President Signs Fourth Federal COVID-19 Aid Package

This afternoon, in a ceremony in the Oval Office, President Trump signed the fourth coronavirus relief bill passed by Congress earlier this week. The legislation contained $484 billion of additional funding including funding for the small business Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), an additional $75 billion in funding for hospitals, and $25 billion in targeted COVID-19 testing appropriations.

Meanwhile, Speaker Nancy Pelosi has indicated the House of Representatives are already at work on a fifth legislative package dubbed by Democrats as “CARES 2.” Issues that Democrats would like addressed include funding for States and local governments hit hard by the pandemic slowdown, monthly cash assistance for lower income individuals and families, renter protections, funding to support expanded vote-by-mail initiatives in the states, and expanded health coverage for patients infected by the coronavirus. Republicans in the House and the Senate are reluctant to rush into further COVID-19 spending proposals and instead many are recommending states begin to lift their lockdowns. 

CHEAC prepared a memo detailing the contents of the federal package available here. A statement from Governor Gavin Newsom on the passage of the measure is available here.