Cleaver: Heroes Act brings desperately needed support to struggling families, essential workers, small businesses

(From Fifth District Congressman Emanuel Cleaver)

Last week I traveled to Washington, D.C. to support The Heroes Act, the latest emergency coronavirus relief proposal passed in the House of Representatives.

As thousands more Americans have perished from the coronavirus and millions more workers file unemployment claims, The Heroes Act aims to address the ongoing public health crisis and bring desperately needed support to struggling families, essential workers, and American small businesses.

Funding for State and Local Governments

One of the most important provisions in The Heroes Act is its substantial assistance to state and local governments. Missouri’s Governor and the state legislature have already announced massive shortfalls in the state budget in this fiscal year. 

However, the legislation passed in the House this week would send $4.1 billion dollars this year and $5.2 billion in 2021 to account for coronavirus-related revenue losses and ensure our frontline health care workers as well as police, fire, transportation, EMS, teachers and other vital workers don’t have to be furloughed or laid off.

According to an analysis prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS), it is estimated The Heroes Act will provide urgently needed funding for communities across the Fifth District of Missouri, including but not limited to:

Kansas City – $562,500,000 over two years;
Jackson County – $395,300,000 over two years;
Clay County – $140,564,000 over two years;
Independence – $58,404,034 over two years;
Lee's Summit – $26,713,121 over two years;
Blue Springs – $19,295,751 over two years;
Lafayette County – $18,394,185 over two years;
Raytown – $14,313,828 over two years;
Marshall – $6,300,000 over two years;
Odessa – $2,500,000 over two years;
Lexington – $2,200,000 over two years;

Direct Assistance to American Families and Workers

One direct payment to Missouri families and a few months of enhanced unemployment insurance for laid off workers simply isn’t enough to match the scale of the current economic crisis. As the unemployment rate has reached 14.7% and is expected to rise further, Congress and the Administration must bring economic relief to those who are struggling to get by.

The Heroes Act provides a second round of direct payments to families up to $6,000 per household, new payroll protection measures to keep 60 million workers connected with their jobs, and extends weekly $600 federal unemployment payments through next January. It’s critical that Congress pass legislation immediately so that families can begin to receive their rebates to pay the bills and keep food on the table.

Supporting Small Businesses

Strengthening the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) is critical to keeping thousands of small businesses alive in Missouri. The Heroes Act ensures PPP funding reaches underserved communities, nonprofits, and responds flexibly to small businesses by providing $10 billion for COVID-19 emergency grants through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program.

Ensures Capable Testing, Tracing, and Treatment

All of us want to reopen our communities and return to some semblance of normalcy as soon as possible. In order to do that safely, we have to have a science-based approach and ensure that every American can access free testing and treatment for coronavirus. The Heroes Act provides $75 billion towards ramping up the production of testing and contact tracing capabilities as well as guaranteeing free treatment for every Missourian infected by COVID-19.

Protects The Postal Service

Missouri seniors, veterans, and rural communities rely on the United States Postal Services (USPS) to affordably deliver life-saving medications and important documents through the mail. The Heroes Act protects and preserves the USPS by providing $25 billion to keep America’s most popular agency—and its more than 600,000 workers—up and running.

Much More For The People

While it’s difficult to lay out every single provision of the bill in a single newsletter, this wide-ranging and historic legislation would also provide enhanced food benefits for families struggling to keep food on the table; health security for the nearly 27 million Americans who have lost health insurance through their jobs; housing assistance to homeowners and renters; hazard pay for essential workers who have risked their lives to keep our communities safe and functioning; and so much more.

This is a public health and economic crisis unlike anything I’ve seen in my lifetime, and we need proposals that will meet the challenge communities across the country are facing. While no legislation of this magnitude is perfect, this bill brings rapid, desperately-need relief to Missourians who are hanging on by a thread and ensures our essential workers have the resources needed to carry on.

Coronavirus Update

As of this writing, the United States has over 1.43 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, with more than 89,500 Americans tragically perishing from the deadly virus.

In Missouri, we currently have over 11,000 confirmed cases, with over 1,600 cases confirmed in the Fifth District of Missouri.

For more information on Kansas City’s plan to safely resume activity, please visit their their website.