What Is The HEROES Act and Where Does It Stand?
It is difficult to keep up with the latest updates of COVID-19, let alone keeping up with the status of stimulus packages as they make their way through the various branches of government. That’s why our team at ExpressExtension is working hard to stay up to date on the latest information that could affect you or your business.
What is the HEROES Act?
The long name for this bill is the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act. The HEROES Act is a huge, $3 trillion dollar stimulus package, that has been proposed in response to the ongoing economic effects of COVID-19.
This bill seeks to further much needed relief and tie up any loose ends of the CARES Act. This bill was introduced on Tuesday May 12, 2020 by Nancy Pelosi and the House Democrats. It was met with a combination of trepidation and support.
Now, let’s jump into what the HEROES bill entails. Here is a sweeping overview.
What is included in the HEROES Act?
This bill is absolutely huge in scope and it aims to cover a series of economic issues that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated over the past few months. Here are some of the high points of this piece of legislation.
The HEROES Act would provide finances to assist state and local governments as well as tribal governments in offsetting the economic impacts and providing relief on the state and local level.
Hazard pay for essential workers on the front lines is also a cornerstone of this bill. The bill would allow for more funding to ensure that these workers have access to the necessary protective equipment.
There are provisions built in to provide relief from student loans and to protect homeowners and renters from eviction or foreclosure due to economic hardship. This bill would put in place financial protections for farmers and an extend unemployment benefits to all eligible Americans.
There will be funding set aside to ensure that testing and contact tracing is expanded.
This bill would include another round of stimulus checks for Americans, this process would be fine-tuned to make sure that immigrants are also included in receiving checks. Rather than adding on an additional $500 per child, the government would provide $1,200 per individual in a household. The ceiling for how much one family can receive would be $6,000.
To put this bill in perspective, it would be the largest stimulus package ever passed by the United States government.
For more information on what this bill aims to accomplish, check out this article from CBS News for a complete breakdown.
Where Does This Bill Stand?
Despite the mixed reviews, this bill was passed in the House of Representatives on Friday, May 15. Legislators voted in favor of the bill 208 to 199. While this was a good sign, there will be many hurdles when the bill reaches the Senate floor.
Many legislators, mainly republicans have reservations about releasing another stimulus package. Many would prefer to wait and see how the reopening of the economy pans out.
Other legislators feel that this is too large of a stimulus package and fear the debt that this bill would create. The President seems to share this sentiment and even if the bill makes it through the Senate, there is a possibility of a presidential veto.
Time will tell what the outcome is for the HEROES Act. We may see many changes to the bill before it is signed into law. In the meantime, you can count on the ExpressExtension team to ensure that we are up to date with the latest information. You can also count on us to help you file an extension for your personal and business taxes, if you need more time to file your return.
