Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act () is a $484billion law that increases funding to the

Paycheck Protection Program The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is a $953-billion business loan program established by the United States federal government during the Donald Trump administration in 2020 through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARE ...

and also provide more funding for hospitals and testing for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

. The bill passed the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...

on April 21, 2020. The bill passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 388–5 on April 23. President Trump signed the bill into law on April 24, 2020.

Background

At the time the legislation was enacted, more than 50,000 Americans had died from the virus and the pandemic had caused major economic damage, with 26 million people (about 20% of U.S. workers) filing for unemployment assistance over the preceding five weeks.Associated Press
Trump Signs $484 Billion Measure to Aid Employers, Hospitals
Associated Press (April 24, 2020). The bill is referred to as "Phase 3.5" of Congress's coronavirus response. It followed the first three phases: phase one "was an $8.3 billion bill spurring coronavirus vaccine research and development" (the

Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020 The Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020 () is an act of Congress enacted on March 6, 2020. The legislation provided emergency supplemental appropriations of $8.3 billion in fiscal year 2020 to combat the s ...

), which was signed into law on March 6, 2020. The second phase was "an approximately $104 billion package largely focused on paid sick leave and unemployment benefits for workers and families" (the

Families First Coronavirus Response Act The Families First Coronavirus Response Act is an Act of Congress () meant to respond to the economic impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The act provides funding for free coronavirus testing, 14-day paid leave for American workers affected ...

), which had been enacted March 18, 2020. Phase three was the

Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act, is a $2.2trillion Stimulus (economics), economic stimulus bill passed by the 116th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 27, 2 ...

("CARES Act"), a $2 trillion aid bill that provided checks to many Americans and forgivable loans to small businesses, signed into law on March 27, 2020. The Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act is referred to as "Phase 3.5" as it includes "interim" funding that replenishes one of the programs established by the CARES Act (Phase 3). The CARES Act created the $349-billion

, which provided low-interest loans to small businesses that were forgivable if they maintained their employees and payroll. The $349billion was fully allocated within 13 days. During those 13 days, 1.6million loans were approved by nearly 5,000 banks and other lenders.

Negotiations and passage

Senate Democrats wanted to add $250billion to the Paycheck Protection Program. Senate Republicans wanted for some of the funding be set aside for rural and minority-owned small businesses. Senate Democrats also wanted to add funding for disaster assistance loans and grants, for hospitals, and for states and municipalities. Senate Democrats also wanted a 15-percent increase in the size of benefits from the

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program In the United States, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, is a federal program that provides food-purchasing assistance for low- and no-income people. It is a federal aid program, ad ...

(SNAP). The version of the bill passed by the Senate included the expanded funding for rural and minority communities, for SBA disaster funding, and the money for hospitals and testing, but it did not include more funding for state and local governments, nor the increased SNAP benefits. The bill passed the

on April 21, 2020. The bill passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 388–5 on April 23. The five House "no" votes were four right-wing Republicans (

Thomas Massie Thomas Harold Massie (born January 13, 1971) is an American politician and businessman. A member of the Republican Party, Massie has been the United States representative for Kentucky's 4th congressional district since 2012, when he defeated Bi ...

Andy Biggs Andrew Steven Biggs (born November 7, 1958) is an American attorney and politician who represents in the United States House of Representatives. The district, which was once represented by U.S. Senators, John McCain and Jeff Flake, is in the he ...

Ken Buck Kenneth Robert Buck (born February 16, 1959) is an American lawyer and politician who has represented Colorado's 4th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 2015. From March 30, 2019, to March 27, 2021, Buck s ...

, and

Jody Hice Jody Brownlow Hice (born April 22, 1960) is an American politician, radio show host, and political activist who served as the U.S. representative for Georgia's 10th congressional district from 2015 to 2023. He is a member of the Republican Part ...

) and one left-wing Democrat (

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (; ; born October 13, 1989), also known by her initials AOC, is an American politician and activist. She has served as the U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district since 2019, as a member of ...

).Scott Wong
The five lawmakers who voted against $484B in coronavirus relief
''The Hill'' (April 23, 2020). The near-unanimous passage of the legislation through Congress reflected a broad political consensus that more economic aid was necessary. Trump signed the bill into law on April 24, 2020. Senate Majority Leader

Mitch McConnell Addison Mitchell McConnell III (born February 20, 1942) is an American politician and retired attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Kentucky and the Senate minority leader since 2021. Currently in his seventh term, McCon ...

rejected calls from Democrats and state governments to provide aid to state and local governments, which are experiencing significant budget shortfalls due to lost revenue from the pandemic.Carl Hulse
McConnell Says States Should Consider Bankruptcy, Rebuffing Calls for Aid
''New York Times'' (April 22, 2020). (States cannot currently declare bankruptcy, although that could be changed through legislation.)Jeremy Chisenhall

''Lexington Herald-Leader'' (April 24, 2010). After the Senate voted to pass the bill, McConnell said he would prefer that states declare

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debto ...

rather than have the federal government give the states money. McConnell disparaged the proposals to provide aid to the states as "free money" and characterized the requests as seeking a "Blue State Bailout."

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Andrew Cuomo Andrew Mark Cuomo ( ; ; born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cuo ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

called McConnell's suggestion of placing states in bankruptcy "one of the saddest, really dumb comments of all time" and accused him of hyperpartisanship that would deprive police, firefighters, and health-care workers of necessary funding. Cuomo also pointed out that New York contributes $116 billion more to the federal government than it receives, while McConnell's home state of Kentucky receives $148 billion more than it contributes to the federal government. McConnell's remarks were also criticized by some Republican governors.

Provisions

Provisions of the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act include the following. * Appropriates an additional $320billion of funding for the

, which provides low-interest loans for payroll costs and other expenses to small businesses that are forgivable under certain circumstances. Of that amount, $60billion is for PPP loans made by small banks, small

credit union A credit union, a type of financial institution similar to a commercial bank, is a member-owned nonprofit financial cooperative. Credit unions generally provide services to members similar to retail banks, including deposit accounts, provis ...

s, and community financial institutions.H.R.266 - Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act
. ''116th Congress''. Retrieved April 23, 2020. * Appropriates an additional $10billion for emergency Economic Injury Disaster Loans.Hearn, Curtis R.; Horton, William W.; Johnsen, R. Christian; Maxwell, Meredith Guthrie (April 22, 2020).
Senate Passes Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act
. ''National Law Review''. * Expands eligibility for emergency Economic Injury Disaster Loans to farms and agricultural-related businesses. * Appropriates $50billion for Small Business Administration disaster loans. * Appropriates an additional $75billion to the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund for health care providers' expenses or lost revenues related to coronavirus. * Appropriates $25billion to the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund for researching, developing, validating, manufacturing, purchasing, administering, and expanding capacity for

COVID-19 testing COVID-19 testing involves analyzing samples to assess the current or past presence of SARS-CoV-2. The two main types of tests detect either the presence of the virus or antibodies produced in response to infection. Molecular tests for viral p ...

. * Appropriates $2.1billion for salaries for the

Small Business Administration The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent agency of the United States government that provides support to entrepreneurs and small businesses. The mission of the Small Business Administration is "to maintain and stre ...

.Money? What Money? Is It Time to Give Your Money Back? Updates to the PPP and the FAQ’s
. ''Lowenstein Sandler LLP''. JDSUPRA. April 24, 2020.

Notes

References

External links