Washington, DC – Late this evening the House of Representatives passed the Heroes Act (H.R. 6800). The $3 trillion bill is the fifth relief package designed to deal with the economic and health impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
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“As the death toll mounts and the economy continues to decline, the House acted and did the right thing for the country,” said FCNL General Secretary Diane Randall. “We strongly support the HEROES Act and thank all the representatives who voted for it. On behalf of what has been lost – lives, livelihoods, family, community – we now need the Senate to move on their own legislation. Recovery – economic or otherwise – will only come from sustained action.”
The Heroes Act, which stands for Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (Heroes), is the biggest of the five relief packages It includes many items FCNL and its advocates have been lobbying for since the COVID-19 pandemic began in the United States. These include increased nutrition assistance, extended unemployment assistance, aid for state and local governments, and assistance for tribes, immigrants, and incarcerated individuals.
Regretfully the bill does not provide funds for international aid and development, but it also does not include additional Pentagon funding or subsidies for military contractors.
“The official COVID-19 death toll is closing in on 87,000 people and the unemployment rate more than 14 percent as of April. There is nothing more important Congress should do right now but act aggressively to counter the pandemic and its impact. The American people need this federal support,” said Amelia Kegan, FCNL legislative director for domestic policy. “The health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic will be felt for many years. We must do everything in our power now to mitigate them before it is too late. That is now up to the Senate and the president.”
Additional information on the Heroes Act can be found here.
To learn more, please visit www.fcnl.org.
