House Expected to Vote Thursday on $484 Billion ‘Phase 3.5’ COVID-19 Relief Bill

The House of Representatives is expected to vote Thursday morning on a $484 billion COVID-19 relief bill that includes $380 billion for small businesses, $75 billion for hospitals and $25 billion for disease testing. The Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act was approved by the Senate Tuesday by unanimous consent, and if passed by the House, the legislation could go to President Donald Trump’s desk by the end of the week. Trump has indicated he will sign the legislation. Of the $380 billion allocated for small businesses, $250 billion is for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding as detailed by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Another $60 billion is reserved for PPP funding for institutions with less than $50 billion in assets, $50 billion is for additional Small Business Administration (SBA) disaster loans and $10 billion is for additional SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans. The legislation also sets aside $60 billion in PPP funding for small to medium sized insured depository institutions, credit unions, and community financial institutions, which includes community development financial institutions (CDFIs). Half of the $60 billion is for institutions with between $10 billion and $50 billion in assets, the other half is for institutions with less than $10 billion in assets.

Leaders from both parties have indicated they will try to pass another large relief bill, the so-called “Phase 4” legislation, in the coming weeks.

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