Following are partial highlights of a roughly $2.2 trillion package to rush aid to businesses, workers and a health care system slammed by the coronavirus pandemic. The package, written by Trump administration officials and Democratic and Republican Senate leaders, was released late Wednesday night and unanimously approved by the Senate.
— Loans and guarantees to businesses, state and local governments: $500 billion. Includes up to $50 billion for passenger airlines, $8 billion for cargo carriers, $17 billion for “businesses critical to maintaining national security.” Companies accepting loans may not repurchase outstanding stock; must maintain their employment levels as of March 13, 2020 “to the extent practicable”; and bar raises for two years to executives earning over $425,000 annually. Companies are not eligible for loans if top administration officials, members of Congress or their families have 20% control.
— Small businesses: Includes $350 billion in loans for companies with 500 employees or fewer, including nonprofits, self-employed people and hotel and restaurant chains with no more than 500 workers per location. Government provides eight weeks of cash assistance through loans to cover payroll, rent and other expenses, much of which would be forgiven if the company retains workers. Also $17 billion to help small businesses repay existing loans; $10 billion for grants up to $10,000 for small businesses to pay operating costs.
— Emergency unemployment insurance: $260 billion. Includes extra 13 weeks of coverage for people who have exhausted existing benefits. Also covers part-time, self-employed, gig economy workers. Weekly benefit increase of up to $600.
— Health care: $150 billion. Includes $100 billion for grants to hospitals, public and nonprofit health organizations and Medicare and Medicaid suppliers.
— Aid to state and local governments: $150 billion, with at least $1.5 billion for smallest states.
— Direct payments to people: One-time payments of $1,200 per adult, $2,400 per couple, $500 per child. Amounts begin phasing out at $75,000 for individuals, $150,000 per couple.
— Tax breaks: Temporarily waives penalties for virus-related early withdrawals and eases required minimum annual disbursements from some retirement accounts; increases deductions for charitable contributions. Employers who pay furloughed workers can get tax credits for some of those payments. Postpones business payments of payroll taxes until 2021 or 2022.
— Department of Homeland Security: $45 billion for a disaster relief fund to reimburse state and local governments for medical response, community services, other safety measures. Extends federal deadline for people getting driver’s licenses with enhanced security features, called REAL ID, from Oct. 1, 2020, to Sept. 30, 2021.
— Education: $31 billion. Includes $13.5 billion for states to distribute to local schools and programs, $14 billion to help universities and colleges.
— Coronavirus treatments: $27 billion for research and development of vaccines and treatments, stockpiling medical supplies.
— Transportation: Includes $25 billion for public transit systems; $10 billion for publicly owned commercial airports, intended to sustain 430,000 transit jobs; $1 billion for Amtrak.
— Veterans: $20 billion, including $16 billion for treating veterans at VA facilities; $3 billion for temporary and mobile facilities.
— Food and agriculture: $15.5 billion for food stamps; $14 billion for supporting farm income and crop prices; $9.5 billion for specific producers including specialty crops, dairy and livestock; $8.8 billion child nutrition. Money for food banks, farmers’ markets.
— Defense: $10.5 billion for Defense Department, including $1.5 billion to nearly triple the 4,300 beds currently in military hospitals; $1.4 billion for states to deploy up to 20,000 members of National Guard for six months; $1 billion under Defense Production Act to help private industry boost production of medical gear. Money cannot be used to build President Donald Trump’s wall along Mexican border.
— Social programs: Includes $3.5 billion in grants for child care and early education programs; $1 billion in grants to help communities address local economic problems; $900 million in heating, cooling aid for low-income families; $750 million for extra staffing for Head Start programs.
— Economic aid to communities: $5 billion in Community Development Block Grants to help state and local governments expand health facilities, child care centers, food banks and senior services; $4 billion in assistance for homeless people; $3 billion for low-income renters; $1.5 billion to help communities rebuild local industries including tourism, industry supply chains, business loans; $300 million for fishing industry.
— Native American communities: $2 billion for health care, equipment schools and other needs.
— Diplomacy: $1.1 billion, including $324 million to evacuate Americans and diplomats overseas; $350 million to help refugees; $258 million in international disaster aid; $88 million for the Peace Corps to evacuate its volunteers abroad.
— Elections: $400 million to help states prepare for 2020 elections with steps including expanded vote by mail, additional polling locations.
— Arts: $150 million for federal grants to state and local arts and humanities programs; $75 million for Corporation for Public Broadcasting; $25 million for Washington, D.C., Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
— Congress: $93 million, including $25 million for the House and $10 million for the smaller Senate for teleworking and other costs; $25 million for cleaning the Capitol and congressional office buildings.
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If you pay $20/hour (it is probably less, so the resulting numbers are even higher..) to the cleaning staff, the (paltry) $25 million for cleaning the Capitol and congressional office buildings yields 1 million, 250 thousand man hours… or 625 man years … let’s just call it 1,250 people working full time for six months, and that is just one of the pork line items, and a relatively small one at that… Another interesting calculation, the cost per Representative for “teleworking and other costs” is $57,471.26. But they are being frugal, the cost per Senator is $100,000!
Just imagine if all those unnecessary earmarks were directed to the people who need it most – hospitals (to purchase more ventilators – you didn’t think all those companies are making them for free, did you?), health care workers, people who have lost their jobs, small business owners trying to stay in business and keep paying their people…
To government bureaucrats, billions and millions [of our money] are chump change, to we the people, mere thousands make a difference…
Lawrence D….You are so correct…This Christmas tree for the democrats is full of PORK that includes many items and funds for non GERMANE BS that were not passable on their own merits and our Republican Senate majority should be ashamed..Oh I forgot…No shame in DC…All spend us into oblivion..I fully understand the urgency and need …But this ????.Create a problem then try to solve it…Where was the Republican Conservative majority ? No dither or standing pat on the Virus only concept …Wow Wow…As Senator Kennedy said ..Minority leader Schumer needs to grow a pair of Oranges as relates to the takeover by Pelosi upon her return from California..It looks to me like the entire Republican Caucus needs to grow a set of Oranges also or just stay home…
Another reason for Term Limits rather than “The come along and get along”….
They barely got this signed and the Dems are already talking that more will be needed. Perhaps, but this hasn’t even gotten a start. If I were McConnell, I would go on national TV and state that if ANYTHING more needs to be done, it will be focused on [then state the list of deserving considerations, then go on to call out the other non Covid-19 BS that was tucked into this bill and other items that were pushed by Pelosi and her mob as being non-starters]. And if I were Trump, I’d publicly state I would try to re-deploy the Kennedy Center funds [he could personally make fund raising calls to the patrons of the Kennedy center and backfill the $25M, I bet], the $13M for Howard University, the $150M for the Arts [duct tape and a banana aren’t that expensive anyway] to hospitals, health care workers, and first responders – it would put the idiots who pushed for those things in a no win position of having to state the are necessary, at the expense of hospitals, health care workers, and first responders. Trump could try a maneuver to re-deploy those BS funds just as he has done with funds for the border wall. Even if he is unsuccessful, it would put a spotlight on the BS that was in this bill. Most of the mainstream media have glossed over these pork items, I doubt most people are aware or have really thought about it. Kimberly Strassell in a recent WSJ editorial laid out the realities pretty objectively – and it isn’t pretty.