Comparing the CARES Act with the HEROES and HEALS Acts

Author's Notes: The information presented below regarding the HEALS and HEROES Acts are accurate as of publication time (8pm PST on 8/5/2020). I do not plan to update this post once the House and Senate agree on and pass a compromise bill, but might discuss in-depth whichever final bill becomes law. 

     8/9/2020 UPDATE: Per a significant announcement presented today, I corrected a significant mistake with the information originally presented below. On the original version, I stated that the Economic Impact Payments (or "stimulus checks") were monthly payments, whereas in reality, they are one-time payments. If you are reading this, the information presented below is corrected from the original version. As stated on the linked announcement, I take full responsibility for, and apologize for the mistake I made here. 

Comparing the CARES Act with the HEROES and HEALS Acts

Introduction: Along with the recent resurgence of COIVD-19 across the country, Congress has been debating what the next round of socio-economic relief legislation should contain. In the last month, several proposals have emerged in both the House and Senate among both parties, with various similarities and differences to the original March 2020 relief measure, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. In today's blog post, I compare the original CARES Act with the contemporary proposals, highlighting significant differences between the existing and proposed versions currently being debated in Congress. The comparisons will focus exclusively on benefits and social programs targeting American individuals and families. In doing my research, I made sure to address all of the major socio-economic policies targeting families and individuals. If there are any I didn't address, I do apologize for not including them. 

Brief Summary of Legislation:

• CARES Act (signed into law, March 2020): As the Coronavirus Pandemic led to a nationwide wave of closures, stay-at-home orders, and other measures to contain the virus, the United States Congress debated and passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (Snell). The bill allocated $2 trillion to various programs meant to assist Americans and institutions in weathering the pandemic-caused economic conditions, and was considered "emergency relief" rather than a "stimulus package." (Snell). 
• House Democratic Proposal: HEROES Act (passed House, May 2020): Spearheaded by House Democrats, the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act was meant to supplement and extend the CARES Act (Adamczyk, "HEROES"). Despite Republicans agreeing generally on another round of stimulus checks, President Trump and Senate Majority Leader McConnell (R-KY) have declared the bill "dead on arrival" (Adamczyk, "HEROES"). 
• Senate Republican Proposal: HEALS Act (proposed, in negotiations): Currently proposed by Senate Republicans, the Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protections and Schools (HEALS) Act is actually a collection of 9 different bills that address various social and economic policy areas impacted by the ongoing pandemic ("NACo"). I will not be covering all of the bills and their provisions, and will instead focus on programs or policy ideas that align with the general components of the CARES and HEROES Acts. 

Table 1: Comparing the CARES, HEROES, and HEALS Acts

Note: Items with a * indicate programs or services in which I was not able to explicitly find evidence of that program being in the legislation, and assumed it to be "no" unless I found evidence otherwise. 

Summary of Similarities and Differences:

• Unemployment Benefits/Insurance: One of the most contentious debates surrounding the next CARES Act negotiations is whether to extend the $600 per week benefits that expired on July 27th under the original CARES Act (Foran et al.). The HEROES Act would extend this until January 2021 and would make independent, gig, and freelance workers eligible (Adamczyk, "HEROES"). Under the HEALS Act proposal, unemployment benefits would be reduced to $200 per week until September 2020, when it would be phased-out if states adopt programs to reimburse workers for lost wages. Such a program would pay workers a proportion of an equivalent salary depending on their pre-COVID employment income (Adamczyk, "How"). 
• Stimulus Checks: Perhaps the most talked-about aspect of the CARES Act was the stimulus check (or "economic impact payments") program, where Americans were mailed a one-time check with no strings attached. Individual taxpayers could receive up to $1,200, while joint taxpayers could receive up to $2,000, and $500 per child under 17. The HEROES Act would expand the joint amount to $2,400 per couple, and the child payment would be modified to $1,200 per dependent (3 maximum). Under the HEALS Act proposal, adults and joint couples would receive the same amount as the HEROES Act, although the amount per child would be unmodified from the CARES Act (Colby). 
• One of the major criticisms of the CARES Act's stimulus checks is that two sizable groups of Americans are explicitly excluded from receiving the payments. The first group comprise adult dependents (especially college students), whose payments are paid to those claiming them as dependents. More controversially, undocumented immigrants and those without a Tax ID are also excluded from the checks. The HEROES Act would include both groups as eligible for receiving the same amount that a single adult would receive (Picchi). For all immigrants (undocumented and not), those without a social security number, but with a tax ID, will be able to receive the stimulus payments under the HEROES Act (Adamczyk, "How"). 
• Under all three programs, eligible Americans could receive the maximum amount until their yearly income reached $75,000 if single and $150,000 if joint, at which point, the amount given would decrease (the "phase-out" point). The maximum income of eligibility is $99,000 for singles, and $198,000 for joint couples. Both of these income points are the same amount all three plans (Colby). 
• Student Debt Provisions: The original CARES Act halted all Federal loan repayments (including interest) until September 30, 2020 (Snell). Should the HEROES Act become law, this would be extended until September 2021, and some private and Federal loans would be cancelled up to $10,000 (Adamczyk, "HEROES"). The HEALS Act proposes to extend the Federal loan repayment moratorium until October 1, 2020 only for those without any income. Those with income would be able to choose between a standard repayment plan or a plan based on one's income (Adamczyk, "How"). 
• Eviction Moratorium: The CARES Act included a provision prohibiting evictions for lack of rent payment, which expired recently (Adamczyk, "How"). It is notable that the CARES Acts' eviction moratorium only applied to Federally-supporting housing (Adamczyk, "A housing"). The HEROES Act would extend this moratorium by a year (Adamczyk, "HEROES"). The Senate HEALS Act proposes to not extend the eviction moratorium, but to instead provide additional housing voucher support, discussed below (Adamczyk, "Senate"). 
• Renters' Assistance: Other than the eviction moratorium, the original CARES Act did not explicitly fund programs to directly assist renters in paying rent and utilities (Snell). However, the stimulus checks and expanded unemployment insurance provisions were designed for impacted Americans to afford rent and other necessities. The HEROES Act proposes to allocate $100 billion to support rental assistance programs targeting tenants unable to pay rent, and another $75 billion to assist homeowners with active mortgages (Adamczyk, "HEROES"). 
• Hazard Pay: In this context, "hazard pay" refers to supplemental income given to some workers working in essential in-person jobs through the pandemic. While the original CARES Act did not include hazard pay, the HEROES Act defines workers qualifying for hazard pay as including public-facing Federal workers (e.g. TSA, FAA), nursing and assisted care facility workers, personal care workers, and home health aids ("The COVID-19," 1-3). Workers in such jobs would receive an additional $13 per hour of work from the Federal government, with a maximum per year capped at $25,000 for those earning under $250,000 per year (Adamczyk, "HEROES"). The HEALS Act does not include hazard pay (Adamczyk, "How"). 
• Child Care Support: The CARES Act did not provide explicit financial support for parents and child care providers. Instead, support for child care was provided through a funding expansion to the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), where states are given funds to spend on child care. The funding provided by CARES is meant to assist essential workers in affording child care, support child care providers financially, and award funds to help child care providers afford critical cleaning and health supplies (Campbell and Smith). The HEROES Act proposes to further contribute to CCDBG, with an emphasis on helping low-income families afford child care, and ensuring that providers can afford critical supplies. The HEALS Act's proposal would provide funding to child care providers to offset costs of re-opening child care centers (Adamczyk, "How"). 
• Payroll Tax Cut: None of the Congressional proposals explored here have included a payroll tax cut, despite President Trump frequently supporting such a measure (Carson and Colby). 

Conclusion: With the total easing of all pandemic measures likely long down the road, significant social and economic policy measures like the CARES Act have been passed to help Americans cope with the pandemic and related socio-economic downturn. Recently, attempts to agree on a second round of socio-economic relief legislation have resulted in significant debates between the Democratic-controlled House and Republican-controlled Senate over several key programs. As such, both parties have come forward with their own proposals, and negotiations continue as to what the final legislation will look like (Foran et al.). 

Works Cited:

Adamczyk, Alicia. "A housing ‘apocalypse’ is coming as coronavirus protections across the country expire." CNBC, 10 Jun. 2020, www.cnbc.com/2020/06/10/how-to-prevent-the-coming-coronavirus-tsunami-of-evictions.html. Accessed 5 Aug. 2020. 

---. "HEROES Act would provide another stimulus check, broader student loan relief." CNBC, 16 May 2020, www.cnbc.com/2020/05/16/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-heroes-act.html. Accessed 5 Aug. 2020. 

---. "How the HEALS Act compares to the HEROES Act." CNBC, 30 Jul. 2020, www.cnbc.com/2020/07/30/how-the-heals-act-compares-to-the-heroes-act.html. Accessed 5 Aug. 2020. 

---. "Many college students and other adult dependents are not eligible to receive a stimulus relief check." CNBC, 30 Mar. 2020, www.cnbc.com/2020/03/30/many-college-students-are-ineligible-for-a-stimulus-relief-check.html. Accessed 5 Aug. 2020. 

Campbell, Megan, and Linda Smith. "CCDBG Funds in the CARES Act." Bipartisan Policy Center, 2 Apr. 2020, bipartisanpolicy.org/explainer/ccdbg-funds-in-the-cares-act/. Accessed 5 Aug. 2020.

Carson, Erin, and Clifford Colby. "Next stimulus package: All the benefits you could receive, including a second check." CNET, 5 Aug. 2020, www.cnet.com/personal-finance/next-stimulus-package-all-the-benefits-you-could-receive-including-a-second-check/. Accessed 5 Aug. 2020. 

Colby, Clifford. "New stimulus check qualifications? How your eligibility requirements can change." CNET, 5 Aug. 2020, www.cnet.com/personal-finance/new-stimulus-check-qualifications-how-your-eligibility-requirements-can-change/. Accessed 5 Aug. 2020. 

Foran, Clare, Lauren Fox, and Phil Mattingly. "Enhanced jobless benefits expired overnight: Here's where Congress' negotiations stand." CNN, 1 Aug. 2020, www.cnn.com/2020/08/01/politics/unemployment-benefits-expire-congress-negotiations/index.html. Accessed 1 Aug. 2020. 

Hansen, Sarah. "Second Stimulus Bill Update: Lawmakers Inch Towards An Agreement This Week, But Deep Divisions Remain." Forbes, 31 Jul. 2020, www.forbes.com/sites/sarahhansen/2020/07/31/600-unemployment-expires-and-politicians-hurl-accusations-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-battle-over-the-next-stimulus-bill/#1f89a80b3923. Accessed 5 Aug. 2020.  

"NACo Legislative Summary of the Senate COVID Relief Package." National Association of Counties, www.naco.org/covid19/federal-advocacy/heals-act. Accessed 5 Aug. 2020. 

Picchi, Aimee. "Who would get a second stimulus check — and who wouldn't?." CBS, 17 Jul. 2020, www.cbsnews.com/news/second-stimulus-check-who-would-get-a-second-check/. Accessed 5 Aug. 2020. 

Snell, Kelsey. "What's Inside The Senate's $2 Trillion Coronavirus Aid Package." National Public Radio, 26 Mar. 2020, www.npr.org/2020/03/26/821457551/whats-inside-the-senate-s-2-trillion-coronavirus-aid-package. Accessed 5 Aug. 2020.

"The COVID-19 'HEROES Fund'." United States Senate Democrats, www.democrats.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Heroes%20Fund%20FINAL%204.7.20.pdf. Accessed 5 Aug. 2020. 

Wang, Jim. "Next Stimulus Package Released Today: $1,200 Stimulus Check, Reduced Unemployment Aid In HEALS Act." Forbes, 1 Aug. 2020, www.forbes.com/sites/jimwang/2020/07/26/next-stimulus-package-on-monday-1200-stimulus-check-eviction-moratorium-and-reduced-unemployment-aid-in-cares-2-act/#51dbe0aa226a. Accessed 1 Aug. 2020. 

---. "Why The Senate GOP Stimulus Package’s Future Seems So Bleak." Forbes, 29 Jul. 2020, www.forbes.com/sites/jimwang/2020/07/29/why-the-senate-gop-stimulus-packages-future-seems-so-bleak/#3ec67b4e6161. Accessed 3 Aug. 2020. 

     Nathan Parmeter

     Author and Host, The Parmeter Politics and Policy Record