Summarizing the Coronavirus Economic Relief Act – Part IV
Read Part I, Part II, and Part III
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act allocates $150,000,000,000 to the 50 States. Funds are directed to cover costs which “are necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)”. The amount paid to each State will be “equal to the relative population proportion amount determined for the State”, but not “less than $1,250,000,000.” Of the $150 Billion, $3,000,000,000 is for “making payments to the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa”; and $8,000,000,000 is for “making payments to Tribal governments”.
$45,000,000,000 is allocated “to remain available until expended” for “disaster relief” related to the coronavirus.
$27,014,500,000 is “to remain available until September 30, 2024, to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, domestically or internationally, including the development of necessary countermeasures and vaccines, prioritizing platform-based technologies with U.S.-based manufacturing capabilities, the purchase of vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics, necessary medical supplies, as well as medical surge capacity, addressing blood supply chain, workforce modernization, telehealth access and infrastructure, initial advanced manufacturing, novel dispensing, enhancements to the U.S. Commissioned Corps, and other preparedness and response activities”.
$10,000,000,000 is appropriated to the U.S. Postal Service, “if the Postal Service determines that, due to the COVID–19 emergency, the Postal Service will not be able to fund operating expenses without borrowing money”.
$9,500,000,000 is set aside “to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus by providing support for agricultural producers impacted by coronavirus, including producers of specialty crops, producers that supply local food systems, including farmers markets, restaurants, and schools, and livestock producers, including dairy producers”. $14,000,000,000 is set aside “to reimburse the Commodity Credit Corporation for net realized losses sustained” due to the coronavirus.
$8,800,000,000 is set aside for “Child Nutrition Programs” and $15,810,000,000 is set aside for “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program” “to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus”.
$4,300,000,000 is “to remain available” for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “to carry out surveillance, epidemiology, laboratory capacity, infection control, mitigation, communications, and other preparedness and response activities” “to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, domestically or internationally”.
(Note: This bill is 880 Pages, and has been reduced to a four-part summary; much was left out.)