Stimulus Check 2.0 & Losing Enhanced Unemployment

Senate Republicans proposed a new $1,200 stimulus check for eligible Americans today, as well as additional incentives and relief to help provide financial support amid the pandemic.  This comes as the additional unemployment aid for people who lost their jobs because of the pandemic officially ends this week, on July 31. It was apart of the $2.2 trillion CARES Act Congress passed to help Americans and US businesses after cities began locking down due to the coronavirus pandemic in March. 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell today announced the HEALS Act, the Senate's proposal for a new stimulus bill to help offset the financial and job losses wrought by an intensifying coronavirus pandemic. HEALS stands for Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protection, and Schools.

The HEALS Act will include a second stimulus check worth up to $1,200 to help keep eligible Americans afloat as a recession continues to deepen. The legislation will extend enhanced unemployment assistance, though offering less money than the original CARES Act. It will also pledge $100 billion to school reopening. 

Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act or the HEROES Act

This bill responds to the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) outbreak and its impact on the economy, public health, state and local governments, individuals, and businesses.

Among other things, the bill

• provides FY2020 emergency supplemental appropriations to federal agencies;
• provides payments and other assistance to state, local, tribal, and territorial governments;
• provides additional direct payments of up to $1,200 per individual;
• expands paid sick days, family and medical leave, unemployment compensation, nutrition and food assistance programs, housing assistance, and payments to farmers;
• modifies and expands the Paycheck Protection Program, which provides loans and grants to small businesses and nonprofit organizations;
• establishes a fund to award grants for employers to provide pandemic premium pay for essential workers;
• expands several tax credits and deductions;
• provides funding and establishes requirements for COVID-19 testing and contact tracing;
• eliminates cost-sharing for COVID-19 treatments;
• extends and expands the moratorium on certain evictions and foreclosures; and
• requires employers to develop and implement infectious disease exposure control plans.

The bill also modifies or expands a wide range of other programs and policies, including those regarding

• Medicare and Medicaid,
• health insurance,
• broadband service,
• medical product supplies,
• immigration,
• student loans and financial aid,
• the federal workforce,
• prisons,
• veterans benefits,
• consumer protection requirements,
• the U.S. Postal Service,
• federal elections,
• aviation and railroad workers, and
• pension and retirement plans.