On May 12, House Democratic leadership introduced a massive, $3 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act. The bill passed the chamber on Friday, May 15, as Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) acted on her pledge to quickly to move the relief package through her chamber as the economic and public health impacts continue to worsen as a result of the Coronaviurs pandemic. This legislation marks the beginning of negotiations on what is expected to be the fifth legislative action to address the COVID-19 crisis in Washington. 

While the bill is unlikely to become law in its current form, the HEROES Act lays down a marker for Democrats’ priorities as negotiations with the Senate and the Trump Administration commence. Since the bill’s introduction, bipartisan legislation has been introduced in both chambers to provide additional relief to individuals and hardly hit sectors of the economy and to extend and enhance programs established in previous relief packages to support small businesses and state and local governments. 

The BPAG team continues to monitor developments on Capitol Hill as Congressional leaders work towards an agreement on additional COVID-19 relief. 

To read our HEROES Act summary, click here.