House passes $484 billion bill with money for small businesses, hospitals and testing

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Washington Post

The House overwhelmingly passed a $484 billion spending package Thursday as the unemployment crisis deepened, a stark illustration of how policy makers continue trying to rescue an unraveling economy amid growing despair. The legislation, approved 388-5, would restart a small-business loan program that was swamped by demand during the coronavirus pandemic and allocate more money for health-care providers and virus testing.

The vote was historic, as many lawmakers wore masks on the House floor, some even speaking through face coverings as they delivered impassioned remarks. Just hours earlier, the Labor Department announced that 4.4 million Americans sought unemployment benefits last week. More than 26 million people have now filed jobless claims since coronavirus knocked the U.S. economy off course last month, beginning an extraordinary economic tailspin.

The legislation will now go to President Trump for enactment following Senate passage earlier this week. Lawmakers from both parties are already talking about pursuing more large spending bills to try to contain the pandemic’s economic fallout, but the measure on Thursday could be the last one for at least several weeks as divisions emerge between the parties about how much more to do. Congress is not scheduled to return to Washington until May 4 at earliest.

“We are all painfully aware that the American people are worried about their health, their jobs, the economy, and what life will look like after the emergency subsides,” said House Ways and Means Chairman Richard E. Neal (D-Mass.). “That’s why we fought to increase funding for the Paycheck Protection Program ... But I want to be clear, this does not come close to addressing the staggering needs of the American family.”

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2020/04/23/congress-coronavirus-small-business/

---

Full headline: House passes $484 billion bill with money for small businesses, hospitals and testing to battle coronavirus

[George II]

1. One Democrat voted against it.

[jimfields33]

4. It says Representative Maxine Waters' sister is dying from it

She voted yes. I only mentioned this because it’s first I’ve heard. I hope she survives.

[walkingman]

2. Grow some balls - help the working people instead of buying into "GOP" trickle-down economics.

[George II]

5. It's a Democratic bill.

[mpcamb]

8. So when it's time to crack heads against the Senate, BE READY!

They'll (predictably) have a list of bullshit attachments to the bill which will send an ample supple of the money to their donors. KNOW THAT IN ADVANCE and don't get caught with your shorts around your knees like on the last bill.

[George II]

9. I will keep that in mind if I ever get elected to the House or Senate.

[mpcamb]

10. Best of luck. Ya got my vote, ay?

[George II]

12. If you're sarcastically referring to my Canadian flag, it's "eh", not "ay".

[Igel]

13. You weren't paying attention.

The PPP was running dry a couple of weeks ago. An (R) proposal was to simply toss in $250 billion--an easy amendment to the previous legislation. Strike out one number, write in a second.

Pelosi and Schumer wanted other stuff added. It went nowhere. Mnuchin got involved. Eventually--after the PPP was dry--Pelosi/Schumer used their "leverage" to get stuff added. But it wasn't going to be proposed for consideration until there was WH, Senate, and House support.

That's this bill.

[walkingman]

15. It might be labeled a Democratic bill but it was driven by the GOP Senate with a few addons

I personally think that businesses are getting the large bulk of the monies and the people are getting left behind. Not only that with little or no oversight. The GOP along with Trump are still the deciders. I hope when we take back both the POTUS and hopefully the Senate we will play hard ball with these neanderthals.

[Newest Reality]

3. Again...

The Tao: A good leader keeps the people's heads empty and their bellies full.

Food prices are going to skyrocket, (and are going up right now). SNAP is about $6 per day, roughly, if you get the full amount. The food banks are overwhelmed and under staffed. As shortages of certain foods and materials get into full swing, the supply and demand will push food prices even more out of bounds and we are not just talking about the regularly ignored poor and homeless, we are talking about huge swath of America.

We wages slaves have some flaws like still needing to eat enough to stay alive to work. When the androids, robots and AI come, the Captains of Industry can just plug them in to charge them. Right now, that just won't work. Sorry, I am not a hybrid like a Prius or something.

We have a real ordeal coming as the food problem begins to fester and boil over. People will have a gnawing void and rumbles in their stomachs and many can brave that, but when it is their children or loved ones, that's going to hit very hard. That's not going to sit well. That better be dealt with soon, before it turns into something really bad in many ways.

[Ferrets are Cool]

6. It would be nice if it ACTUALLY went to small business like myself this time.

[iluvtennis]

7. Indeed. nt

[Igel]

14. Look at how the money was distributed.

What you read isn't all there is.

Average loan was $206k. Something like 9% were loans over $50 million, and there were over a thousand of those. There were over a million loans under $150k. That was only 17% of the money but 74% of the loans. The larger the loan, the less numerous that size loan.

Big boys weren't asking for $150k or less. They were in that top 1000+. The businesses that were named and shamed, some DUer calculated, was something like 5% of the total. They were the top recipients. 5% of the dough--and one gave its loan back.

You read the news and it sounds like a handful of businesses got most of the money. In some cases, it sounds like they didn't just get a bare "most" but an overwhelming most. You'd have to wonder how a reporter, whose livelihood is presumably communication, would let that kind of obvious misreading stand. Esp. in the third and fourth and fifth story.

Keep in mind, Congress defined a small business as fewer than 500 employees, and if you have 400 employees $150k won't do much.

[RayStar]

11. SNAP

I don't understand why the gop doesn't want to feed the people. No SNAP benefits in the bill.

[NotHardly]

16. I call BS... they steal from the poor to give to the Rich... I do not believe them now or ever

This is just one more "give me billions 'cause I'm a job creator' when they are nothing but holding places for the servile.

I do not believe that I am alone in thinking these Republicans have gone just as far as I want them to when I see them wearing Marie Antoinette hair creations like Mitch Michonnell wears his imprudence & dislike for his fellow Earthside human.

We need arbritators and accountants to be sure this goes right and to the right people. However, we have a Republican government more interested in promising and getting favors than being 'of the people'.