Congress Passes COVID 3.5 Bill and Pivots to CARES Act Part 4 April 24, 2020
Written by MSDC Staff
On Thursday, the House joined the Senate in passing the "Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act", more commonly known as COVID 3.5. The legislation is the latest federal attempt to stimulate the economy and provide support to the health care sector. Yet even as it awaits President Trump's signature, Congress is already pivoting to the next COVID-19 bill, which is expected to build upon the CARES Act.
The American Medical Association published a comprehensive guide to the legislation (AMA summary of COVID 3.5 bill) but a few highlights include:
- Additional funds for the PPP to increase the number of loans for businesses, with a percentage set aside for community lenders
- $25b for COVID-19 testing with a variety of carve-outs including $825m for Community Health Center
- An additional $75b in funds for hospitals to cover losses
The next bill being considered by Congress is at the moment less structured but already the subject of intense political debate. One issue MSDC hopes is included in the new legislation is "catch-up" funding for the District. Under the original CARES Act, the District was designated for territorial funding, not state-level funding, which left it with $700m less in federal support funding for COVID-19 relief. MSDC is involved in advocacy efforts to secure equal funding for the District with states, as the District's public health function is more in line with states than territories.