To revive talks on the long-delayed new round of COVID relief, the U.S. House Democratic leadership has offered an “updated,” lower-cost version of the HEROES Act that the House passed in May. The American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC) supports this new $2.2 trillion bill that would extend relief to struggling businesses, non-profit organizations, education, childcare, states and localities, while restoring the additional $600 in unemployment benefits. The initial relief legislation of last March is widely credited with mitigating the worst economic effects of the pandemic during the spring, and restoring this common-sense relief is essential, so please sign on! | |
The revised Heroes Act would also ensure American workers’ continued protection of paid sick leave and paid family leave as included in the HEROES Act, although the expiration was moved from the end of 2021 to February 28, 2021 to contain costs. Other relief provided by the new bill includes a stimulus for companies to keep employees on payroll, public health investments focused on a sound Covid-19 testing strategy, and a second round of $1,200 checks per taxpayer plus $500 per dependent. | |
Business support is crucial, so please urge Congress to pass this new bill by signing on to ASBC’s letter. We’ll send it directly to both your Senators and your Representative. See the text of the revised Heroes Act here; a one-pager on the legislation here; a section-by-section summary here and further details on state and local relief provisions here. Please take a moment to sign on and help make the strongest business case for Covid-19 relief! | |
