An updated Heroes Act proposal was released this week with a price tag of $2.2 trillion dollars (the original proposal was $3.4 trillion). As the Governor mentions in his statement, we have an October 15th budget trigger that if we don’t get federal aid, various budget cuts will be made. Couple highlights of the updated proposal include:
• $1,200 – 2nd Round of Stimulus Checks: The proposal calls for another round of direct payments of $1,200 for qualifying taxpayers and $500 per dependent
• $600 dollars Extra in Fed Unemployment Benefits: Restores the $600 federal unemployment booster that expired at the end of July. It would continue the extra federal payments until Jan 2021. This provides a vital safety net for many unemployed individuals and low-income families.
• State and City Aid: The biggest budget item included in the updated package is $436 billion in aid to states and cities to help alleviate budget shortfalls caused by Covid-19 (the original proposal was $900 billion).
• Support for Small Business: Includes support for small businesses by extending the Paycheck Protection Program.
• Education and Child Care: includes $225 billion for education as well as $57 billion that would go to support child care programs.
• WIOA Funding: $2.1 billion dollars in funding to support workforce development.