Last night, Congress passed a comprehensive government funding and COVID-19 relief package, the result of months of negotiations among House and Senate leaders. 

Importantly, it includes a second round of Paycheck Protection Program funding for small businesses and makes PPP expenses tax-deductible, which is a major win for all the struggling small businesses.  Chambers of commerce and small town newspapers are now eligible.  It also includes a round of payments of up to $600 for each adult and dependent, with safeguards in place to ensure payments do not go to illegal aliens.

Additionally and quite important for many in the 7th Congressional District, we were able to include assistance for livestock and poultry producers who lost their contracts due to COVID-19.    

I’m pleased that Congress has finally approved this package, but it is notable that it is essentially the same agreement as the one offered by Majority Leader McConnell to Speaker Pelosi months ago.  It is only House Democrat leadership’s insistence on their full wish list or else, much of which has nothing to do with COVID, that delayed this relief from reaching Americans in need sooner.

The text of the package can be found here.  Below is an overview of some of the provisions in the package:

COVID Relief: 

• Extends the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and adds deductibility for PPP expenses
• Gives businesses experiencing severe revenue reductions an opportunity to apply for a second PPP loan
• Includes 501(c)(6) organizations but excludes unions from eligibility
• $15 billion in funding for entertainment venues, movie theaters, and museums that are experiencing significant revenue loss  
• Codifies federal rules that ensure churches and faith-based organizations are eligible for PPP loans 
  
  
• Reopening America
• $20 billion for purchase of vaccines that will make the vaccine available at no charge for anyone who needs it
• $8 billion for vaccine distribution
• $20 billion to assist states with testing
• $20 billion distribution from existing provider relief fund

• Ends CARES Act emergency powers for the Federal Reserve
• Rescinds $429 billion in unused funds provided by the CARES Act for the Federal Reserve’s emergency lending facilities and terminates these facilities to ensure that Democrats cannot use these funds to bail out poorly managed blue states 
  
  
• Stimulus checks -- $600 for both adults and dependents with safeguards to prohibit illegal aliens from receiving payment

• $13 billion to support our farmers and agriculture sector 

• Enhances assistance under the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) to support specialty crop, non-specialty crop, livestock, dairy, and poultry producers
• Gives discretionary authority to the Secretary to support producers of biofuels, producers of organics or value-added products, and timber harvesting and hauling businesses
• Additional funding is directed to programs that support local producers and new and beginning farmers, dairy producers, dairy processors via reimbursement for donated dairy products, fisheries, textile mills, agricultural research, small and medium size meat processors, and to state departments of agriculture for farm stress programs

• Temporarily extends a number of unemployment programs created by CARES Act that expire Dec. 31, 2020
• Provide unemployed individuals an additional $300 per week for 10 weeks from December 26, 2020-March 14, 2021 
• Extends and phases-out PUA, which is a temporary federal program covering self-employed and gig workers, to March 14 (after which no new applicants) through April 5, 2021

• $10 billion for grants to childcare centers to help providers safely reopen
  
  
• $4 billion for substance abuse – significant progress made over past several years on opioid addiction has been reversed because of impact of COVID lockdowns
  
  
• $82 billion in funding for schools and universities to assist with reopening for in-person learning that also includes $2.75 billion in designated funds for private K through 12 education
  
  
• $25 billion in temporary and targeted rental assistance for individuals who lost their source of income during the pandemic
• Extends the eviction moratorium until January 31, 2021
  
  
• $7 billion in broadband funding that includes 
• Nearly $2 billion to replace foreign manufactured broadband equipment that poses national security threats
• $300 million to build out rural broadband 
• $250 million for telehealth

A more extensive summary of the COVID-19 relief components of the bill can be found here.

Sincerely,