The U.S. House passed a bill early Saturday to bolster the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The bill provides funding intended to help citizens and employees who are facing economic setbacks because of the global pandemic. The bill passed 363-40 and now goes to the Senate.
U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, D-3rd Dist., has issued a statement on House passage of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act:
“It’s more important now than ever that Congress works together on a coordinated, well-resourced government response to this public health crisis to help keep communities in Kansas and across the country safe,” Rep. Davids said. “The Families First Act takes smart, strategic measures to help protect the personal safety and financial security of our families. It includes many of the vital measures I called for, such as free testing, paid sick leave to replace lost wages and help stop the spread of the virus, and strengthened food assistance for children and families. There’s a lot more work Congress must do to protect the health and economic security of the people in this country – and that’s what I’ll keep working towards.”
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act provides:
• Free testing for coronavirus: The Families First Coronavirus Response Act ensures that all individuals who need a test, including those with private insurance, Medicare Advantage or Original Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, VA, FEHBP, and TRICARE, as well as the uninsured, will have access at no cost.
• Economic security:
– Paid emergency leave: The Families First Coronavirus Response Act provides two weeks of paid sick leave and up to three months of paid family and medical leave.
– Enhanced Unemployment Insurance: The Families First Coronavirus Response Act gives states the resources and flexibility to provide unemployment benefits to laid off and furloughed workers, as well as to those workers who exhaust their allotted paid leave. This measure also provides additional funding to help the hardest-hit states immediately and in the future if conditions worsen.
• Food security: The Families First Coronavirus Response Act includes more than $1 billion to provide food to low-income pregnant women and mothers with young children, help local food banks, and feed low-income seniors. It ensures that students who depend on schools and child care for free and reduce-priced meals continue to have access to nutritious foods during closures. And it provides women, infants, and children with the flexibility to access food and infant formula without having to make unnecessary or unsafe visits to clinics.
• Health security: The Families First Coronavirus Response Act increases the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP), which the federal government provides to state and territorial Medicaid programs. This will prevent states from cutting benefits, reducing their Medicaid rolls, or imposing greater costs on enrollees.
