House Passes Revised Pandemic Relief Bill, Disagreements Remain
October 2, 2020 – The House of Representatives has passed by a vote of 214-207 a revised version of the HEROES Act estimated at $2.2 trillion to provide pandemic relief. As mentioned earlier this week, there are several benefits-related provisions included in the bill.
- Targeted small business loan relief and other revisions of the Paycheck Protection Program
- Coverage for COVID-19-related treatment with no cost sharing
- Amendments to the Emergency Paid Leave Act
- Relief for struggling union pension plans
- Relief for single-employer pension plans
- Extension of the deadline to roll over waived 2019 and 2020 RMDs
- Clarification of the CARES Act’s application to money purchase pension plans
- Grants to assist low-income women and victims of domestic abuse in obtaining qualified domestic relations orders
- Technical corrections to SECURE Act provisions regarding funding for community newspaper pension plans
- Creation of a union “composite plan” consisting of 401(k) and defined benefit plan provisions
The revised package has been reduced from the approximately $3.4 trillion stimulus bill that was passed by the House in May. Disagreements remain with Senate Republicans on several components of the relief package as well as the overall price tag—which is significantly higher than their proposed “skinny” package that was blocked by Senate Democrats just weeks ago. With elections just over a month away, time is running out on negotiations, as many legislators will be heading back out on the campaign trail.
