On Thursday, March 12, the House
will vote
on another multi-billion dollar bill, the
Families First Coronavirus Response Act
(
H.R.6201
), in response to the coronavirus outbreak with emergency provisions that include paid sick leave, widespread free testing, food aid, and unemployment insurance, among other provisions. However, the bill does not yet have bipartisan support, reducing the chances that both the House and Senate will pass another coronavirus response bill before lawmakers leave Washington for a previously scheduled one-week recess beginning Thursday.
Senate Democrats unveiled their own legislative
plan
to provide "targeted economic and community relief."
Discussions on Capitol Hill are also continuing on a potential economic stimulus package. Politico's coverage of the potential stimulus package is
here
.
During a
Press Briefing
by Vice President Pence and members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, the Vice President reported that the Administration is calling for payroll tax relief for Americans that may not have paid family leave during the coronavirus outbreak. The Task Force also announced this week that private health insurance companies have agreed to waive co-payments for coronavirus testing.
The Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar has stated that the Trump Administration plans to urge states and localities to take stronger steps to fight the coronavirus with more recent information from the CDC. More information from the Guardian is
here
.
The House and Senate Sergeant at Arms have ordered limited access to the Capitol effective 5 PM on March 12, 2020 through 8 AM on April 1, 2020. The Capitol and House and Senate Office Buildings will only be open to Members, staff and official business visitors, and the Capitol will be closed to all tours. Offices expecting official business visitors will be required to escort them to and from the meeting.
