Whitehouse Applauds Introduction of HEROES Act; House Relief Bill Would Boost RI Economy

Washington, D.C. – As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to extract a mounting human and economic toll, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) is applauding the introduction of legislation in the House of Representatives to provide a new round of urgently needed relief for Americans.  The Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act would deliver additional financial help for struggling Rhode Island families and an infusion of cash to states and municipalities slammed by the pandemic.

“Americans are counting on Congress to take further action to stabilize the economy, even as Leader McConnell says there is no ‘urgency’ to act amid the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression,” said Whitehouse.  “The HEROES Act would provide a lifeline for the many Rhode Island families struggling to pay bills and put food on the table, and for the red and blue states dealing with gaping revenue shortfalls because of the pandemic.  I’m pleased that the legislation would also repeal a massive tax giveaway for the wealthy, which Republicans managed to tuck into the last major coronavirus policy bill.  Millions of families are hurting right now, and Leader McConnell needs to begin working in a productive bipartisan way to deliver more relief.”

The HEROES Act provides significant relief for struggling states and municipalities, hazard pay for frontline workers, more state Medicaid funding, a second round of $1,200 payments to households, federal funds for surge staffing in nursing homes, and a directive for the federal government to issue new workplace safety standards.  The House legislation also includes Whitehouse’s proposal to repeal a $160-billion tax giveaway for a small group of wealthy taxpayers that Republicans included in a previous relief bill, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. 

A summary of the HEROES Act is available here.