Updated 6/8/2020
On May 15th, the United States House of Representatives voted along party lines to pass the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, H.R. 6800. With a final vote of 208-199, only one Republican voted for the bill, with 14 Democrats voting against it.
Although the bill has passed the House, it faces opposition in the Senate, which is set to discuss the bill this month.
As written, the bill would provide almost $1 trillion to state and local governments, establish a Heroes Fund to provide $200 billion in hazard pay to essential workers, make an additional round of payments to taxpayers, and extend unemployment benefits.
There are several provisions in the bill that are favorable to nonprofits. This includes an increased employee retention credit, expansion of the Paycheck Protection Program, and an extension of emergency paid leave, among other things. Several of the key nonprofit specific components of the bill are laid out below, and you can also read the section by section summary of the bill here.
The HEROES Act would:
Expand access to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) for all nonprofits
Not only would this bill lift the cap on eligibility for all 501(c) nonprofits (Division I, Small Business Provision), it also creates a dedicated 25% funding stream reserved for nonprofits organizations:
- Half of that (12.5%) will go to charitable nonprofits with 500 or fewer employees, the current PPP standard
- Half (12.5%) will go to larger 501(c)(3) organizations and all other types of nonprofits, including social welfare organizations, labor unions, and chambers of commerce
Include nonprofits in the Main Street lending program
- Division K, Title VI, would require the Main Street lending program to include nonprofits
- The Federal Reserve would be required to create a low-cost loan option tailored to the unique needs of nonprofit organizations