CARES Act
Latest action. Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 116-517.
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act or the CARES Act
This bill responds to the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) outbreak and its impact on the economy, public health, state and local governments, individuals, and businesses.
DIVISION A--KEEPING WORKERS PAID AND EMPLOYED, HEALTH CARE SYSTEM ENHANCEMENTS, AND ECONOMIC STABILIZATION
This division establishes the Paycheck Protection Program to provide eight weeks of cash flow assistance to small businesses through federally guaranteed loans to employers who maintain their payroll. Such assistance shall be to cover costs such as payroll, paid sick leave, supply chain disruptions, and employee salaries. The division further provides that certain amounts owed on such loans are eligible to be forgiven.
The division also authorizes the Small Business Administration (SBA) to provide advances on SBA emergency disaster loans for small businesses that have applied for such loans due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Additionally, the division requires the SBA to pay all principal, interest, and fees on certain new and existing SBA loans for a period of six months.
TITLE I--KEEPING AMERICAN WORKERS PAID AND EMPLOYED ACT
This title provides emergency economic relief for small businesses to meet their payroll and expenses and to receive education and assistance throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
(Sec. 1102) This section authorizes the Small Business Administration (SBA) to guarantee paycheck protection loans during the period beginning on February 15, 2020, and ending on June 30, 2020.
During this period, in addition to a small business, any business, nonprofit organization, veterans organization, or tribal business is eligible to receive a paycheck protection loan if it employs fewer than 500 employees or the applicable SBA size standard for the relevant industry. In addition, individuals who operate as sole proprietors or as independent contractors, as well as certain self-employed individuals, are eligible to receive a paycheck protection loan.
Allowable uses for such loans include (1) payroll costs, (2) continuation of group health care benefits, (3) employee salaries, and (4) rent payments.
The summary continues for 590 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Public Law" stage on March 27, 2020. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on July 23, 2020: Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 116-517.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 116th Congress (2019-20), 344 of the 14,345 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Joe Courtney (D-CT) introduced it on January 24, 2019, and 369 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on January 24, 2019, 2786 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2240 days ago, on July 23, 2020.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 116th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2021 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers