HEALS Act: Overview of Senate Republicans' Coronavirus Relief Proposal
Senate Republican leadership on July 27, 2020, unveiled the Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protection, and Schools Act (HEALS Act), a draft plan to provide $1 trillion in coronavirus relief funding.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) outlined the pillars of the proposal, which include another round of $1,200 in direct payments to individual Americans, more money for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a reduction in pandemic federal unemployment benefits, liability protection and more than $100 billion for reopening schools and colleges.
A package of individual bills, the proposal provides the option of passing parts of the agenda now – such as extensions of unemployment insurance or schools funding – and leaving the others for later action. The introduction of the bills was the first step toward negotiating a compromise plan with House Democrats, who approved their $3.5 billion relief plan, the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act (HEROES Act), on May 15, 2020.
This Holland & Knight memo briefly summarizes key provisions within the HEALS Act.
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