Coronavirus Relief Funding Passes U.S. House

H.R. 6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, passed the U.S. House yesterday.

CNN reports the legislation will provide, according to Speaker Pelosi, “paid emergency leave with two weeks of paid sick leave and up to three months of paid family and medical leave.” It will also expand federal funding for Medicaid “to support our local, state, tribal and territorial governments and health systems, so that they have the resources necessary to combat this crisis.”

U.S. Congressman Garret Graves released the following statement upon passage:

“Tonight, I supported the U.S. House’s passage of H.R. 6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.

This revised bill remains problematic, but it is a significant improvement to the previous version and the president has committed to help temper the bill’s injurious impacts on small businesses.

We’ve all got to work together to protect one another right now. This isn’t a partisan virus and our efforts to work through these challenges should not divide America.

Though I support the bill, we do have concerns about the lack of safeguards on the billions of dollars in expansion for social programs. People need help, but the virus shouldn’t be used as an opportunity to expand welfare programs. Our taxpayer dollars are too precious for that.

I applaud President Donald Trump for issuing the national emergency declaration, providing access to tens of billions of dollars in assistance and improving access to telehealth services. We also appreciate the work done through the Coronavirus Task Force the president and vice president assembled, the teamwork shown by local and state partners, and the private sector’s ability to unleash the American innovation that has become essential in addressing the rapidly evolving coronavirus.

The president’s decision to postpone energy reserve sales and instead purchase nearly 100 million barrels of oil to fill our strategic energy reserves will help to undermine Russia’s economic warfare efforts, stabilize America’s energy markets and sustain our energy independence.”