Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) wants to approve on Thursday, April 9, without bringing members back to Washington, significant additional funding for the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (Pub. Law No. 116-136) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) that provides small business loans with forgiveness terms. Democratic leaders are generally supportive of that move but have listed demands of their own. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has requested $250 billion more for the program.

Leader McConnell announced his intentions in a statement Tuesday morning, saying he hopes to have the funding approved by unanimous consent or voice vote during the next scheduled Senate session on Thursday. An April 8 joint statement from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) supported the $250 billion figure but stipulated that that the measure should provide for:

• $125 billion of the money to be channeled through "community-based financial institutions that serve farmers, family, women, minority and veteran-owned small businesses and nonprofits in rural, tribal, suburban and urban communities," and improvements to ensure small business access
• $100 billion for hospitals, community health centers and health systems on the frontlines of the crisis, including production and distribution of national rapid testing and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
• $150 billion for state and local governments to manage the crisis and mitigate lost revenue
• a 15% increase to the maximum SNAP food assistance benefit

Increased funding for the PPP, which has been the subject of Treasury/SBA guidance over the past week and significant press attention, was a priority for the congressional bill #4 to address the crisis, as were the additional items enumerated by Speaker Pelosi and Senator Schumer. A larger bill #4 is still expected. "After we pass this interim emergency legislation, Congress will move to pass a CARES 2 Act that will extend and expand the bipartisan CARES Act to meet the needs of the American people. CARES 2 must provide transformational relief as the American people weather this assault on their lives and livelihoods," Speaker Pelosi and Senator Schumer said.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said in a CQ Roll Call interview April 7 that the House could pass a small business aid package by unanimous consent as early as Friday and a broader coronavirus relief package as soon as late April, though the latter bill would likely require a quorum of House members. Speaker Pelosi said over the weekend that she hoped to have a "CARES 2" package approved by the House before the end of April. It is not certain that even a small bill highlighted by PPP funding being readied for more immediate action could be easily cleared in the House given that any member could require a quorum for the chamber to conduct business, as Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) did before passage of the CARES Act.

With regard to a broader bill #4, President Trump said on Fox News April 7 that a "payroll tax cut would be fabulous," echoing his comments from an earlier briefing during which he said, "the Democrats right now are stopping it." National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow said yesterday that a capital gains tax cut is not a focus of White House deliberations, contrary to previous reports, according to Politico.

Other ideas are being proposed. Consistent with calls from Democratic leaders, Senate Democrats have proposed funding for essential personnel during the crisis. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) and others yesterday unveiled the COVID-19 "Heroes Fund," which consists of two major components: a $25,000 premium pay increase for essential workers, equivalent to a raise of $13 per hour from the start of the public health emergency until December 31, 2020, and a $15,000 essential worker recruitment incentive to attract and secure the workforce needed to fight the public health crisis.

EY Alerts and other resources are here.

The global EY Tax COVID-19 Response Tracker updated through April 6 is here.

EY Webcasts this week include, on Friday, April 10 at 12:00 p.m. ET, "Tax in the time of COVID-19." Register for this EY Webcast.

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