For more than two years now, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the lives and livelihoods of so many in our Hawai‘i, our nation and throughout the world.
As your Congressman, to date, I have voted to enact 7 major COVID relief bills to provide desperately needed assistance to individuals and communities dealing with COVID-19 and the resulting health and economic consequences. From stepping up our vaccination efforts for our kūpuna and essential workers, getting our keiki safely back to school, to assisting our state and local governments with crippling revenue shortfall, our shuttered small businesses and their employees, to so many other of our fellow citizens and ‘ohana in desperate need, these COVID relief bills embraced our duty to act. These bills brought billions of dollars to Hawai‘i, while providing a critical lifeline for many individuals and families.
Below are summaries of the major bills I voted to pass in Congress in response to the COVID-19 crisis.
The Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act
On March 6, 2020, Congress passed and the President signed into law an $8.3 billion emergency supplemental funding bill to rapidly accelerate development and procurement of a COVID-19 vaccine, get dramatically more test kits our into communities, give healthcare workers the equipment they needed and provided aid to state and local governments which are shouldering most of the front-line efforts. It also included billions of dollars in assistance via low-interest loans to help small business, small farms and nonprofit organizations. For more details on the measure, click here.
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act
The COVID-19 pandemic brought about one of the worst economic downturns in a generation. Hawaii’s unemployment rate jumped from the lowest in the nation at 2.4% in March 2020 to nearly 12% just one month later with more than one-third of Hawaii’s labor force filing unemployment claims by April. Even today, Hawaii’s workforce is on the road to recovery. In response, on March 18, 2020 Congress passed and the President signed into law a roughly $300 billion measure that supported paid leave for small businesses, ensured free COVID-19 testing, provided stronger unemployment benefits, expanded food assistance for vulnerable children and families, protected front-line health workers and delivered additional aid to help stabilize state and municipal government operations. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act sought to address the severe impacts of COVID-19 on the personal health, safety and financial security of Americans. For more details on the measure, click here.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act
On March 27, 2020, Congress enacted the $2 trillion CARES Act, which focused on meeting the COVID-19 crisis head-on through substantial investments to bolster our health care response and our economy. The measure direct funding to support hospitals and providers most affected by COVID-19, provide $1,200 direct payments to most Americans, create the Paycheck Protection Program to support more than 24,000 Hawai‘i small businesses, provide state and local governments in Hawai‘i with $1.25 billion to address local needs and increase unemployment benefits for those who were out of work. You can read more about this measure by clicking here.
The Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act
On April 24, 2020, Congress passed and the President signed into law a $484 billion bill that increased funding for the Paycheck Protection Program by $310 billion, provided an additional $50 billion for the small business disaster loans program, $75 billion to help health care providers with expenses or lost revenues related to the coronavirus plus $25 billion to expand COVID-19 testing. For more information on the measure, click here.
The Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act
On June 5, 2020, Congress enacted bipartisan legislation to improve the Paycheck Protection Program and make it more accessible to the small business most in need of relief. The measure extended the covered period for spending Paycheck Protection Program loans, extended the period for calculation loan forgiveness, lengthened the loan maturity for future borrowers, extended the rehiring deadline for employers, provided up to 5 months’ additional payment deferral and increased the amount of the loan could be spent on non-payroll expenses. For more information on this measure, click here.
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021
As part of government spending package, on December 27, 2020, Congress passed and the President signed into law a $900 billion emergency relief package that included additional direct cash payments, an extension of enhanced unemployment insurance benefits for up to $300 per week and lengthened the maximum number of weeks, $25 billion in rental assistance, extended a ban on evictions, allocated $13 billion for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and provided additional funding toward vaccine distribution.
The American Rescue Plan Act
On March 9, 2021, Congress passed and the President signed into law a $1.9 trillion measurethat disbursed to millions of Americans $1,400 economic impact payments, extended enhanced unemployment benefits, allocated additional small business assistance and boosted resources to ramp up vaccine distribution and help reopen schools safely. Most notably, the American Rescue Plan created telework and Emergency Paid Leave options for federal employees unable to work due to COVID-19 and enabled eligible parents to claim up to $3,600 for each child dependent. These provisions delivered immediate and direct relief to families and workers impacted by COVID-19 through no fault of their own. For more details on the measure, click here.
Keeping in Touch with Hawai‘i (Talk Stories)
January 7, 2021: Congressman Case Reports to Hawai‘i: On the Start of the 117th Congress
December 18, 2020: Congressman Ed Case on Richard French Live: COVID Stimulus Aid and the Partisan Divide in Congress
November 30, 2020: Congressman Ed Case Reports to Hawai‘i: COVID-19 Food Drives
November 28, 2020: Congressman Ed Case Reports to State House Select COVID-19 Committee (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQYeHq7zXDQ)
October 9, 2020: Congressman Ed Case Talks Story with Kapolei Chamber of Commerce About COVID-19 Assistance (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykgdisfeiZo
August 24, 2020: Congressman Ed Case on ThinkTech Hawai‘i and the Implications of the Attack on the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) during COVID-19
August 5, 2020: Congressman Case Reports to State House Select Committee on COVID-19
July 1, 2020: Congressman Case Joins Tsismisan: Census Talk Story Series
June 22, 2020: COVID-19 Tele-Talk Story Community Meeting
May 1, 2020: Virtual Arts Advocacy Day 2020 Talk Story with Hawaii Arts Alliance.
April 30, 2020: COVID-19 Virtual Town Hall with State Representatives Val Okimoto and Lynn DeCoite.
April 29, 2020: COVID-19 Care Conversation sponsored by the Hawai’i Executive Collaborative and the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
April 8, 2020: COVID-19 Tele-Talk Story Community Meeting
March 18, 2020: COVID-19 Talk Story with Congressman Case and Lt. Governor Josh Green.
