House to vote on new coronavirus bill with $7 billion for Connecticut.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives will vote Friday on a $3 trillion bill for further coronavirus relief, including a second round of $1,200 checks for individuals, hazard pay for essential workers, more funding for COVID-19 testing and contact tracing and aid for people struggling to afford rent or food.
The legislation, called the Heroes Act, also includes a $500 billion fund for states that would deliver $7 billion in new relief money for Connecticut over the next two years.
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said Tuesday the state is eyeing a $1 billion deficit on June 30, but the state now has $2 billion in rainy day reserves. Deficits in the next fiscal year are expected to climb to $2 to $3 billion, depending on the length of the coronavirus pandemic and how quickly state sales and income taxes rebound, Lamont said.
The Heroes Act also proposes a separate $375 billion local government fund that would deliver $530.5 million for Fairfield County, $480.7 million for New Haven County and $501 million for Hartford County, along with millions more for local towns and cities, according to the Congressional Research Service.
The huge bill outstrips the cost of Congress’s $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act, which was the largest economic stimulus bill in U.S. history.
Many Senate Republicans have expressed concerns about the ballooning federal deficit and suggested that Congress should wait to pass further legislation because some of the funds from previous bills have not yet been distributed or spent. Senate Republicans have not revealed alternative legislation yet, but have highlighted as a priority protecting businesses from liability lawsuits related to coronavirus.
“I don’t think we have yet felt the urgency of acting immediately,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Monday. “That time could develop, but I don’t think it has yet.”
Democrats indicated Wednesday that the bill is a starting point for negotiations and they hope its passage would push Republicans to act, even if Republicans do not support the bill.
“Now is that the time? Are you kidding me?” said Rep. Jim Himes, D-4. “When we talk to people about this, the urgency is literally life and death, food on the table stuff. So then the question is why this Friday, why without an agreement? ... now the ball is in Mitch McConnell’s court.”
For individuals, the package would mean another round of direct cash assistance of up to $6,000 per family. The bill would extend a $600 per week unemployment benefit supplement through January 2021. It would also increase the maximum food stamp benefit, offer assistance with rent and mortgages, expand
Many Senate Republicans have expressed concerns about the ballooning federal deficit and suggested that Congress should wait to pass further legislation because some of the funds from previous bills have not yet been distributed or spent. Senate Republicans have not revealed alternative legislation yet, but have highlighted as a priority protecting businesses from liability lawsuits related to coronavirus.
tax credits for parents and create a special enrollment period for health care exchanges.
“The issues I have fought for on behalf of working people over the years... have become a reality in this bill,” Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3, said. “By enhancing our nation’s social safety net, the Heroes Act will help protect our workers, our families, our loved ones who have fallen ill, our small businesses, and those who are falling through the cracks and being left behind.”
For workers and businesses, the legislation includes a $200 billion for for hazard pay, an enhanced tax credit for businesses that keep their employees on payroll, new requirements for workplace infection control plans and more loans for small businesses and non-profits.
For students, the bill includes $90 billion in new funding for public schools and $10 billion for colleges. It also would add $7 billion in new grants for child care providers.
“This is something that I think we have some more work to do on,” Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-5, said of the child care funds. Hayes and other House Democrats proposed $50 billion in shortterm relief for child care providers and $50 billion to expand child care options for the future.
The Heroes Act would also repeal several new tax provisions allowing businesses to carry back net operating losses, tax breaks approved in the last stimulus bill that are expected to give 43,000 millionaires an average tax cut of $1.6 million.
It also would eliminate a cap on state and local tax deductions currently placed at $10,000 — something Democrats in high-tax states like Connecticut have been pushing to do since 2017 tax reform legislation was approved.
The Heroes Act allows the new state funding and previous state relief from coronavirus bills to be used to cover lost revenue.