Democrats Want HEROES
$3 trillion coronavirus relief bill, put forth by Democrats in the House of Representatives
Funding for coronavirus testing and containment measures:
The bill provides $75 billion for coronavirus testing and contact tracing implementation, and also allows all Americans to receive free coronavirus treatment.
Direct payments to Americans:
The HEROES Act includes a one-time stimulus check payment, similar to the CARES Act, of $1,200 per person up to $6,000 per household, but with several more generous features.
Individuals earning up to $75,000 would get a one-time $1,200 check. Couples earning up to $150,000 would be eligible for $2,400.
The HEROES Act pays $1,200 for each dependent (up to three dependents), more than double the CARES Act payment (which paid $500 per dependent), and allows adult dependents.
The first round of stimulus checks excluded adult dependents, which excluded many college students and immigrants. People without a Social Security number were excluded from the first round of checks. The HEROES Act says all you need is a taxpayer ID number. Republicans aren’t excited over that.
Extended unemployment benefits:
The HEROES Act would extend the unemployment benefits from the CARES Act, including the extra $600 weekly federal unemployment benefit, through January 31, 2021. If you’re already receiving Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC), your payments could be extended to March 31, 2021.
Gig workers, independent contractors, part-time workers and the self-employed will also be able to take advantage of unemployment benefits through March 2021.
Student loan debt forgiveness:
The CARES Act suspended interest and payments for most people with federal student loans through September 30, 2020. Interest will not accrue during that period. The HEROES Act extends that break for another, year through September 30, 2021, and expands it to all federal student loans, including Federal Perkins Loans and some other loans
But the legislation also cancels up to $10,000 for some federal and
private loan holders. Democrats scaled this back from a proposed $30,000 in canceled student loan debt.
The HEROES Act also proposes direct emergency cash payments for financially struggling students, including international students, undocumented immigrant students, and DACA students.
Support for homeowners and renters:
America’s 40-million-plus renters were overlooked by the CARES Act. Not so the HEROES Act, which provides approximately $100 billion for rental assistance.
Here’s how it would work: An existing nationwide grant rental assistance program would verify a tenant’s inability to pay rent and give vouchers to cover the cost of rent and utilities.
It would also extend the ban on evictions for nonpayment for a year following its enactment date.
The bill also provides $75 billion for a homeowner assistance fund intended to prevent mortgage defaults and property foreclosures.
It would amend the previous stimulus package so that borrowers of any “covered mortgage loan” (any secured by a mortgage or deed of trust on one-to-four unit dwelling) would be eligible for forbearance for up to a year if they affirm that the coronavirus has affected them financially.
Previously, only borrowers of federally backed mortgages were eligible for 12 months of forbearance. The legislation also provides a national foreclosure and eviction moratorium for one year, and extends benefits to mortgage servicers, who naturally struggle when the government says they can’t collect mortgage payments.
Debt Collection Freeze
Don’t get your hopes up for some magic proposal that stops the debt collector in his tracks.
The HEROES Act includes a moratorium on debt collections during the pandemic and 120 days thereafter. Democrats realize this would all but destroy the debt collection business.
So, to make the whole idea more palatable to Republicans, Democrats, usually no fans of debt collectors, included long-term, low-cost loans for debt collectors to compensate them for being denied collecting their debts.
Support for frontline workers:
The HEROES Act sets aside $200 billion for hazard pay. Hazard pay would be:
Given to a wide variety of “essential” workers, including doctors, nurses and other frontline medical personnel, police officers, firefighters, social workers, grocery clerks, postal workers, and childcare and cafeteria workers.
A $13-an-hour raise paid until workers receive a total of $10,000 if their regular pay is less than $200,000 per year. Or up to $5,000 total if they make more than $200,000 a year.
Paid for 60 days after the pandemic ends if the $10,000 or $5,000 totals aren’t reached first.
Distributed by employers, who will apply to the government for hazard pay, add it to their workers’ paychecks, deduct payroll taxes from all hazard payments.
will apply to the government for hazard pay, add it to their workers’ paychecks, deduct payroll taxes from all hazard payments.
Support for farmers:
The bill provides $50 million to farmers, farmers markets, and local food producers impacted by supply chain disruptions, and another $50 million to fledgling farmers and ranchers.
Funding for the U.S. Postal Service:
The bill provides $25 billion to the USPS.
Funding for state and local governments:
The bill provides $500 billion to state governments, $375 billion to local governments, $20 billion to U.S. territories, and $20 billion to tribal governments.
Election security:
The bill provides $3.6 billion to states to prepare for upcoming elections and to increase election security.
Republicans Present HEALS
$1 trillion price tag
First off, take note that the HEALS Act comes in at less than half the cost of the CARES Act, and around a third of the cost of the
Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, which was introduced and passed in the Democrat-led House in mid-May. This shouldn't be a surprise, especially given GOP lawmakers' desire to keep an already ballooned federal deficit in 2020 from getting any bigger.
$1,200/$2,400 direct stimulus payouts
The HEALS Act contains another direct stimulus payment to workers and senior citizens on
Social Security. These maximum payouts are exactly the same for individuals ($1,200) and couples filing jointly ($2,400) as they were under the CARES Act.
Qualifying income thresholds are the same as the CARES Act
Qualifying thresholds to receive a stimulus payment are also staying the same. Single, head-of-household, and married tax filers whose adjusted gross income (AGI) falls below $75,000, $112,500, and $150,000, respectively, will net the full payout. On the other hand, single, head-of-household, and married filers with respective AGI's north of $99,000, $136,500, and $198,000 won't receive a dime. Folks who fall in between these upper and lower bounds will receive a reduced payout (a $5 payout reduction for every $100 in AGI above the lower bound).
Dependents of all ages qualify
Unlike the CARES Act, which increased a parent's or household's payout by $500 for each dependent aged 16 and under, the HEALS Act
has no age-related restrictions on dependents. This means a parent, household, or guardian with a senior dependent or college-age dependent can receive the $500 kicker. It's estimated that 26 million people will become newly eligible to help their parent, household, or guardian receive a larger payout with the HEALS Act.
More ways for the IRS to access direct deposit info
If a tax filer has received a federal refund within the past few years, there's a good chance the IRS has their bank account information on file and can directly deposit their upcoming stimulus payout. But for folks who make payments from a bank account to the IRS, the IRS wasn't able to use this information in reverse (i.e., access their bank account info) to make CARES Act-related direct deposits. With the HEALS Act, the IRS will be able to access account info for folks who've paid federal taxes electronically from a bank account after 2017. This may mean faster payouts for more Americans.
More payment options
Although direct deposit will, undoubtedly, be the favored form of payment for the next round of stimulus, the HEALS Act authorizes an abundance of new payout options. This includes issuing prepaid debit cards or issuing payment to a Treasury-sponsored account.
Payout garnishment OK when in arrears on child support
Just like the CARES Act, the HEALS Act forbids federal and state agencies from withholding a stimulus payment -- with one exception. If an individual is
in arrears on their child support payments, then a portion, or all, of the next round of stimulus money can be withheld.
Hands off, banks and creditors
One thing the CARES Act failed to clearly spell out is whether or not banks and creditors had a right to Economic Impact Payments if a person was in arrears on a loan. The HEALS Act makes that clear: Banks and creditors wouldn't be able to garnish these payments. Period. Further, these protections would be enforced retroactively to CARES Act payouts.
Undocumented workers receive nothing
Although the HEROES Act included provisions designed to allow undocumented workers with a taxpayer identification number to receive a stimulus payment, the HEALS Act does not. Persons without a clear path to U.S. citizenship won't be allowed to receive a payment under the GOP-backed legislation.
Enhanced unemployment benefits are reduced
Under the CARES Act, unemployed beneficiaries netted an extra $600 a week between April 1 and July 31. According to Republicans, this added payment was too high and may be responsible for keeping folks out of the workforce. With the HEALS Act, the goal is to replace 70% of a worker's wages while on unemployment. This would result in an
enhanced benefit of roughly $200 a week, instead of $600.
Additional money for vaccine research
The White House initially balked at adding new funds for coronavirus vaccine research. However, the HEALS Act contains $16 billion in new funding, which will be added to $9 billion in previously authorized funds for a grand total of $25 billion.
Schools net $105 billion in funding
The HEALS Act also allocates $105 billion to aid schools and universities. Some $70 billion will go toward K-12 schools (primarily those reopening for in-school instruction), with $30 billion apportioned to colleges and universities. A final $5 billion will be disbursed to state governors to spend as they see fit.
A five-year liability shield
Another interesting addition to the HEALS Act is the
five-year liability shield that prevents businesses, schools, universities, and hospitals from being sued over coronavirus-related damages. To be clear, this wouldn't eliminate lawsuits, but plaintiffs would need to prove that gross negligence of state and local public health guidelines existed in order to win their case. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has suggested that this liability shield is a line in the sand for the HEALS Act that isn't up for debate.
More PPP loans headed to small businesses
Struggling small businesses looking for additional help should receive it under the HEALS Act. In addition to leftover funding, there would be approximately $190 billion set aside in Payment Protection Program (PPP) funds. To qualify, businesses would need to show that their sales have dipped by at least 50%. Further, only businesses with 300 or fewer employees would qualify.
No extension of eviction moratorium
One of the bigger gaps in funding between the HEROES Act and HEALS Act can be seen in their approaches to housing assistance. The HEROES Act would give close to $200 billion to assist renters and homeowners, whereas the HEALS Act doles out only $3.2 billion for rental assistance ($500 million of which would cover administrative costs). The GOP proposal also failed to extend the temporary moratorium on evictions of lessors with properties backed by federal mortgage loans, which expired on July 24, 2020.
No extension on student loan relief
Under the CARES Act, persons with outstanding student loans were allowed to forgo their payments for a six-month period ending Sept. 30, 2020. Interest also does not accrue during this six-month stretch. The HEALS Act failed to extend this moratorium, implying that come October, interest will again accrue and payments will need to be made.
A full tax deduction on business meals
Definitely one of the least-discussed aspects of the HEALS Act is that it would offer a
100% deduction on business meals through the end of 2020. The idea here is to get people back into hard-hit restaurants.
Here it is... in black and white, left and right, up and down. Which plan do you want. It WILL have real world repercussions for Black Americans and there are direct tangibles that affect
YOU, yes you looking at this right now...no, YOU nigga stop looking around!
So HOW are you voting in this poll right here, right now.
EDIT:
ANYONE WHO POSTS BUT DIDN'T VOTE AUTOMATICALLY RENDERS YOUR OPINION BULLSHIT!
its a fucking message board POLL if you are AFRAID of taking a side on a message board poll then keep your opinion to yourself...seriously, cuz you're bringing NOTHING to the table of debate.
LITERALLY PUT UP OR SHUT UP.
EDIT FOR THE THREAD:
PLEASE CHECK TO SEE IF THE PERSON VOTED....IF NOT THEN PLEASE DON'T RESPOND TO THEIR SHIT. IF THEY DIDN'T PICK A PLAN CLOSEST TO WHAT THEY WANT THEN THEY'RE BULLSHITTERS NOT WORTHY OF DEBATING THE ISSUE. PERIOD.
