Heroes Act Provides $5.3 Billion to Rhode Island

PAWTUCKET – U.S. Congressman David N. Cicilline (RI-01) announced today that the Heroes Act, which the House will vote on Friday, provides more than $5.3 billion in new COVID-19 relief funding to protect the lives and livelihoods of Rhode Islanders. Cicilline will hold a virtual press conference on the bill with New England colleagues TOMORROW at 1:00 PM. Press can RSVP here.

The Heroes Act provides $1.9 billion to the State of Rhode Island, and another $1.117 billion to Rhode Island city and town governments, in its first year. It then provides $1.737 billion to the State, and $559 million to cities and towns, in its second year of implementation. A breakdown of the funding allocations for Rhode Island’s First District is embedded below.

The HEROES Act:

• Honors our heroes, by providing nearly $1 trillion to state, local, territorial and tribal governments who desperately need funds to pay vital workers like first responders, health workers, and teachers who keep us safe and are in danger of losing their jobs

• Establishes a Heroes’ Fund for essential workers, with $200 billion to ensure that essential workers who have risked their lives working during the pandemic receive hazard pay

• Supports testing, tracing and treatment, by providing another $75 billion for coronavirus testing, contact tracing and isolation measures, ensuring every American can access free coronavirus treatment, and supporting hospitals and providers

• Provides additional direct payments, cushioning the economic blow of the coronavirus crisis with a second round of more substantial economic impact payments of $1,200 per family member, up to $6,000 per household

• Protects payrolls, by enhancing the new employee retention tax credit that encourages employers to keep employees on payroll, allowing 60 million Americans to remain connected to their paychecks and benefits

• Helps Rhode Island small businesses by extending the PPP repayment period to December 31st (the current end date is June 30th)
• Ensures worker safety, by requiring OSHA to issue a strong, enforceable standard within seven days to require all workplaces to develop and implement infection control plans based on CDC expertise, and prevents employers from retaliating against workers who report infection control problems

• Supports small businesses and nonprofits, by strengthening the Payroll Protection Program to ensure that it reaches underserved communities, nonprofits of all sizes and types and responds flexibly to small businesses by providing $10 billion for Covid-19 emergency grants through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program

• Preserves health coverage, by protecting Americans losing their employer-provided health insurance with COBRA subsidies to maintain their coverage and creating a special enrollment period in the ACA exchanges for uninsured Americans

• Allows Rhode Island hospitals to be properly reimbursed as they experience increased strain on their resources due to the influx of patients with the coronavirus by reinstating the imputed rural floor that was in place from 2005 to 2018

• Extends unemployment benefits, ensuring weekly $600 federal unemployment payments through next January, providing a vital safety net for the record number of Americans who are unemployed

• Bolsters housing assistance, helping struggling families afford a safe place to live with $175 billion in new supports to assist renters and homeowners make monthly rent, mortgage and utility payments and other housing-related costs

• Strengthens food security, addressing rising hunger with a 15 percent increase to the maximum SNAP benefit and additional funding for nutrition programs that help families put food on the table

• Safeguards our democracy, with new resources to ensure safe elections, an accurate Census, and preserve the Postal Service