releases: https://sablan.house.gov/dems-keep-working-more-relief
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://sablan.house.gov/dems-keep-working-more-relief | Dems keep working for more relief | 2020-10-05 | 2020 | 2020-10 | Democrat | Senate | MP | Gregorio Sablan | S001177 | sablan.house.gov | legacy | House Democrats introduced on Tuesday and passed on Thursday an updated HEROES Act to help individuals, businesses, schools, and state governments deal with the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus. Senate Republicans have refused to act on the HEROES Act the House passed in May, but this week's action by the House brought the Trump administration back to the negotiating table. We have summarized, below, some of the assistance that would go the Marianas in the updated Democratic bill, H.R. 8406: $1.02B for CNMI operations. The cash-strapped Commonwealth government would receive $1.02 billion under the Democrat-passed bill. Senate Republicans have offered nothing for the Marianas or other state and territory governments to make up for lost revenue due to the pandemic, because the President says they are mismanaged. The $1.02 billion is ten times more than the FY21 Commonwealth government budget signed into law this week. $1.02 billion is equal to $19,699 per person for the Marianas. Guam receives $6,980 per person. In addition to the funding for the central government, the municipalities of Rota, Tinian, and the Northern Mariana Islands would share $14 million. $14M more for food aid. Responding to Governor Torres' last-minute announcement he would be cutting families from the Marianas Nutrition Assistance Program and reducing benefits for those remaining in the program, I spoke with Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday and we agreed to include $14 million in the new HEROES Act, $2.4 million more than the Governor demanded in his letter of August 26. $160M more for Marianas schools. The updated HEROES Act builds on the CARES Act Education Stabilization Fund with an estimated $160 million for Marianas schools. The CARES Act provided $27,940,945 for Marianas education, which ended teacher furloughs and provided schools and students the resources and technology needed to continue learning and reopen safely. Heroes Act funding can cover teacher and staff pay, distance learning technology, sanitation of schools, transportation, and health services. The bill sets aside $25 million for Marianas and other insular area K-12 school facilities repairs, including HVAC and ventilation. There is, also, an estimated $20 million for Northern Marianas College and an extension of the CARES Act's suspension of student loan payments through September 2021. More PPP, targeted for small business. The updated HEROES Act extends the Paycheck Protection Program, so businesses and non-profits hard hit by the pandemic may obtain a second forgivable loan. Democrats' new bill also provides targeted assistance for restaurants and live venue operators and for smaller sized firms. The original PPP created in the CARES Act in March provided $38 million in relief to the Marianas. The bill also allocates for Marianas businesses at least $2.9 million for direct grants. $600 FPUC through January. The updated HEROES Act extends the $600 weekly Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) through January 2021. Workers who do not use all their 39 weeks of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) by the end of the year could also continue through January. At my request, the new bill makes it specifically clear that CW-1 workers are eligible for the combined $945 in weekly PUA and FPUC, just like anyone else in the Marianas. This was Congress' original intent in the CARES Act, which the Trump administration ignored, and will pump millions of dollars into the Marianas economy at a time when we desperately need it. Another $1,200 recovery rebate. The updated HEROES Act provides a second $1,200 stimulus check ($2,400 in the case of joint tax filers) to every eligible taxpayer. Taxpayers would also receive an additional $500 per qualified dependent. The bill uses a more expansive definition for dependents than in the CARES Act, ensuring that adult dependents and children, including students up to age 24, are included. US pays Earned Income Tax Credit. We kept federal funding for the Earned Income Tax Credit in the updated relief bill. I have been working to get the cost of EITC covered by the U.S. since I introduced H.R. 4309 in 2015. Taxpayers can use the credit to offset what they owe in Commonwealth income tax or get a cash refund. In the same way, the relief act makes the Child Tax Credit fully refundable, so even those families that lost their jobs and income in the pandemic may benefit. The relief act provides 75 percent of the cost of EITC and the full cost of the Child Tax Credit. Treatment, vaccine costs covered. The updated HEROES Act ensures that no individual will have to pay out-of-pocket costs for COVID-19 treatment or a vaccine. This includes those with private employment-based group health plans. And the bill makes $75 billion available to support continued testing, contact tracing, and surveillance efforts. An additional $28 billion would be available for the procurement and distribution of an FDA approved COVID-19 vaccine. Medicaid FMAP: 95/5 for Marianas. The Marianas' local match for Medicaid health insurance would fall again in the new HEROES Act. The Families First Coronavirus Act lowered the Mariana's FMAP to just a 10.8 percent local match. The new proposal cuts that to 5 percent. The bill also reinstates Medicaid eligibility for citizens of the Freely Associated States, residing in any state or the District of Columbia. Territorial governors would have the option to grant eligibility. The HEROES Act passed the House with no Republican votes. Now, Senate Republicans must decide whether it is finally time to help. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |