{"id":10457,"date":"2020-03-26T12:32:13","date_gmt":"2020-03-26T16:32:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.mml.org\/wp\/inside208\/?p=7166"},"modified":"2020-03-26T12:32:13","modified_gmt":"2020-03-26T16:32:13","slug":"2-trillion-federal-stimulus-bill-passes-senate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mml.org\/inside208\/2020\/03\/26\/2-trillion-federal-stimulus-bill-passes-senate\/","title":{"rendered":"$2 Trillion Federal Stimulus Bill Headed To President"},"content":{"rendered":"

The US Senate passed H.R. 748, the CARES Act,<\/a> Wednesday night and the House voted Friday<\/a> to send the bill to the President.\u00a0 The bill appropriates more than $2 trillion as an economic stimulus effort in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

Within the final proposal, a $150 billion stabilization fund for state and local governments was secured that MML and NLC had advocated for with our congressional delegation.\u00a0 The $150 billion will be distributed to states and directly to local governments that have a population greater than 500,000.\u00a0 Local governments of less than 500,000 population would receive any funding from the state’s allocation.\u00a0 Early estimates show Michigan receiving over $3.8 billion<\/a> from this fund.<\/p>\n

The bill also provides money for community development block grants and provides relief to the municipal bond market by allowing the purchase of municipal securities (with maturities greater than 6 months) in the secondary market.<\/p>\n

In comments from our partners at NLC, one key item they were unable to get corrected relates to the previous federal stimulus bill, public law 116-127 (HR 6201)<\/a>, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.\u00a0 <\/em>Under this new law, governmental employers are required to provide paid sick leave and paid emergency family leave. However, unlike most employers, governmental employers will not get the benefit of the tax credits for providing these benefits.<\/p>\n

Below you will find a list of key items that NLC had been advocating for in the Senate bill based upon the latest version they were able to review before passage:<\/p>\n

AIRPORTS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Federal Aviation Administration, Airport Improvement Program (AIP) \u2013 $10 billion to maintain operations at our nation’s airports that are facing a record drop in passengers. AIP funds will be distributed by formula.<\/p>\n

Essential Air Service (EAS) \u2013 $56 million provided to maintain existing air service to rural communities. This funding is necessary to offset the reduction in overflight fees that help pay for the EAS program.<\/p>\n

TRANSIT<\/strong><\/p>\n

Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Transit Infrastructure Grants \u2013 $25 billion for transit providers, including states and local governments across the country, for operating and capital expenses. Funding will be distributed using existing FTA formulas.<\/p>\n

RAIL<\/strong><\/p>\n

Amtrak \u2013\u00a0Provides $492 million in grants for the Northeast Corridor and $526 million in grants for the broader national network\u00a0to cover revenue losses related to coronavirus. In addition,\u00a0funding is provided to help states pay for their share of the cost of state supported routes.<\/p>\n

USDA<\/strong><\/p>\n