The House plans to pass during a long day of voting today the roughly $3 trillion Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act (HEROES) Act highlighted by about $1 trillion in state and local funding, more direct payments, unemployment insurance (UI), money for testing, and tax, health, and retirement provisions. Both the bill and remote/proxy voting rules changes are expected to have support mostly from Democrats, with Republicans opposed.

The Joint Committee on Taxation this morning released estimates of the budget effects of the revenue provisions of the bill (JCX-15-20).

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has described the HEROES Act as a marker and starting point for bipartisan negotiations, but there are no signs that House passage will bring Republicans to the negotiating table just yet. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) was reported as saying during a Fox interview, "I think we all believe that another bill probably is going to be necessary. But I'm not prepared today to put a precise date on when that will be." Administration officials have suggested serious talks could be weeks away, and Republicans are seen as not wanting to act before the Memorial Day recess.

Senator McConnell's comments earlier this week that Republicans "have not yet felt the urgency of acting immediately" have been highlighted by Democratic leaders who have peppered their own remarks with references to the urgent crisis and pointed to daunting tallies of the toll the virus has taken on the nation, including more than 36 million unemployment benefit filings. The New York Times reported that Senator McConnell's 'urgency' comment is being used against Republicans in tough Senate races.

The White House said the President does not support the House bill, which "is more concerned with delivering on longstanding partisan and ideological wish lists than with enhancing the ability of our Nation to deal with the public health and economic challenges we face," and a spokesman elsewhere said the White House is focused on "pro-growth, middle class tax and regulatory relief."

The Washington Post reported that the White House's tax proposals are expected to be announced in the coming days, and that officials have privately signaled support for some funding to states as part of an expected bipartisan deal with Democrats in the coming weeks. The President has called for a payroll tax cut and tax incentives for business meals and entertainment, and officials have also mentioned expanded expensing, including for virus-related investments like office reconfiguration and vaccine development. Whether the Administration will back an additional round of direct payments, as included in the House bill, is unclear, with some reports signaling the President is open to it. House Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Kevin Brady (R-TX) said he did not see the need for more payments now and that the focus should be on getting people back to work.

Speaker Pelosi yesterday described provisions of the HEROES Act — which is more than 1,800 pages covering many topics — as falling under three pillars:

1. open the economy with testing, tracing, treatment and isolation that health experts call for, plus assistance to hospitals
2. "honor our heroes" with benefits for health care workers, the first responders, police, fire, emergency services, sanitation, food workers, teachers and transportation workers
3. put money in the pockets of the American people with direct payments to American families with Unemployment Insurance, the child tax credit, the earned income tax credit and the employment retention tax credit

Of Republican reluctance to act now on further legislation, Speaker Pelosi said, "I'm optimistic that the American people will weigh in and make their views known." She also was reported as saying, "It's amazing to me how much patience and how much tolerance someone can have for the pain of others."

If the HEROES Act is passed by the House and remote/proxy voting is authorized, the House schedule going forward will be unclear, though hearings, relying on virtual capabilities, will continue to be expected.

An IRS fact sheet out today focuses on "New credits fund employers for Coronavirus-related paid leave."

The WCEY Alert on the House HEROES Act is here.

EY Alerts and other resources are here.

The global EY Tax COVID-19 Response Tracker has been updated through May 14.

An EY Webcast, "Tax in the time of COVID-19: What's happening in international tax, on Capitol Hill and at the IRS," is today, May 15, at 12:00 p.m. ET. To determine what information your company needs to know now, join our panelists for a series of conversations about operating the tax function in this time of National Emergency created by the COVID-19 virus. After a review of the legislative and economic landscape, this week's panelists will explore: (i) the impact of current year losses on various tax attributes (including the Section 250 deduction and foreign tax credits); (ii) filing tax returns without final Treasury regulations; (iii) the latest from the IRS; and (iv) any breaking developments. Register

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