Coronavirus Update
April 1, 2021
Information and resources on federal responses to the coronavirus crisis for state, local, and regional government.
Top News
On March 31, the White House released a detailed fact sheet for President Joe Biden’s $2.25 trillion, eight-year “American Jobs Plan” proposal. The President officially announced the proposal yesterday in a speech in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The wide-ranging infrastructure stimulus plan would pump federal funds into transportation, water, wastewater, resilience, housing, schools, broadband, and power grid infrastructure, among other priorities. A second package, planned for release in April, could seek an additional $1 trillion to expand social policies such as the child tax credit and paid leave.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) reportedly wants to pass an infrastructure package by July 4, with passage very likely to be done under the budget reconciliation process (i.e., the same method that House and Senate Democrats used to pass the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021). The House’s July 4 goal means the Senate would not formally take up the infrastructure-only portion of President’s Biden proposal until the middle of July at the earliest. However, the proposal is already being met with resistance on Capitol Hill, where Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) warned that infrastructure legislation could be a “Trojan horse for massive tax hikes and other job-killing left-wing policies.” As Bloomberg Government reports, competing pressures in Congress could require lawmakers to break up an infrastructure package into two or three pieces of legislation that may ultimately differ significantly from the administration’s plan. 

Below is a breakdown of top-line funding levels in the “American Jobs Plan” proposal (provided by the AP). 

Infrastructure 
  • $115 billion to modernize the bridges, highways, and roads. The White House plan estimates 20,000 miles of roadways would be repaired, while economically significant bridges and 10,000 smaller bridges would be repaired.
  • $85 billion for public transit, doubling the federal government’s commitment to shorten the repair backlog and expand service.
  • $80 billion to modernize Amtrak’s heavily trafficked Northeast Corridor line, address its repair backlog, and improve freight rail.
  • $174 billion to build 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations, electrify 20 percent of school buses, and electrify the federal fleet, including U.S. Postal Service vehicles.
  • $25 billion to upgrade air travel and airports.
  • $17 billion for waterways and coastal ports.
  • $20 billion to address communities whose neighborhoods — typically non-white — were divided by highway projects.
  • $50 billion to improve infrastructure resilience in the aftermath of natural disasters.
  • $111 billion to replace lead water pipes and upgrade sewer systems.
  • $100 billion to build high-speed broadband that provides 100 percent coverage for the country.
  • $100 billion to upgrade the resilience of the power grid and move to clean electricity, among other power projects.
  • $213 billion to produce, preserve, and retrofit more than 2 million affordable houses and buildings.
  • $100 billion to upgrade and build new schools.
  • $18 billion to modernize Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics, and $10 billion for federal buildings.
  • $400 billion to expand long-term care services under Medicaid.
  • $180 billion invested in research and development projects.
  • $300 billion for manufacturing, including funds for the computer chip sector, improved access to capital and investment in clean energy through federal procurement.
  • $100 billion for workforce development.

Tax Provisions
The proposal would finance projects by:
  • Raising the corporate tax rate from 21 percent to 28 percent, one of the measures that over 15 years would cover the cost of the infrastructure program and then help to reduce the budget deficit.
  • Imposing a 21 percent global minimum tax, so that companies cannot avoid taxes by shifting income to low-tax countries.
  • Making it harder for businesses to merge with foreign companies to avoid U.S. taxes, a process known as inversion.
  • Eliminating tax breaks for companies that shift assets abroad and denying deductions for offshoring jobs.
  • Imposing a 15 percent minimum tax on the income that corporations report to shareholders.
  • Eliminating tax preferences for the fossil fuels sector.
  • Increasing IRS audits of large corporations.

Capitol Hill. On March 24, the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee held an oversight hearing to examine the SBA’s COVID-19 relief programs. During the hearing, SBA Associate Administrator for the Office of Disaster Assistance James Rivera announced that SBA Administrator Isabella Guzman has asked him to create a plan to increase the maximum Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program (EIDL) amount to the statutory limit of $2 million “as soon as possible.”

On March 25, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing on “Examining Our COVID-19 Response: Improving Health Equity and Outcomes by Addressing Health Disparities.” In her opening remarks, Senate HELP Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) spoke about the need for better demographic data and also highlighted some of the recent steps the Biden Administration has taken to address disparities, including its announcement last week of a $10 billion investment in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act to expand vaccine access and build vaccine confidence in underserved communities. 

On March 25, the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee held a hearing on the “American Rescue Plan: Shots in Arms and Money in Pockets.” The hearing explored how the enacted $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (P.L. 117-2) lays the groundwork for a better future. Witnesses included officials from the National Women’s Law Center, the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, and the American Enterprise Institute.

Please visit our TFG Coronavirus Legislative Trackers public health & safety, local government relief, and business assistance for detailed information on recently introduced bills.

Administration. President Biden signed legislation extending the Paycheck Protection Program for two additional months through May 31.

FEMA will now pay 100% for costs of activities associated with COVID-19 disaster declarations; the prior cost share was 75% federal.

CDC announced a 90-day extension of the federal eviction moratorium through June 30. CDC provided guidance on the moratorium and the White House published a fact sheet on the Biden Administration’s multi-agency effort to support renters and landlords.

Treasury updated its guidance on the Emergency Rental Assistance Program providing additional details on eligible uses and activities.

CDC announced plans to provide $300 million to jurisdictions for community health worker services to support COVID-19 prevention and control, and an additional $32 million for training, technical assistance, and evaluation.

The Department of Education announced expanded flexibilities for federal student loans in default and relief for student loan borrowers with total and permanent disabilities. IRS also announced emergency aid granted to students due to COVID are not taxable. Also, the IRS announced it will take steps to automatically refund money this spring and summer to people who filed their tax return reporting unemployment compensation before the recent changes made by the American Rescue Plan. In addition, the IRS announced taxpayers may deduct the costs of personal protective equipment, including masks, gloves, and sanitizers, purchased to fight COVID-19, if the costs are more than 7.5% of adjusted gross income.
Industry & Advocacy
NACo released a statement supporting President’s Biden infrastructure package and welcomed the step toward comprehensive legislation.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) also applauded President Biden’s plan that calls for $2 trillion to be invested in the nation’s infrastructure. “This plan will create millions of jobs, changing the lives of our residents for the better,” said USCM President and Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer.

USCM released responses from cities to questions regarding the Coronavirus Local Fiscal Relief Fund and sent the questions to the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs for additional clarity on the uses of the Fund. 

Vaccine News

The U.S. broke its previous record for most COVID-19 vaccines administered in a single day, with 3.4 million doses reported last Friday. President Biden set a new goal of 200 million doses administered in his first 100 days in office. At the current seven-day average which increased to 2.62 million daily doses, the U.S. would comfortably reach that goal before his 100 day on April 30.

President Biden also announced that at least 90 percent of U.S. adults will be eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccines by April 19.

The Biden Administration and private companies are working to develop a standard way of handling credentials – also referred to as “vaccine passports” – that would allow Americans to prove they have been vaccinated. 
Webinars, Events and Resources
Helping City Residents Get Health Coverage Today
U.S. Conference of Mayors
April 6, at 1:00 PM ET
 
Housing Affordability Solutions in Cities
U.S. Conference of Mayors
April 8, at 3:00 PM ET

Monitoring the Spread of COVID-19 Through Environmental Scanning
NACo and Biobot Analytics
April 20, 1:00 PM ET
 
HUD Report on Youth Homelessness

CRS Reports of interest:
For more information please contact Mike Miller: mmiller@tfgnet.com (707) 224-8648