Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher Votes in Support of Bipartisan COVID Relief and Year-End Appropriations Bill
Fletcher’s Legislation to Support Small Businesses and Ensure Tax Deductibility of PPP Loans and Port of Houston Expansion Authorization Included in Year-End Package
Today, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) voted in support of H.R. 133, the bipartisan year-end spending bill with critical COVID-19 relief. Among its provisions, the bill includes language from Fletcher’s bipartisan legislation, the Protecting the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Act of 2020, to support small businesses by ensuring eligible expenses paid by the PPP would be tax-deductible. Recently, Fletcher led a bipartisan effort in the House with more than 170 colleagues to ensure this bill would be included in any year-end legislation. The legislation also authorizes the expansion of the Port of Houston, which Fletcher has been working with a bipartisan coalition to secure in her role on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee. H.R. 133 passed the House of Representatives.
“This has been a difficult and challenging year by all measures. The health and economic impacts of this pandemic continue to be staggering, affecting all aspects of our lives and our livelihoods, and our communities continue to bear the brunt of responding to this public health emergency. While I’m glad that the House and Senate have finally reached bipartisan consensus to provide COVID relief, this agreement leaves critical needs unmet, and there will be much more work to do.
“For now, this bill provides some desperately needed aid—measures that people in our communities have called for, including expanded unemployment benefits for those who have lost their jobs, support for small businesses through the PPP program, stimulus payments for American families, rental assistance, and funding for SNAP to help reduce hunger in our communities. Additionally, the year-end appropriations package includes important provisions for our community—including authorization to expand the Port of Houston and bipartisan legislation to end surprise medical billing.
“I’m glad this bill includes among its many provisions my bipartisan legislation to help small businesses during this time by making certain expenses paid through PPP loans eligible for tax deductions. Small businesses are the backbone of our communities, and this provision reverses misguided IRS guidance that would have hurt small businesses in my district and across the country.”
H.R. 133 contains the following COVID-19 relief provisions:
Economic Impact Payments: $600 per adult and child.
Enhanced Unemployment Insurance Benefits: averts expiration of Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits for millions and restores a $300 per week UI enhancement for Americans who are out of work.
Paycheck Protection Funding: $284 billion for a new and second-round of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans; a simplified loan forgiveness process for PPP loans under $150,000; key modifications to PPP to better serve the smallest businesses, struggling non-profits, and independent restaurants; and $15 billion in dedicated funding for entertainment venues and cultural institutions.
Small Business Grants: $20 billion for targeted EIDL grants of $10,000.
Nutrition Assistance: $13 billion in increased SNAP and child nutrition benefits to help relieve the hunger crisis.
Rental Assistance: $25 billion for rental assistance and an extension of the eviction moratorium.
Education and Child Care: $82 billion in funding for colleges and schools, including support for HVAC repair and replacement to mitigate virus transmission and reopen classrooms, and $10 billion for child care assistance to help get parents back to work and keep child care providers open.
Broadband Access: $7 billion to increase access to broadband, including a new Emergency Broadband Benefit to help millions of students, families and unemployed workers afford the broadband they need during the pandemic.
Vaccine Distribution: Billions in funding to accelerate vaccine distribution and to implement a strong national testing and tracing strategy.
The year-end appropriations package also includes:
Bipartisan legislation to end surprise billing for emergency and scheduled care;
Energy provisions for research and development programs that increase federal support necessary to develop energy technology for the next century that our region is well-positioned to utilize.
