The coronavirus bill will provide free testing, benefits, paid leave. Here's everything you need to know about it.
- The House of Representatives passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act in the government's first step to providing widespread financial support for workers and families affected by the coronavirus outbreak.
- The bill includes several measures intended to provide financial relief including increased free testing, benefits, and paid sick, family, and medical leave.
- The bill was passed early Saturday, but hit a roadblock when Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell did not call lawmakers for a vote over the weekend.
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The House of Representatives passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act early Saturday morning in the first widespread action by President Donald Trump's administration to support those affected by the coronavirus outbreak.
The bill includes several measures designed to provide financial relief to Americans as cities and states across the country see businesses suffering as consumers avoid public places.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi laid out her priorities for lawmakers to address the outbreak in the days leading up to the legislation, and said in a press conference Friday that the emergency spending package was intended to address the most pressing issues facing Americans concerned about seeking treatment amid the outbreak, saying, "The three most important parts of this bill are testing, testing, testing."
Increased paid sick, family, and medical leave
The bill allows for up to two weeks of paid sick leave and up to three months of paid family and medical leave, allowing for increased flexibility for employees weighing issues like the need to seek treatment or who are left without options for childcare.
Under the bill, employers would be required to provide 14 days of paid sick leave at "not less than two-thirds" of the eligible employee's regular pay.
Current medical leave provisions allow for 12 weeks of job protection with no additional pay. The new bill would provide those taking paid medical leave from a company with fewer than 500 employees with two-thirds of their typical pay for the 12-week period. This leave measure would be available for one year to assist people affected by the coronavirus.
Free virus testing
The bill would require private health insurance plans to provide free coronavirus testing, including for those who lack insurance, waiving cost-sharing with coverage from Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal programs.
It provides $1 billion for testing those without insurance and provided a bolster to low-income health insurance as it would increase the rate of federal matching to state Medicaid programs to 6.2%.
Increased food assistance
The bill would provide $1.3 billion in emergency food aid to bolster several programs for low-income Americans, including Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps, and programs that provide free school breakfasts and lunches to low-income students.
The bill was adopted in a vote of overwhelming support after two days of negotiations between Democratic leaders, including Pelosi, and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.
Despite the early-hours passage in the House, Senate lawmakers criticized Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for not calling lawmakers into session to vote on the bill, thereby delaying rolling out the relief measures included in the bill.
"It was remarkably irresponsible and out of touch for Sen. McConnell to send senators out of town in the middle of a public health crisis before the House passed this vital people-focused legislation," Schumer wrote on Twitter. "Sen. McConnell and Republicans should pass this legislation as is immediately."
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