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Relief Package Passed: Family First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201)
The Family First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201) was passed this afternoon by the U.S. Senate and it is on the way to the President’s desk for approval. This $104 billion bill will provide up to 10 days of fully paid sick leave and 12 weeks of paid family leave for parents at two-thirds of their salary, plus shore up nutritional assistance for families and fund testing for the coronavirus.
At this point, there are no details about how Americans will be able to access relief measures. PPA will get those to you as soon as they become available. The Senate has given no timeline yet on when that will be, however, it will likely take some time.
The Senate is continuing to work on Phase three of the bill which would deal specifically with:
- Small business liquidity: an effort to move swiftly and boldly to help America’s small businesses survive this time and thrive on the other side. The Small Business and Banking Committees are working on this.
- Financial Assistance to Americans: examining policy tools to put money quickly and directly into the hands of American families and businesses (Senate Finance Committee is working on this).
- Aviation assistance: ensuring industry can access liquidity during this extraordinary time (Senate Commerce, Senate Appropriations, and Senate Finance are working on this piece).
We are told that the Senate will remain in session until Phase 3 is passed according to the Majority Leader.
Helpful Links:
Benefits.gov is the official United States government website outlining all programs available on a state and federal level. There is a navigation tool where you can filter by state and subcategory. Please note the programs currently listed on the site are pre-existing programs and do not include the above mentioned relief programs.
https://www.benefits.gov/categories/Financial%20Assistance
Photographers wanting to stay up-to-date on the government response to the coronavirus should book this page: https://www.usa.gov/coronavirus
Included on this page is a link by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau providing advice for managing the personal financial impact of coronavirus: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/blog/protect-yourself-financially-from-impact-of-coronavirus/
In addition there is a link from the Internal Revenue Service providing advice for deducting COVID-19 costs from your taxes: https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus
We will continue to actively monitor the roll-out of the approved relief package and send updates as we know more. PPA is committed to doing everything we can to help you navigate through this crisis and offer solutions for each day’s new challenges. We are in this together.