Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce recently issued the following announcement on Mar. 26.
Asheville Chamber VP of Public Policy Corey Atkins breaks down what’s in the $2 Trillion Federal Covid-19 Relief Bill passed by the Senate on 3/25. There’s an outline below or watch our video where he explains the info.
$337 Billion for Small Businesses
Establishes lending programs for small businesses – only for those who keep their payrolls steady through the crisis.
Small businesses that pledge to keep their workers would also receive cash-flow assistance structured as federally guaranteed loans. If the employer continued to pay its workers for the duration of the crisis, those loans would be forgiven.
$15 Billion in tax credit relief for hotels, restaurants and retailers available immediately, instead of what was a 37-year write-off
Support for Hospitals, State & Local Gov’t
- $100 billion for hospitals
- $150 billion for state and local governments.
$500 billion fund:
- $425 billion for the Federal Reserve to leverage for loans in order to help broad groups of distressed companies
- $75 billion for industry-specific loans
- Will now have far stricter oversight, in the form of an inspector general and a 5-person panel appointed by Congress, lawmakers said.
- Companies that accept money must also agree to halt any stock buybacks for the length of the government assistance, plus an additional year.
Provides $1,200 in direct payments
- Applied equally to workers with incomes up to $75,000 per year before phasing out and ending altogether for those earning more than $99,000.
- Families would receive an additional $500 per child.
- Single adults with Social Security numbers who are United States residents and have an adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less would get the full amount.
- Married couples with no children earning $150,000 or less would receive a total of $2,400.
- And someone filing as head of household would get the full payment if they earn $112,500 or less.
- Expanding eligibility:
- Yes, self-employed people would be newly eligible for unemployment benefits.
- Part-time workers as well.
- Offers workers an additional $600 a week for four months, on top of what state unemployment programs pay.
- Note: In the video Corey says NC’s current weekly unemployment cap is $250…it’s actually $350** — So the new maximum allowed with the federal dollars is $950 ($350 state + $600 federal).
- $100 million for additional rural broadband
- $150 million for arts and humanities grants
- Increased funding for domestic violence shelters and hotlines
- $425 million to deal with mental health and substance abuse disorders related to the pandemic.
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