Summary of the HEROS Act

This past week the U.S. House of Representatives passed the HEROS Act that includes:

– Money for city and state governments struggling to provide public services with the collapse in tax revenue
– Hazard pay for front line workers
– Virus testing, tracing and treatment
– Second round of direct payments to citizens make up for lost income
– Employee retention tax credits
– OSHA Workplace safety funding
– Small business recovery funding
– Extended unemployment benefits
– Housing assistance for displaced residents
– SNAP food assistance
– Protections for safe elections and census workers
– Funding for the Postal Service

For years, maybe most of our lives, we’ve routinely criticized Congress for not getting things done. Well, they’ve been very efficient in this crisis. Sure, the hasty legislation has flaws. But in the big picture, we’ve only funded a small portion of the amount necessary to avoid the worst economic suffering in our lifetime. Without this funding, working class people, minimum wage workers and small businesses will bear the brunt of this suffering. Without some source of small business funding to make up for lost 2020 revenues, I will likely even lose my own business.

This bill passed by the House of Representatives now faces partisan political nonsense in the Senate. Mitch McConnell, who normally speaks for 52 Senators called it “dead on arrival”. It’s up to us voters to demand that in this time of crisis these Senators look out for voters and not side with large corporations as they typically do. I will certainly be doing my best to support the working class and small business community in the tough times ahead. I hope that you will join me in convincing Senators that this is not a time for partisan politics.

https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/documents/Heroes%20Act%20One%20Pager.pdf