Two separate aid packages for additional COVID-19 relief have been introduced into Congress, but have been held up due to conflicts between the aisles.
The House of Representatives passed the HEROES (Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions) Act back in May, and the Senate introduced the HEALS (Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protections and Schools) Act in late July.
Senators have been negotiating the details of the HEALS Act, which is actually a collection of individual bills, but have yet to come to an agreement. Talks between Senate Republicans and Democrats stalled out, but now leaders are recommending getting back to completing a deal.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer tweeted Aug. 10, “Republicans must get back to the negotiating table!”
The other side of the aisle echoed Schumer’s sentiment. “We can’t make a deal without the Democrats. And I think it’s time for everybody to get back to the table and let’s get a deal,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told Fox News Aug. 11.
Included for ag
The House-passed HEROES Act provides $16.5 billion in aid for agriculture, and the HEALS Act includes more than $20 billion. The House bill provides more guidance for how and where aid money should be used, while the Senate bill gives more authority and discretion to the secretary of agriculture to use funds.
The CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act was passed in March and provided $9.5 billion to USDA, and replenished the Commodity Credit Corporation by $14 billion. The legislation also established the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, which industry groups widely said was a good start, but agriculture needed more provisions for supply disruptions.
HEROES vs. HEALS
“While many of the agricultural-related provisions are similar, the provisions of the HEALS Act provide USDA much more flexibility to craft crucial assistance for producers as well as processors of agricultural products. The next step in this process is to bridge the divide between the HEALS and HEROES acts—an effort that is likely to extend into August,” said American Farm Bureau Federation Chief Economist John Newton.
Both bills would provide a considerable amount of funding to agriculture, although the HEALS Act would provide $3.5 billion more in direct funding than the HEROES Act. However, once factoring in other agricultural relief included in the HEROES Act, it could total up to $33 billion.
The HEALS Act specifically includes support to “livestock and poultry depopulated due to insufficient processing access,” while the HEROES Act directs the secretary of agriculture to make payments to producers as needed.
“The HEALS Act would provide substantial assistance to farmers, ranchers and agribusinesses,” Farm Credit Council President and CEO Todd Van Hoose said. “The bill provides $20 billion in direct assistance via USDA to agricultural producers. It dramatically simplifies the forgiveness process for small Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, better tailors the existing PPP to the needs of farmers, and simplifies Farm Credit’s ability to make PPP loans to farmers and agribusinesses.”
Holdups in Congress
Congressional holdups in passing the HEALS Act are mostly concerning unemployment funding and liability issues. Democrats want to further extend extra weekly unemployment benefits to $600 per week, but Republicans want only $200, with the possibility of increasing to $400. Additional delays include whether or not to provide additional financial assistance to states, as well as liability protection for businesses concerned about COVID-19 litigation.
When it comes to agriculture, there are many similar provisions included for the industry in both bills; however the Senate’s version provides more discretion for the secretary of agriculture to appoint funds. Talks are likely to continue over the coming weeks, but hopefully additional aid for agriculture will be on its way soon. — Anna Miller, WLJ editor
