Today, the U.S. House of Representatives unveiled its next major piece of legislation to address the COVID-19 outbreak that continues to harm Americans and devastate our economy. The Heroes Act (H.R. 6800) contains a number of provisions that DelBene championed. These include:
Helping Workers Stay Connected to Employers – Expands the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) to cover more of a worker’s salary for longer. This will help 60 million American remain connected to their paychecks and benefits. On Friday, DelBene introduced a bill that would expand the ERTC.
Supporting Vulnerable Families and Children – Makes the Child Tax Credit (CTC) fully refundable and increases the amount to $3,000 per child ($3,600 for children under 6), providing more relief to families. Last week, DelBene called for an expansion of the CTC along with Rep. Rosa DeLauro (CT-03). The two are the lead sponsors of a bill that would expand the CTC.
Providing Funds for Essential Services – Nearly $1 trillion for state, local, and tribal governments for essential services like public health, EMS, firefighters, and schools. From the beginning of this crisis, DelBene has been prioritizing support for state and local public health and first responders.
Expanding Testing and Contact Tracing – An additional $75 billion for COVID-19 testing and contact tracing. DelBene has been urging the Trump administration to expand COVID-19 testing, increase the production of testing supplies, and create a national testing strategy.
Protecting Our Elections by Expanding Vote by Mail – $3.6 billion for states to develop contingency plans for voting during a natural disaster or pandemic, like COVID-19, and expand vote by mail. DelBene is a lead sponsor of a bill that would expand vote by mail during a pandemic.
Modernizing State Unemployment Systems – $1 billion for technology to modernize IT services like unemployment insurance application and claim filing systems. This is a provision in DelBene’s portable benefits legislation that would give independent workers more flexibility in their benefits.
Closing the Homework Gap – $1.5 billion for rural Wi-Fi hotspots and $4 billion for emergency home connectivity. DelBene recently sent a letter requesting additional funds for rural broadband access.
Preserving the Postal Service – $25 billion in emergency funding for the U.S. Postal Service, which will be critically important during our elections this fall. DelBene sent a letter recently requesting these funds.
The text of the Heroes Act is here. A one pager on the legislation is here. A section-by-section summary is here. A resource on the state and local relief provisions is here.
