Week Ending July 31, 2020

Urgent Action Needed on State and Local Aid

• Urgent Action Needed on State and Local Aid
• House Approves Appropriations Minibus Package
• House Passes Landmark Bills to Support Child Care

After months of inaction, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has finally released a COVID-19 relief package called the “HEALS Act,” but it falls far short of what’s needed. Further negotiations are going on between House and Senate Democrats and the White House in hopes of reaching a deal. In a statement about the GOP plan said, President Lee Saunders said, “Senate Republicans need to go back to the drawing board and deliver a bill that is worthy of our front-line heroes.”

• Aid to State and Local Government - AFSCME requests at least $1 trillion in direct and flexible aid to state and local governments, but the GOP plan includes no new aid to states and municipalities. Instead it includes flexibility for use of the existing $150 billion in CARES Act money for the states, but only 25% of Coronavirus Relief Funds are available to be used for lost revenues, and states must first certify that 25% of payments have gone to downstream local governments.
• Medicaid and COBRA Coverage - AFSCME requests a ​total of a 15-percentage point increase in Medicaid funding to states (known as FMAP) ​at a minimum. The GOP plan includes no additional increase in Medicaid funding and doesn’t help furloughed or unemployed workers maintain their health coverage through for COBRA. 
• Funding for Schools - AFSCME requests at least $200 billion in additional unrestricted funding for public schools. The GOP plan includes $105 billion largely tied to reopening schools, allocating just $70 billion for K-12 and $30 billion for higher education, with two-thirds of the funding to be unfairly restricted to schools with approved plans to reopen. In addition, private schools would also be eligible for the new funding, which AFSCME opposes.
• OSHA Safety Standard - AFSCME requests OSHA be ​given a firm deadline to issue a temporary national worker safety standard ​that covers all workers no matter where they live. The GOP plan includes no OSHA safety standard.
• Liability Shield - The GOP plan offers sweeping new liability protections for business, health care providers, employers, states and localities for lawsuits related to COVID-19. ​The changes undermine worker protections for safe workplaces, minimum wage and overtime, sick leave, and to work in a place free from discrimination. This proposal gives a green light to these entities to do as little as possible to protect their workers and customers.
• Election Security - AFSCME requests funding be provided for election security and safety to ensure smooth elections. The GOP plan includes no new funding for safe elections.
• Unemployment Benefits - AFSCME requests extension of the existing pandemic unemployment insurance benefits. The GOP plan reduces the unemployment compensation benefit by cutting it to $200 a week from the $600 a week level that the unemployed now receive under the CARES Act. Starting in October, the $200 a week compensation benefit would be limited to total compensation for 70% of an individual’s prior wages, a plan that most consider unfair and administratively unworkable.
• Other Provisions - The GOP plan includes more funding for the Paycheck Protection Program for businesses, funding for pandemic treatment and vaccines, another round of $1,200 in stimulus checks, but it also includes unnecessary issues like restoration of the Business Meals tax deduction, a harmful budget cutting plan called the Trust Act that threatens Social Security and Medicare, more funding for defense and funding for a new FBI headquarters.

What You Need to Know: The Senate must act as soon as possible and pass a plan that provides at least $1 trillion in direct, flexible aid to state and local governments, increases funding for Medicaid, and provides additional support for schools to ensure safety and to meet the needs of distance learning. It’s not an option to allow more Americans to lose their jobs and essential public services to be shut down. Communities can’t afford to wait. Congress must fund the front lines immediately.