As promised, today Senate Republicans released what is being called “Phase III” of coronavirus relief, representing the largest package. The total price of the bill is an estimated $1 trillion, includes the much discussed cash relief payments, small business loans, and loan guarantees for airlines and other impacted industries. The 247 page bill, available to read here, is organized around four priorities:

• Direct financial help for the American people

• Relief for small businesses

• Stabilizing the economy and protecting jobs

• Supporting healthcare professional and patients impacted by coronavirus

Here is a closer look at some of the details, as they stand now:

Direct Financial Assistance to the American People

• The bill provides checks of $1,200 for individuals and $2,400 for married couples filing jointly and an extra $500 for each child.

• Individuals with up to $75,000 in income and married couples filing jointly with up to $150,000 in income are eligible for the full amount.

• For those individuals earning between $75,000 and $99,000 and joint filers between $150,000 and $198,000 relief checks are reduced by 5 percent of so much of the taxpayer’s adjusted gross income.

• What qualifies as income?

• earned income

• social security benefits

• any compensation or pension received until Chapter 11, 13, or 15 of title 38 of the US Code

• Individuals above $99,000 and joint filers above $198,000 are not eligible for relief payments.

• The bill extends the tax filing deadline to July 15th and allows individuals required to make tax payments to postpone them until October 15h

• Waives penalties for early withdrawal from qualified retirement accounts up to $100,000

• Allows the Secretary of Education to defer student loan payments and allows students who were forced to drop out of school due to coronavirus to keep their Pell grants

• Interest will not be accrued for the deferred period

• Allows colleges and universities to continue work-study payments to students who can not work due to coronavirus closures

Relief for Small Businesses

• Provides cash-flow assistance through federally guaranteed loans to employers who maintain their payroll during this emergency. If employers maintain their payroll, the loans would be forgiven, which would help workers to remain employed and affected small businesses and our economy to quickly snap-back after the crisis.

• Expands the allowable uses for certain small business loans to permit payroll support, including paid sick leave, supply chain disruptions, employee salaries, mortgage payments, and other debt obligations to provide immediate access to capital for small businesses who have been impacted by the coronavirus emergency.

• Makes unemployment insurance applications more easily accessible.

• Small business loans are up to $10,000,000 per business

• Total amount of loans guarantees and subsidies for small businesses is $299.4 billion

Stabilizing the Economy and Protecting Jobs

• Allows the Treasury Secretary to provides loans and loan guarantees to passenger air carriers, cargo air carriers, and other major industries severely impacted by government health restrictions to combat the coronavirus. (These are not grants or bailouts — loans must be repaid)

• The total amount of loan guarantees is $208 billion.

• No more than $50 billion of the loans will be available for passenger air carriers

• No more than $8 billion will be available for cargo air carriers

• The remaining $150 billion will be available for other eligible businesses.

• The Secretary of the Treasury will review applications and enter agreements with impacted companies.

• Prohibits companies receiving assistance from increasing executive pay or providing “golden parachutes” for two years.

• Provides tax relief to businesses affected by the coronavirus emergency. Allows deferred payments on estimated taxes and some payroll taxes, increased deductibility for interest expenses, immediate expensing of qualified property improvements, especially for the hospitality industry, and corrects errors in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that inadvertently affected certain businesses.

• This is not the payroll tax holiday that was floated in early march by members of the Trump Administration. This allows for a deferral of employer side payroll tax liabilities.

Supporting Healthcare Professionals and Patients Impacted by Coronavirus

• Expands testing and ensures coronavirus tests are free for patients.

• Addresses supply shortages for drugs and critical equipment, including ventilators and medical masks.

• Speeds the development of new vaccines and treatments, such as reducing barriers to work with the private sector.

• Expands telehealth access for Medicare beneficiaries.

• Permits patients to use health savings accounts to cover telehealth services

• Increases Medicare payments to hospitals treating a patient admitted with coronavirus

Remember, this is the initial bill and is likely to change before final passage. Our goal is to provide as much detail as possible as those changes take place and leading up to the ultimate passage of “Phase III.”

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