The U.S House of Representatives passed the $2.2 trillion updated HEROES Act last week to jump-start negotiations on a new round of COVID 19 relief for Americans’ health and our economy. (The House passed its original $3 trillion HEROES Act in mid-May, but the Senate never considered the measure.) President Trump at first expressed willingness to reach an agreement through his Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who made a substantially smaller counteroffer of a $1.6 trillion relief package. But Mr. Trump suddenly announced yesterday that he was cutting off negotiations until after the election and instructed Senate Republicans to focus on confirming his U.S Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barret instead. Late last night, the President appeared to change his mind again, suggesting he might be open to piecemeal legislation that would still leave millions without aid. | |
Despite this shocking and confusing turn, the American Sustainable Business Council continues to urge the Senate to join the House in passing HEROES 2.0 to provide desperately needed relief bill to alleviate the suffering of many millions of Americans and aid our ailing economy. Delaying already long-overdue relief would needlessly prolong the suffering of millions of Americans, diminish the chance of a prompt recovery and inflict permanent damage to the country’s overall economic performance. With one out seven business permanently closed due to the pandemic, historically high unemployment and a disruptive housing crisis, Americans deserve a new round of bipartisan negotiations that deliver tangible results. Even Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell agrees and has urged action now! The HEROES 2.0 measure is a reduced version of the original HEROES bill passed by the House in May, but which Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has refused to bring up in the Senate. HEROES 2.0 would extend paid sick and family leave through February 2021 (it now ends Dec. 31, 2020). It would also provide Americans with an additional $600/month in unemployment insurance, and $1,200 per taxpayer and $500 per dependent. The bipartisan CARES package providing similar payments last March is credited for mitigating the worst economic fallout last spring. | |
Just as vital, passing HEROES 2.0 will give America’s local employers much-needed help in maintaining payroll, improve essential childcare and educational services for our communities, and provide a reliable public health strategy to contain the Coronavirus that has ravaged our society. Your business voice is powerful, so let’s urge the Senate to get its priorities straight and get to work: Sign on to ASBC’s letter and we’ll send it directly to your senators. It’s up to America’s business leaders to help pass HEROES Act 2.0 and get our economy back on track! Thanks for all you do! Stay well! | |
