Rep. Cisneros Votes for Coronavirus Economic Relief Bill

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Representative Gilbert R. Cisneros, Jr. (CA-39) voted to pass Heroes Act 2.0, a coronavirus economic relief bill. It maintains key priorities from the Heroes Act passed in May and includes additional provisions to address new problems brought on by the pandemic. This comprehensive bill includes strong support for small businesses, more funds to bolster education and child care, provisions to honor frontline workers, additional direct payments and restores unemployment benefits, bolsters housing assistance, and supports testing, tracing, and treatment.

“This updated legislation, Heroes Act 2.0, provides the relief that 39th District residents need. In addition to another stimulus check, funding for testing, schools, and cities, and support for frontline workers and small businesses, this legislation also includes targeted relief for restaurants and a second round of PPP,” said Rep. Cisneros. “With the recent news of mass layoffs, including at Disneyland, Congress needs to pass this coronavirus relief bill. The House has been at the negotiation table, and the White House and the Senate have to get serious and step up now. We cannot have another repeat where Leader McConnell blocks coronavirus relief legislation for over 130 days. The American people deserve action.”

Heroes Act 2.0 includes the following for California’s 39th District:

$436 BILLION FOR STATE & LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: The updated Heroes Act includes $436 billion to help state and local governments, allowing them to pay vital workers like first responders and health workers who keep us safe and are in danger of losing their jobs. In part due to the advocacy by Rep. Cisneros, the bill updates the requirements for how this funding can be spent to respond to on-the-ground realities 

• Rep. Cisneros has been a tireless advocate for additional funding to support our local cities, publishing an Op-Ed in the OC Register and sending a bipartisan letter to House leadership calling for urgent action to support local governments; he also cosponsored legislation to provide funding to smaller cities.
• The package includes the bipartisan bill Rep. Cisneros introduced with Rep. Bacon to allow current and previously allocated funding to be used to replace foregone revenues and address other negative economic impacts of COVID-19.
• In response to the Department of Treasury issuing overly narrow guidance restricting the use of CARES Act funding, Rep. Cisneros introduced bipartisan legislation to provide flexibility to state and local governments.

*NOTE: Hacienda Heights and Rowland Heights are NOT slated to receive direct funding because they are unincorporated; as is the case for CDBG funding, they would need to seek money from the County allocation.

SUPPORT FOR SMALL BUSINESSES: The updated Heroes Act extends and modifies several Small Business Administration (SBA) programs that were established by the CARES Act, as many of that programs—such as the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)—did not anticipate that the economic disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic would last beyond summer.

• The bill includes a request made by Rep. Cisneros in a bipartisan letter to allow small businesses who already received a PPP loan to apply for a second loan up to $2 million. 
• The bill includes language from bipartisan legislation introduced by Rep. Cisneros to ensure our Local Chambers of Commerce and nonprofits can access PPP loans. 
• The bill includes language from bipartisan legislation Rep. Cisneros cosponsored to provide automatic forgiveness for PPP loans under $150,000.
• The bill includes language from a bill supported by Rep. Cisneros to establish a new $120 billion program to provide restaurants and other food providers with grants to compensate for the unprecedented losses facing the industry.
• The bill includes provisions to strengthen minority lending institutions and support lending in underserved communities. Rep. Cisneros sent a letter to Leadership urging for inclusion PPP funding set asides for smaller community lenders, such as credit unions and Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), historically used more by communities of color. 

$75 BILLION TO ADVANCE TESTING, TRACING, AND TREATMENT: The updated Heroes Act includes $75 billion for coronavirus testing, contact tracing and isolation measures, ensuring every American can access free coronavirus treatment, and supporting hospitals and providers. It also includes $28 billion for procurement, distribution and education campaigns for a safe and effective vaccine.

• The bill includes a number of provisions to expand access to testing, including requiring the Department of Health and Human Services to maintain a public and searchable website that lists all diagnostic and serological tests available. Rep. Cisneros has been conducting critical oversight into actions by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to restrict access to testing, and has been calling for greater federal support for contract tracing and testing nationwide.
• The bill provides $7.6 billion to expand capacity and provide testing and care for COVID-19 at health centers nationwide. Thanks to the enactment of the CARES Act, early this year Rep. Cisneros announced nearly $800,000 in federal funding to expand testing at CA-39 Health Centers that primarily serve uninsured populations. 
• The bill provides $100 billion for health care providers to reimburse expenses related to COVID-19. It also eliminates cost sharing for Medicaid beneficiaries for COVID-19 treatment and vaccines and increases Medicaid payments for states and providers. Rep. Cisneros introduced legislation to require Medicaid to cover treatment and testing for all Americans diagnosed with COVID-19 and announced over $570,000 for health centers in California’s 39th Congressional District to provide healthcare.
• The bill establishes a COVID-19 National Testing and Contact Tracing (CONTACT) Initiative. Rep. Cisneros is a cosponsor of the Health Force and Resilience Force Act to help put Americans back to work and improve testing by creating a federally supported and locally managed program to train and deploy public and community health frontline workers to support testing contact tracing and vaccine administration efforts.

RENT AND MORTGAGE RELIEF FOR FAMILIES: The updated Heroes Act includes a number of provisions to help Americans stay in their homes including by establishing a moratorium on evictions and foreclosures, requiring forbearance for lenders seeking mortgage relief, and providing direct rental and mortgage assistance.

• The bill includes $50 billion for an Emergency Rental Assistance program and $21 billion for states to establish Homeowner Assistance funding programs. Rep. Cisneros helped secure house passage of legislation he cosponsored, the Emergency Rental Assistance and Rental Market Stabilization Act of 2020, to create the emergency stabilization funds.
• The bill would establish a moratorium on evictions and foreclosures and require lenders to issue a forbearance on a loan to ensure that mortgage borrowers are not required to instantly make up missing payments. Rep. Cisneros has been a consistent champion for protecting renters and homeowners during this unprecedented time.

RELIEF FOR SCHOOLS AND STUDENTS: The updated Heroes Act includes $225 billion for the Education Department to support the educational needs of states, school districts, and institutions of higher education in response to the coronavirus and expands student loan provisions included under the CARES Act.

• The bill includes $12 billion for Wi-Fi hotspots and connected devices for students and $3 billion for emergency home connectivity needs. Rep. Cisneros sent a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai urging the agency to take action to ensure students have adequate access to distance learning tools and broadband connectivity, including protecting consumers from predatory practices. He also voted for legislation earlier this year to make $100 billion investments in broadband deployment nationwide.
• The bill includes $208 billion for State Fiscal Stabilization Fund education funding for local school districts and public higher education to meet a wide range of urgent needs, California would receive $24.7 billion, with $21 billion allocated for Local Education Agencies and $3.2 billion allocated for Higher Education institutions. Rep. Cisneros sent several letters to leadership urging additional funding for K-12 and Higher education systems.

LOWER TAXES: The updated Heroes Act includes legislation championed by Rep. Cisneros to repeal the cap on State and Local Taxes or SALT. It also expands eligibility for the Earned Income Tax Credit and makes the Child Tax credit more accessible to lower taxes for low income families.

• The bill would repeal the $10,000 cap on the State and Local Tax deduction for 2020. Rep. Cisneros helped secure House passage of the Restoring Tax Fairness for States and Localities Act in December 2019 to repeal the SALT deduction cap for 2020 and 2021. He also introduced bipartisan legislation, the SALT Relief and Marriage Penalty Elimination Act of 2019, to repeal the marriage penalty associated with the SALT cap and secured its inclusion in the SALT relief package.
• The bill would allow the entire $2,000 per child tax credit to be refundable for tax year 2020. It also would make the child and dependent care tax credit fully refundable for 2020 and expand the costs that can be claimed. Rep. Cisneros helped secure House passage of legislation to expand the tax credit earlier this year.

SUPPORT FOR SENIORS: The updated Heroes Act includes a number of provisions to enhance safety in nursing facilities, improve elderly housing, including payments for high performing facilities, and funding for states to establish nursing home “strike teams”. 

• The bill provides $500 million for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to aid states in establishing and implementing strike teams to send expertise and staff to help facilities in the event of an outbreak. Rep. Cisneros has been pushing the Trump Administration to increase support for nursing homes and long term care facilities.
• The bill includes flexibilities to ease in-person requirements for certain senior nutrition programs like the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program. Rep. Cisneros led members of the California delegation in an effort earlier this year to expand food program flexibilities under the Commodity Supplemental Food Program to facilitate deliveries of food packages.
• The bill provides $500 million in funding for the HUD Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly program to ensure sufficient staffing, services, and other resources for 3,500 senior and disabled resident communities during the COVID-19 pandemic

ADDRESSING HOMELESSNESS: The updated Heroes Act includes significant investments to help state and local governments finance housing and health related services for those experiencing homelessness. 

• The bill includes $5 billion for Emergency Solutions Grants that help individuals and families who are homeless or are at risk of homelessness. Rep. Cisneros led a letter to leadership urging increased funding for Emergency Solutions Grants. He also announced over $73 million in homeless funding under the Emergency Solutions Grants program for our counties under the CARES Act.
• The bill includes $4 billion for public housing agencies and $1 billion for vouchers for individuals and families who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Rep. Cisneros voted to expand housing vouchers and homeless assistance grants earlier this year.

STRATEGIC NATIONAL STOCKPILE AND DOMESTIC MANUFACTURING: The updated Heroes Act makes a number of improvements to the Strategic National Stockpile to increase availability of medical supplies nationwide.

• The bill would strengthen the stockpile by establishing requirements for maintenance to ensure supplies are in good working order and improve transparency for supply requests. Rep. Cisneros helped introduce and secure House passage of a bipartisan legislative package to improve the stockpile.
• The bill would improve domestic product availability and support small businesses manufacturing personal protective equipment by establishing a supply chain flexibility manufacturing pilot. Rep. Cisneros led a bipartisan letter addressed to the Secretaries of Health and Human Services and Defense urging them to support small businesses in procuring PPE and replenishing the Strategic National Stockpile.

EXPANDS UNEMPLOYMENT: The updated Heroes Act reinstates the weekly $600 federal unemployment payments through next January, providing a vital safety net for the record number of Americans who are unemployed.

MORE STIMULUS CHECKS: The updated Heroes Act establishes a second round of economic impact payments of $1200 per family member. The bill also makes a number of corrections to ensure all Americans receive equal relief.

PRESERVE POSTAL SERVICE: The updated Heroes Act provides the U.S. Postal Service $15 billion to help the postal service continue to serve small businesses and deliver election ballots.