Chris CoonsVerified account

This bill was a big, important step, but there's more work to be done in the days and weeks ahead. In the meantime, I want to lay out a few of the important items in this bill, including provisions I fought hard to include.

First - the big picture: This bill sends $150 billion to hospitals and health care workers who are caring for tens of thousands of Americans with COVID-19.

This bill dramatically expands the unemployment insurance program and ensures that workers who have been laid off will receive, on average, their full pay for four months. That includes workers who are self-employed and part of the gig economy.

The bill provides $150 billion to state and local governments who are on the front lines battling this epidemic and the economic consequences of it.

The bill will provide direct $1,200 payments to individuals with incomes up to $75,000 per year (or $150,000 for married couples). Families will receive an additional $500 per child.

It provides $377 billion for small businesses and $500 billion to major industries - and importantly, we fought hard to include real transparency and accountability to ensure that this aid is used to keep workers on payroll.

Second - in addition to helping negotiate some of these major provisions, I also focused specifically on a few parts of this major bill.

In particular, I was able to ensure that 320,000 small businesses, including 854 small businesses in Delaware, are relieved from SBA loan payments for six months. That includes including principal, interest, and fees.

I was also able to secure $400M to help states across the country expand vote-by-mail and early voting programs. We've already seen several primary elections impacted by this virus, and we need to ensure that every American is able to make their voice heard in our elections.

This is a huge piece of legislation with lots of provisions, and it's not perfect, but it's a very important start.