(UPDATE - 4/21/20): This bill has been amended to serve as the legislative vehicle for the “phase 3.5” coronavirus relief package. In its original form, the bill provided FY2019 funding for public land agencies & the Environmental Protection Agency. It has been amended to become the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act — which would provide $484 billion in funding for small business relief, healthcare providers, and COVID-19 testing & tracing capacity. A breakdown of its current provisions can be found below.
SMALL BUSINESS PROVISIONS
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP): This section would increase funding for the PPP, which provides forgivable loans to small businesses, by a total of $321 billion. It would also set aside funds to be distributed by smaller financial institutions, including:
$30 billion from banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions with assets between $10 billion & $50 billion.
$30 billion from banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions with less than $10 billion assets.
Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL): This section would provide a total of $60 billion in funding for the Small Business Administration’s EIDL program which provides direct, low-interest, long-term disaster loans, including:
$50 billion that would be leveraged into more than $350 billion in loans for small businesses.
$10 billion for the EIDL grants program, which gives small businesses access to a quick capital infusion worth up to $10,000 each.
Additionally, EIDL eligibility would be extended to agricultural enterprises with 500 or fewer employees.
HEALTHCARE
Hospitals & Healthcare Providers: This section would provide $75 billion to reimburse hospitals and other healthcare providers amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Eligible entities include public entities, Medicare & Medicaid enrolled suppliers & providers, and other for-profit or not-for-profit entities that provide diagnoses, testing, or care for individuals with possible or actual cases of COVID-19. Funds from this section will be used to reimburse them for things such as:
The treatment of uninsured patients diagnosed with COVID-19.
Expenses or lost revenues that are attributable to coronavirus.
Building or constructing temporary structures, leasing properties, establishing emergency operation centers, retrofitting facilities, and building surge capacity.
Purchasing medical supplies & equipment, including personal protective equipment (PPE), and testing supplies.
Workforce increases and training for COVID-19.
Funding from this section couldn’t be used to reimburse expenses or losses that have been reimbursed from other sources or that other sources are obligated to reimburse.
Testing & Tracing: This section would provide a total of $25 billion in funding for COVID-19 testing & tracing capacity. These resources would fund the manufacture, procurement, distribution, and administration of tests, such as rapid point-of-care tests; support epidemiology efforts at academic, commercial, public health, and hospital laboratories to conduct surveillance & contact tracing.
Of the total, $11 billion would be set aside for state & local governments for purchasing, administering, processing, and analyzing COVID-19 tests, in addition to supporting COVID-19 surveillance & tracing activities.
Miscellaneous:
The Office of Management and Budget is given administrative discretion to shift funding between the Food & Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Public Health & Social Services Emergency Fund.