Reacción: El Congreso aprueba un paquete de ayuda COVID de 900 mil millones de dólares, enviado al presidente

On Monday night, Congress passed a $900 Billion pandemic relief package and sent it to President Trump.  The measure, if signed by the President, would provide long-awaited financial relief for families and businesses, with resources to provide COVID vaccinations to Americans, as the virus continues to surge and take the lives of thousands of people.

Reaction to the announcement was swift, with Governor Phil Murphy stating, “Certainly we are happy to see the House and the Senate come to an agreement, one that will offer some relief for working families and [for] small businesses extend the deadline for the investment of CARES Act funds into our communities, and provide some funding for our vaccination efforts and our schools. But at $900 billion, we are under shooting.  No one should fall into a false sense that the job is done. It is not. This is no time for half-measures, and we cannot keep finding ourselves back at the beginning once each round of support dries up before the pandemic is tamed. We need to keep working. Our families and businesses need more our communities and our fellow states need direct support,” he continued. “So yes, count me as grateful for this agreement but do not count me as satisfied with it.”

The Governor said $3 to $4 trillion would fall more in line to what’s actually needed.

The agreement, lust like the first, would include checks of up to $600 for people earning up to $75,000 per year and $600 for their children. An additional 11 weeks would also be added in unemployment benefits, as well as aid for educational institutions ($82 billion), renters ($25 billion), transportation ($47 billion) and more.

Rep. Albio Sires (D – District 8) stated, “As the coronavirus pandemic continues to flare up across the nation, and we are faced with both the health and economic consequences of the virus, it is passed time that the hard-working American people get more relief.  As we move into the winter it is essential that we provide appropriate support to help the millions of people struggling because of this virus. While everyone would have preferred to reach a deal sooner, I am confident that the measures in this legislation, and the billions in authorized funding that House Democrats fought for, will go a long way in providing concrete relief to the public.”

More specifically, the Congressional agreement includes the following:

C. ElEl COVID-19

Esta legislación autoriza a miles de millones de personasde laen nuevos fondos para ayudar a controlar la pandemia de coronavirus en los Estados Unidos. Se incluyen disposiciones para acelerar la distribución equitativa de la vacuna contra la COVID-19 y fortalecer nuestra capacidad de realizar el rastreo y la prueba de contactos, dos aspectos esenciales para mantener la propagación del virus baja.  

Pagos directos y beneficios fiscales

También incluidohasta$600en pagos directos para adultos y niños en una segunda ronda de pagos directos– ¿ Qué ? A diferencia de la primera ronda de pagos directos, mis colegas y yo luchamos para asegurar que las personas sin un número de seguro social puedan recibir un pago de estímulo si su cónyuge tiene un número de seguridad social– ¿ Qué ? Además, se mejorará el Crédito de Impuesto sobre la Ingresa Ganada y el Crédite de Impuesto a los Niños para garantizar que las familias que se enfrentaron al desempleo o a salarios reducidos durante la pandemia puedan recibir un fuerte crédito tributario basado en sus ingresos de 2019. El acuerdo también amplía y mejora el Crédito Tributario de Retención de Empleados para ayudar a los trabajadores durante los cierres o salarios reducidos relacionados con COVID-19 y proporciona un descuento fiscal para los empleadores que ofrecen licencia de enfermedad remunerada.  

Beneficios por desempleo

El acuerdo también incluye una extensión de las prestaciones federales de desempleo y crea un nuevo pago de $300 para los desempleados. El período de tiempo que un desempleado puede reclamar prestaciones de desempleo se ha incrementado en 11 semanas– ¿ Qué ?También se crea la compensación por desempleo de los trabajadores mixtos, que se aplica a los trabajadores por cuenta ajena.se aplica un beneficio adicional de $ 100 por semana financiado por el gobierno federal a las personas que tienen al menos $ 5,000 al año en ingresos por trabajo por cuenta propia pero están descalificados de recibir la Ayuda de Desempleo Pandémico porque son elegibles para beneficios de desempleo estatales regulares.

ViviendaAsistencia

Incluye una nueva moratoria sobre los desalojos y autorizaciones$ 25 miles de millones de dólares para autorizar la ayuda de alquiler que se necesita críticamente para asegurar que tantos estadounidenses como sea posible puedan permanecer en sus hogares.  Además, esta legislación incluye millones en cupones de vivienda dirigidos a reducir lasin hogar, yMejorar el Crédito Tributario de Vivienda de Bajos Ingresos para ayudar a aumentar la vivienda asequible ahora y en el futuro.

Apoyo a las pequeñas empresas

Esta legislación incluye nuevos fondos y cambios en las políticas para ayudar a las pequeñas empresas, incluidas las minorías, las empresas de veteranos y las mujeres. Se incluyen 284.000 millones de dólares para préstamos perdonables del Programa de Protección de Cheques de Pago (PPP), con fondos dedicados reservados para empresas mucho más pequeñas. Se incluyen 15.000 millones de dólares en fondos de ayuda para lugares en vivo, teatros independientes e instituciones culturales; y se autorizaron 20.000 millones de dólares para subvenciones específicas de EIDL, que son cruciales para muchas empresas más pequeñas.  

Otras disposiciones

Este proyecto de ley de ayuda incluye un aumento del 15% en los beneficios del Programa de Asistencia Nutricional Complementaria (SNAP).y tambiénincluye aumentos en los beneficios nutricionales para niños para ayudar a los que tienen que lidiar con el hambre. El proyecto de ley decuidado de niñosasistencia para ayudar a los padres en transiciónenVuelve al trabajo.  También se incluyen miles de millones de fondos para los gobiernos estatales y locales para ayudar a su respuesta al COVID-19. La legislación también autoriza más de $7 mil millones en fondos para ayudar a combatir el COVID-19 en todo el mundo.el globo, yincluye un acuerdo bipartidista para poner fin a la facturación médica sorpresa.  Se puede encontrar una revisión completa de la legislación de ayuda sección por sección¿Qué quieres decir?– ¿ Qué ?

Senator Bob Menendez (D – New Jersey), who voted for the relief bill, stated, “Finally, Congress has passed desperately-needed emergency relief for millions of Americans struggling amid an increasingly protracted pandemic. Far too many are on the brink of disaster as federal benefits and protections are set to expire. It never – never – should have taken this many months for Mitch McConnell to come to the negotiating table.”

Menendez continued, “While this package is far from perfect, Democrats secured critical provisions to help families weather this storm, including extending the moratorium on evictions, providing direct financial relief to individuals, giving rent relief to struggling families, and reinstating the expanded unemployment benefits for the millions of workers who have lost their jobs or have experienced a loss of wages over the last nine months.”

“I am deeply disappointed Republicans would not include essential aid for state and local governments, putting the jobs of first responders, teachers, and others at risk. The deal also does not include enough relief for the hard-hit restaurant industry and fails to provide any help for student loan borrowers. My commitment to these issues does not end here.”

“Nonetheless, this bill is a much-needed infusion for our economy and we have given the incoming Administration a strong foundation to help families and businesses in New Jersey and across the country. I look forward to working with the new Administration starting next year to help hard working families, small businesses and frontline workers recover from this unprecedented crisis.”

Rep. Donald Payne, Jr. (D – District 10) also voted in favor of the relief package, saying, “I was proud to vote for this bill to help struggling residents of New Jersey as well as Americans nationwide deal with the effects of this coronavirus.  We needed to pass something before the end of the year because people are suffering this winter and thousands were at risk of losing their housing.  It is a relief to see both parties come together to support our country at a time when we have a vaccine and we are closer to defeating the coronavirus.”

“It is unconscionable it took this long,” said Rep. Bill Pascrell (D – District 9). “While this bill does not provide aid to state and local governments that are being bled into bankruptcy, nor sufficient direct payments, it provides nearly a trillion dollars of relief into our fragile economy. It will help struggling Americans and it would be irresponsible to oppose helping people in trouble.”

Congressman Pascrell added, “There is a lot of back-patting today by the very people who blocked relief for seven months. No one should ever forget that during Republicans’ deliberate obstruction countless Americans have been killed and our nation has been damaged. The bill we passed today offers a fraction of the relief our nation needs and that the House passed 219 days ago. Today’s package is not enough by a long shot. There should be more, but Republicans who sat on the pause button simply won’t agree to anything more. Tens of millions of Americans are crying out every day for help because of this administration’s failed pandemic response that has led to over 318,000 Americans dead, nearly 1 in 18 Americans infected, and growing permanent job loss. I hear these pleas and know this bill will not end the crises many are facing. But it will help ease the pain for some. While vaccine distribution is just getting underway, the crises created by this pandemic are deepening. It will be up to us in Congress to pass more direct relief to Americans and in the House, we will.”

Finally, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker issued the following statement after voting for the coronavirus relief bill,  “After over seven months of delay and inaction from Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, tonight we are bringing long-overdue, much-needed relief to millions of people across New Jersey and our country who are hurting.

“This bill extends critically needed pandemic unemployment assistance, offers protections for renters and homeowners, and provides support for small businesses, including dedicated funding to go towards small and minority-owned small businesses. It also allocates urgently needed resources for vaccine distribution, testing and tracing, and health care providers.

“But there remains much more work to be done. We must secure additional state and local funding needed to support our first responders, educators, essential workers, and critical programs. We also must do more to support those out of work with additional unemployment insurance benefits and help families struggling during this economic crisis with more robust direct cash payments.

“We have a mandate to act boldly and comprehensively to help New Jerseyans and people across the country get through this severe economic and public health crisis. This bill is a step in the right direction, but I will continue fighting alongside my Democratic colleagues to ensure this is not Congress’ last pandemic relief package.”

President Trump is expected to sign the legislation.