President Signs $900 Billion COVID-19 Relief Package
President Donald J. Trump signed into law $900 billion to provide relief from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and to support ongoing virus testing and vaccine distribution. The bill provides direct payments to individuals and families, provides enhanced unemployment benefits, extends two pandemic unemployment programs and reopens the Paycheck Protection Program, among other provisions.
Of particular interest to manufacturers, the new law:
- Boosts unemployment benefits with a $300 weekly federal enhancement for 11 weeks, from 12/26/20 through 3/14/21
- Extends the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) program, which provides an additional 13 weeks of payments after state benefits are exhausted, through 3/14/21
- To avoid a potential benefit “cliff”, the bill offers PEUC recipients an additional three weeks before benefits end
- Provides additional weeks for those who would otherwise exhaust benefits by increasing available weeks from 13 to 24 - with all benefits ending 4/5/21
- Extends interest-free loans to states who deplete their trust fund to 3/14/21
- Strengthens program integrity by requiring documentation of employment and verification of applicant identity
- Requires states to toughen Return-to-Work requirements by notifying claimants of the requirement to accept suitable work and having a process for employers to report failure to accept suitable work.
- Provides $284 billion to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) for loans to companies with fewer than 300 employees that have had at least a 25% decrease in revenue during the first three quarters of 2020
- $2 million could be borrowed, but businesses will have more flexibility in how they spend the money and the forgiveness process for loans of less than $150,000 will be simpler
- $12 billion is set aside for minority-owned businesses
- Includes $20 billion for the purchase of vaccines, $8 billion for vaccine distribution and $20 billion for COVID-19 testing
- Extends the repayment of payroll taxes deferred under President Trump’s August executive action until the end of 2021
- Clarifies that businesses can claim a tax deductions for business expenses paid with funds from a PPP loan
The COVID-19 relief provisions were included as part of a $1.4 trillion bill to fund the federal government through the end of the current fiscal year, ending 9/30/21.
At the state level, Governor Gretchen Whitmer has not yet signed a supplemental appropriations bill passed last week that provides a limited extension of unemployment benefits without taxing Michigan businesses and funding for COVID–19 relief programs.
MMA’s Government Affairs team is available to assist manufacturers with questions about COVID-19 relief programs, orders and emergency rules. Contact MMA’s Dave Worthams at 517-487-8511 or worthams@mimfg.org.
Resources for Manufacturers
Stay updated and compliant with the many changes imposed over the last few weeks. Find state, federal and member resources on MMA’s COVID-19 Resources.