Details on the COVID19 Compromise Bill; What’s in it?

The following was sent to me by a friend who has a contact on Capitol Hill that worked on the Compromise Bill that Congress will vote on today.  So none of this is confirmed, but I generally hope this information is true.

Here is where our tax dollars are going:

This relief package includes a dramatic expansion and reform of the unemployment insurance program. The extended UI program in this agreement increases the maximum unemployment benefit by $600 per week. All workers are protected whether they work for businesses small, medium or large, along with self-employed and workers in the gig economy. Assistance amounts to a paycheck every work period that will go on for as long as the crisis lasts.

Bill includes more than $150 billion in funding for hospitals and medical facilities– agreement injects $100 billion into our hospitals and health system, $1 billion for the Indian Health Service, and billions more into critical investments such as personal and protective equipment for health care workers, testing supplies, increased workforce and training, new construction to house patients, an increase of the Strategic National Stockpile, medical research into COVID-19 and Medicare payment increases to all hospitals and providers to ensure that they receive the funding they need during this crisis. State, local, and tribal governments that are propping up local health systems on their own are now included–state and local governments will now get $150 billion, with $8 billion set aside for tribal governments.

Other components that were negotiated in:

• 4 months of more unemployment insurance instead of 3 months.
• $55 billion increase in the Marshall Plan for our Health Care System.
• $150 billion for a state, tribal, and local Coronavirus Relief fund.
• $10 billion for SBA emergency grants of up to $10,000 to provide immediate relief for small business operating costs.
• $17 billion for SBA to cover 6 months of payments for small businesses with existing SBA loans.
• $30 billion in emergency education funding and $25 billion in emergency transit funding.
• $30 billion for the Disaster Relief Fund to provide financial assistance to state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, as well as private nonprofits providing critical and essential services.
• More than $10 billion for the Indian Health Services, and other tribal programs.
• Prohibit businesses controlled by the President, Vice President, Members of Congress, and heads of
• Executive Departments from receiving loans or investments from Treasury programs.
• Make rent, mortgage and utility costs eligible for SBA loan forgiveness.
• Ban stock buybacks for the term of the government assistance plus 1 year on any company receiving a government loan from the bill.
• Establish robust worker protections attached to all federal loans for businesses.
• Create real-time public reporting of Treasury transactions under the Act, including terms of loans, investments or other assistance to corporations.
• Create of Treasury Department Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery to provide oversight of Treasury loans and a Pandemic Response Accountability Committee to protect taxpayer dollars.
• Add a retention tax credit for employers to encourage businesses to keep workers on payroll during the crisis.
• Provide income tax exclusion for individuals who are receiving student loan repayment assistance from their employer.
• Eliminated $3 billion bailout for big oil.
• Eliminated “secret bailout” provision that would have allowed bailouts to corporations to be concealed for 6 months.
• Saved hundreds of thousands of airline industry jobs and prohibited airlines from stock buybacks and CEO bonuses.