COVID-19 Update
On March 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) designated the multinational outbreak of coronavirus as a global pandemic, triggering alarm bells around the world.
On Feb. 25, there were 14 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 in the United States, plus nearly 40 victims on an undocked cruise ship. As of today, the number of confirmed cases in the United States has ballooned to over 55,000.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the first legislative response at the federal level on March 4, voting on the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act (H.R. 6074). The bill provided emergency funding to the Food and Drug Administration for research and development, small business loans, and billions more to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, and to community health centers to procure supplies and pharmaceuticals.
The next day the Senate followed suit, and President Trump signed the bill into law the day after that.
On March 18, the second piece of COVID-19 legislation, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, became Public Law 116-127 a week after it was introduced. With a focus on developing test kits. The third COVID-19 piece of legislation followed quickly, the CARES Act – short for Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act – introduced by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as a more aggressive, more expensive, comprehensive bill to round out the trio before Congress recessed over the Easter holiday while the outbreak evolves nationwide.
The CARES Act addresses the ailing National economy. To help the economy, Treasury was empowered to target loans to key sectors and industries hurt directly by the pandemic. The bill is also intended to push surged resources to the frontlines of the medical battle against the virus itself, such as first responders and hospitals, to secure testing and treatment equipment like respirator masks and ventilators. It also provides support to small businesses with fewer than 500 employees through the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) to keep struggling small employers alive. The PPP quickly exhausted the funds appropriated, requiring Congress to appropriate additional funds to keep the PPP operating and also provided additional resources to hospitals, clinics, small physician practices, and additional resources to increase COVID-19 testing.
The next issue Congress will address is financial support to state and local governments hard hit by the shuttering of the economy and the resulting reductions in revenue to keep local governments operating.
Attached are additional resources related to COVID-19.
