Congress Enacts CARE Act

Congress agreed on what they thought the best way to provide relief for the country for coronavirus last month. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) include about $2 trillion in assistance to individuals and businesses.

National Public Radio estimates cash payments to Americans will total $300 billion. Individuals earning less than $75,000 can expect a one-time cash payment of $1,200 from the federal government, and families can expect $500 per child.

The Senate passed the bill unanimously, sending it to the House where Republican Rep. Thomas Massie threatened to delay its passage. He confirmed plans to demand a recorded vote (requiring members to come to the chamber to have their vote recorded physically) in a series of tweets. Ultimately, the bill passed by voice vote. 

For college students, the bill’s effect depends on their age and whether their parents have claimed them as a dependent.

“For me, my parents got my money because they file me as a dependent to them. My parents are putting it towards my college money, so it helps them a little bit to continue supporting my college education,” said Kristen Maggiore, a University of Wyoming student.

$454 billion of the emergency relief money will be allocated to the Federal Reserve to support its lending facilities, while another $29 billion will be funneled to passenger and cargo air carriers. $367 billion will be available for small businesses, distributed through the Small Business Administration. 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has already mentioned another coronavirus relief bill, which would be the fourth thus far. Vox said she referred to it as “CARES-2.” 

Congress will not return to Capitol Hill until April 20 at the earliest, but discussions about the next step to provide more relief to Americans are already underway. The next bill could include an extension of expanded unemployment insurance, additional pay for healthcare and essential workers, expanded healthcare access, and more direct payments to Americans, but the details are still unknown. 

However, rolling out the current CARES Act is still the top priority before the next potential bill can be drafted.

Taxpayers who can use direct deposit should be expecting their stimulus checks soon (mid-April). Americans who have not set up direct deposits with the federal government could wait up to five months to receive their checks. Those with lower incomes will reportedly be prioritized.

Many liberals have accused the bill of being a corporate giveaway with the absence of provisions to expand paid leave and strengthen worker-safety protections, especially for healthcare workers on the frontlines of the virus. 

Many conservatives have expressed concern about the sheer size of the package and provisions they deem irrelevant to the immediate crisis, like the $25 million allocated for the Kennedy Center in Washington.

Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy delivered a rare joint signing of the bill, thanking each other for the bipartisan work – a sign of the gravity of the situation that America has come to face alongside the rest of the world.