Last week, the House passed and the President signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, a third coronavirus response package to bring relief to families, small businesses, and health care workers who have been impacted by COVID-19. CARES represents a robust response package focused on COVID-19 and its economic effects. This package starts the process of delivering economic relief to our private sector industries which form the tax base for all levels of government.
The CARES Act – Signed Into Law March 27
The CARES Act will inject over $2 trillion directly and quickly into our economy to help workers, families, small businesses, and industries make it through this disruption and return to economic functionality. More specifically, this third response package will provide additional resources to hospitals, emergency relief to distressed industries, flexibility for local businesses to team up with local banks, and provide small businesses with the resources they need to stay afloat while keeping their workers employed. Below are additional details about the specific ways this bill will help protect Americans’ livelihoods and make a difference in our public health response to this outbreak:
CARES ACT – KEY HEALTH POINTS:
- Rushes resources to hospitals, doctors, and other front line providers;
- Expands the use of telehealth medicine to surge capacity, diagnose, and treat patients more efficiently;
- Provides liability protection for providers who volunteer (Good Samaritan);
- Allows Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) to be used to purchase over the counter medicines; and
- Extends expiring health care programs to November.
CARES ACT – KEY ECONOMIC POINTS:
- Temporarily expands unemployment insurance to provide a lifeline for those who have lost their jobs;
- Provides grants and loans to small businesses to meet payroll and pay rent;
- Sends direct checks to individual Americans of up to $1,200;
- Allows regulatory relief so banks can grant loan forbearance for otherwise healthy businesses struggling while business has been shut down; and
- Provides the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve the ability to provide several trillion dollars in assistance to distressed industries through guaranteed loans, while also including strong accountability protections.
- CLICK HERE for more information on the CARES bill tax provisions.
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CLICK HERE for more information on the CARES bill unemployment provisions.
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CLICK HERE for more information on the CARES bill small business provisions.
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CLICK HERE for more information on the CARES bill distressed industries provisions.
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CLICK HERE for more information on the CARES bill paycheck protection program.
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CLICK HERE for more information from FEMA on how you can help.
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CLICK HERE for more information on FDA industry information on diagnostic tests.
Federal Guidance & Implementation of New Programs
Since the CARES Act was signed into law, states are continuing to receive guidance from federal agencies to help with the implementation of the new programs created under the bill. It’s important to note that some agencies have issued guidance quicker than others, but all necessary agencies are actively working to develop guidance as soon as possible. I will be sure to continue sharing this information with you as we receive it.
Small Business Paycheck Protection Program
The CARES Act created the Paycheck Protection Program, a nearly $350 billion program to provide eight weeks of assistance to small businesses through federally guaranteed loans to employers who maintain their payroll during this emergency.
Earlier this week, the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Department of Treasury announced the enlistment of banks and other lending institutions in order to provide small businesses with the assistance they need when securing emergency funding to cover business expenses. The SBA has announced eligible small businesses can begin applying as early as Friday and independent contractors and self-employed individuals may do so starting April 10.
Eligible businesses: All businesses, including non-profits, Veterans organizations, Tribal concerns, sole proprietorships, self-employed individuals, and independent contractors, with 500 or fewer employees, or no greater than the number of employees set by the SBA as the size standard for certain industries.
- Learn more about the program HERE;
- Lender information can be found HERE;
- The Application for Borrowers can be found HERE; and
- Additional information for borrowers can be found HERE.
Economic Impact Payments
We’ve also seen more information come out this week regarding the issuing of Economic Impact Payments. Under the CARES Act, eligible taxpayers who filed tax returns for either 2019 or 2018 will automatically receive an Economic Impact Payment based on their adjusted gross income of up to $1,200 for individuals, $2,400 for married couples, and up to $500 for each qualifying child.
Click here for more information from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) about how this program will function, and click here for information from the House Ways & Means Committee regarding the distribution of these payments.
Information for Social Security Beneficiaries: Yesterday, Treasury and the IRS announced Social Security beneficiaries who are not typically required to file tax returns will not need to file an abbreviated tax return to receive an Economic Impact Payment. Instead, payments will be automatically deposited into their bank accounts. The IRS will use the information on the Form SSA-1099 and Form RRB-1099 to generate $1,200 Economic Impact Payments to Social Security recipients who did not file tax returns in 2018 or 2019. Recipients will receive these payments as a direct deposit or by paper check, just as they would normally receive their benefits.
Unemployment Benefits Update
Under the CARES Act, unemployed workers will receive an additional $600 per week through July 31, 2020, on top of the benefits they would normally receive in their state, which is a maximum of $469 per week for Nevadans. Therefore, the maximum weekly unemployment benefits a Nevadan could potentially receive through July 31, 2020 is $1,069.
Additionally, the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR), Employment Security Division entered into an agreement over the weekend to take steps to implement the expansion of Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits created under the CARES Act. The Department of Labor (DOL) is expected to release program guidelines in the near future. Please note, DETR cannot begin the implementation of the various programs without guidance from the DOL, including the $600 UI supplement and expanded benefits to independent contractors, freelancers, gig workers and other workers covered under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) package.
As the situation continues to develop, my staff and I remain actively engaged with our state and local partners on the ground in CD-2. We will continue to monitor the situation closely in Nevada and how our healthcare and economic response is impacted by the implementation of this third response package. During the next few weeks, we will also be looking at what action might be appropriate to take next and if any areas were missed that need attention.
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’m also encouraged to report that our entire staff remains healthy and is ready to assist you with any help you might need, so please do not hesitate to contact us at one of the numbers listed below.
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.
