As of April 20th: The SBA had processed 8,157 EIDL advances in Nevada totaling $33,415,000 in assistance which does not have to be paid back, and 545 EIDL loans in Nevada totaling $118,171,500 in immediate assistance which eventually must be paid back.
- Between both assistance programs, small businesses in Nevada received $2.16 billion of immediate, direct cash assistance through this first round of funding.
- $260 billion in expanded unemployment insurance;
- $510 billion in expanded lending for businesses and local governments;
- $127 billion for hospitals for ventilators and other equipment; and
- $500 billion to what is called an Exchange Stabilization Fund (ESF) which is an emergency reserve fund that provides the Treasury Secretary with the authority to distribute emergency funding. Meaning, the Department of Treasury will pool $454 billion together with the Federal Reserve’s lending facilities to create $4 trillion in loans aimed at helping businesses of all sizes, states and local governments, and consumers weather the storm.
Phase 3.5
Recently, the President signed the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement (PPP/HCE) Act into law, legislation passed by Congress to replenish the $320 billion in critical funding for some of the programs that have been a lifeline for millions of American workers and small businesses. More specifically, this legislation provided:
- $390 billion in additional loans and grants through the PPP & EIDL programs:
- As of May 3rd: the SBA has approved an additional 21,963 PPP loans in Nevada totaling $1,935,918,929 in additional assistance.
- As of April 24: the SBA has processed an additional 4,587 EIDL advances in Nevada totaling an additional $14,504,000 in assistance which does not have to be paid back, and an additional 189 EIDL loans in Nevada totaling an additional $31,567,600 in assistance which does eventually have to be paid back. Between both assistance programs, small businesses in Nevada received an additional $1.9 billion of immediate, direct cash assistance through this second round of funding.
- $75 billion to support front line healthcare professionals, providers, first responders, and hospitals through the Provider Relief Fund, which was initially funded at $100 billion under the CARES Act;
- $25 billion for necessary expenses to research, develop, validate, manufacture, purchase, administer, and expand capacity for COVID-19 tests, specifically:
- $11 billion for states, localities, territories, and tribes to develop, purchase, administer, process, and analyze COVID-19 tests, scale-up laboratory capacity, trace contacts, and support employer testing. Funds are also made available to employers for testing.
- To date, Nevada has received $2,398,832 in funding to expand testing capacity at 8 FQHCs across Nevada – including 3 in CD-2. These include: Community Health Alliance - Reno ($455,059), Nevada Health Centers, Inc.- with locations in Austin, Carlin, Carson City, Elko, Jackpot, Virginia City, and West Wendover ($821,389), and Northern Nevada HIV Outpatient Program, Education, and Services - Reno ($254,314).
BY THE NUMBERS
Small Business Funding: Between the CARES Act and the PPP/HCE Act, the SBA has approved 30,637 PPP loans for Nevada totaling $3,949,858,818 in assistance as of May 3. Additionally, the SBA has approved a total of 12,744 EIDL advances totaling $47,919,000 in assistance, and 734 EIDL loans totaling $149,739,100 as of April 24th. To date, between both assistance programs, each round of funding has allocated a combined total of $3.9 billion to small businesses in Nevada which does not have to be paid back and $149,739,100 in assistance which must eventually be paid back.
Federal Assistance: In Nevada, hospitals and other healthcare providers have received more than $1 billion in aid across four relief packages, state and local governments have received $1.25 billion, funding for housing projects has totaled over $19 million, direct payments to individuals totals over $2 billion, and relief for small businesses in Nevada totals nearly $4 billion. This funding amounts to more than $10 billion in aid to the state and its citizens.
Additionally, keeping hospitals and our basic infrastructure in a fight against an epidemic is a primary importance. Hospitals and other healthcare providers in Nevada were put at great economic risk by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, further exacerbated by the halting of elective surgeries and other services that compromise a great portion of a provider’s operating revenue. After $100 billion was first allocated to provide financial assistance to healthcare providers under the CARES Act, the American Hospital Association, which counts the Nevada Hospital Association in its membership, requested a $25,000 per-bed payment to hospitals. I’m pleased to report that within the first $50 billion distribution of the Provider Relief Fund, which distributed on a formula related to certain Medicare reimbursement and revenue data, a large portion of this request was covered for several hospitals, with tens of billions of dollars still remaining in the fund to be distributed out in further allocations. This includes a targeted allocation to the network of critical access hospitals, rural health clinics, and FQHCs in rural Nevada that went out for distribution this week, which guaranteed a minimum of $1 million per hospital.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): While we can never say mission accomplished, I am pleased to report that our PPE situation has stabilized since the onset of this crisis, with Nevada healthcare providers now receiving regularly scheduled shipments of PPE through the appropriate distribution channels, allowing us to focus on additional challenges that have yet to balance out.
Testing Facts & Figures: To date, more than 8 million tests for COVID-19 have been performed across the United States, with more than 65,500 of those tests performed here in Nevada, which in relation to Nevada’s population, exceeds the 2% testing level that has been recommended by the White House prior to a state reopening it’s economy. In Nevada, the Nevada State Public Health Lab (NSPHL) has run the largest number of tests (15,042), with LabCorp (12,634), and Quest Diagnostics (11,693) as the next largest testing providers.
Thanks to the innovative leadership of Dr. Mark Pandori at the NSPHL and commercial testing providers, Nevada now has the capacity to test all individuals showing COVID-19 symptoms, and criteria for testing was relaxed this week to include asymptomatic individuals, further highlighting Nevada’s growing testing capacity. Through utilization of new and more efficient testing technologies, it is expected that Nevada will meet or exceed the state’s goal of 4,000 tests per day in the near future.
Expanded Testing Updates in Nevada: To support Nevada’s goal to test 4,000 people per day, the White House Testing Task Force is expected to allocate the following critical supplies to Nevada for the month of May:
- 120,000 swabs and 90,000 transport tubes. These testing supplies will be disbursed through a total of four weekly shipments with the first delivery expected by the end of this week.
Mobile Testing - Quad County Residents: Beginning this week, the Nevada National Guard, in collaboration with health authorities in the Quad Counties – an area comprised of Carson City, Storey, Lyon, and Douglas 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. See below for more details:
- A limited supply of tests – 1,800 according to recent reports – will be offered for free to Quad County residents. In order to be tested, the only requirements are to make an appointment, be asymptomatic, and live in the county where testing is being performed. The entire process takes five to ten minutes and results are made available in three to four business days.
- If you are a Quad County resident who is not experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, and would like to be tested, you may call (775) 283-4789 for more information. While the 11 locations are reserved for asymptomatic testing only, if you live in Carson City, Storey, Lyon, or Douglas Counties, and you have symptoms of COVID-19, you are encouraged to get tested by calling (775) 283-4789.
Mobile Testing – Truckee Meadows: In Washoe County, the Washoe County Health District is operating a drive-thru testing center at the Reno Livestock Events Center, with support from the Nevada National Guard. According to the Washoe County Health District, 900 people can have testing samples collected in a four-hour period at the site. For more information, please call (775) 328-2427.
Testing Update – Rural Counties: While the rural counties in CD-2 have not implemented mobile testing sites or drive-thru testing centers at this time, two Abbott rapid-testing machines with the ability to test for COVID-19 were sent to healthcare providers in Humboldt County, which has had higher positive case totals than other rural counties in Nevada. I will be sure to keep you apprised of any additional testing expansion updates I receive from this part of the district.
Treatments and Vaccines Update: In the last few weeks, we’ve seen an international push for coronavirus solutions through a number of testing and vaccination trials conducted by researchers across the globe. My staff and I will be sure to provide you with more specific information regarding any relevant results or breakthroughs that come out of these trials as we learn of them.
NEVADA NEWS
District Happenings
This week, I attended a Nevada National Guard mobilization ceremony along with Governor Sisolak for the 2/238th Army Medivac Unit. We had the opportunity to join the unit’s family members in sending them off before their deployment overseas to Afghanistan. I thank the entire unit for their dedicated service to our country and wish them and their families all the best during this tour of duty.
Additionally, I met with officials from the Nevada Associated General Contractors to discuss future funding for state construction and infrastructure projects. I also spoke with officials from the Nevada Department of Transportation to discuss some of the impacts coronavirus has caused for current infrastructure projects and plans for mitigating some of those challenges.
Constituent Services Update
While my staff and I continue to observe state and federal guidelines related to social distancing and teleworking, I want to remind you that your CD-2 offices in Washington, Reno, and Elko are open during regular business hours and remain fully operational. I also want to remind you that we’re continuing to assist with casework issues during this time. In addition to our typical casework load, lately, we’ve been helping folks navigate the state unemployment system, assisting those who have been stuck abroad due to coronavirus travel restrictions, continuing to coordinate with state and local governments and medical facilities, and helping individuals regarding their IRS stimulus payments. If you or someone you know is experiencing a similar casework issue, please do not hesitate to contact us, we’re ready to assist you with any help you might need.
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.
