House passes $500B coronavirus relief bill

WASHINGTON — The House overwhelmingly passed a nearly $500 billion interim spending bill for coronavirus relief Thursday and immediately turned its attention to crafting a fourth rescue package that lawmakers hope will provide financial aid to states and cities.

“They are writing it right now,” said Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., and member of the House Ways and Means Committee.

Horsford, in an interview with the Review-Journal, became heated over comments made by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., that suggested states and cities should consider bankruptcy before Congress provides relief funding.

The bipartisan National Governors Association is asking Congress for $500 billion in the next phase of relief, but McConnell told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt that states with mismanaged public employee pensions should not rely on federal assistance.

Horsford called the comment “outrageous” and, as a former state Senate majority leader, said money spent by Nevada goes to fund essential services that counties and rural hospitals and communities rely on.

“If I could see Mitch McConnell right now I would have some very choice words for him,” said Horsford, who noted that Clark County has a budget shortfall of more than $300 million and the state is eyeing cutbacks as tax revenues plunge.

While a partisan skirmish is likely over the next bill, the interim relief bill enjoyed bipartisan support in the House and Senate.

Horsford said he voted for the interim bill because it includes more funds for small-business loans that can be disbursed by community-based lenders to minority-owned and rural mom and pop operations.

Social distancing vote

The bill passed, 388-5. In a sign of the times, lawmakers were called to the floor alphabetically, in groups of eight, to vote and maintain social distancing. Most wore masks. The House recessed in between votes on Thursday so the chamber could be cleaned before a second vote was held.

The Senate passed the legislation by unanimous consent earlier this week.

It now goes to President Donald Trump, who has said he would sign the bill that largely aids small businesses with loans to keep workers on the payroll while storefronts and offices are closed.

Also included in the bill is $75 billion for hospitals and $25 billion for state-led testing, which Republican and Democratic governors have said is critical to reopening portions of the economy.

An original bill written by Senate Republicans and the White House to replenish funds for small businesses was blocked by Democrats who sought carve-outs for minority-owned business and community-based lenders who were bypassed in the previous round of funding.

Democrats also wanted money for hospitals, which have lost revenue by cancellations of elective surgeries and preparations to treat patients with COVID-19.

Despite the differences, lawmakers in both major political parties supported the bill.

“This is the commitment we make to every American: We will fight the virus together until we defeat it together,” said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

More work to do

Nevada’s congressional delegation supported the bill.

Silver State lawmakers in the House — Reps. Horsford, Dina Titus and Susie Lee, all Democrats, and Republican Rep. Mark Amodei — are seeking funding and assistance in a fourth bill.

“There’s a whole lot more work to do,” Lee said.

The state delegation is backing legislation filed by Titus and Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., that would make small businesses with revenue from gaming eligible for Payroll Protection Program loans from the Small Business Administration.

Trump has signaled his support for the change, but the administration made only a slight adjustment to the 1990s rule that excluded many Nevada businesses with gaming revenue from receiving loans.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and SBA officials upped the threshold from 30 percent to 50 percent for gaming revenue that would make small businesses eligible. It left intact a $1 million cap that Democrats and Republicans in states with legalized gaming said excluded many ailing businesses.

Amodei complained that SBA bureaucrats were overriding congressional intent with how PPP aid was being distributed.

Titus and Rosen said they hoped the language would be incorporated into a fourth relief bill.

Money for local governments

The Nevada delegation also is behind a push by the U.S. Conference of Mayors seeking $250 billion for cities and towns with populations of less than 500,000 who were cut out of the $2.2 trillion package approved by Congress last month.

Only one Nevada city, Las Vegas, was large enough to be included in a pot of money for states and cities in the last stimulus package.

Henderson Mayor Debra March said the Las Vegas suburb was losing tax revenue as the municipality was spending money for services that include law enforcement and health care.

Titus said she has talked to many mayors from small Nevada communities that are feeling the burden of the pandemic and need help to maintain services residents rely on.

Meanwhile, Horsford said that he is seeking in a future relief bill an increased amount of direct payments to individuals, up from $1,200 per person and $500 for dependents of couples that was included in the last bill. He also wants an expansion of unemployment benefits, particularly in hard-hit states like Nevada, where unemployment is nearing 20 percent, and expansion of loans for small businesses.

According to SBA, some 8,674 Nevada businesses have received roughly $2 billion in PPP loans.

Horsford said there were about 270,000 small businesses in the state.

Although one of the hardest-hit states, Nevada has received “a disproportionate share of the relief,” Horsford said.

Contact Gary Martin at gmartin@reviewjournal.com or 202-662-7390. Follow @garymartindc on Twitter.