Loeffler Delivers Critical COVID Relief for Georgia Workers, Families, Farmers, Veterans and Small Businesses

Press Release

U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) today outlined her extensive work to help Georgians address the coronavirus pandemic, including helping to deliver more than $39 billion in relief funding to Georgia. Loeffler continues to work to swiftly provide relief for employers, workers, families, health care providers, farmers, veterans and all Georgians.

"The coronavirus pandemic has impacted every aspect of our lives, and the federal response has been in full force to help provide relief," said Senator Loeffler. "From day one, I have worked around the clock to ensure Georgia families, businesses, hospitals and farmers have the resources they need. As we continue to prioritize the health and safety of our communities, I will keep working to deliver relief and results that create more opportunities for Georgia families to recover and succeed following this pandemic."

Loeffler's office has helped more than 4,040 individual Georgians and 410 Georgia businesses receive coronavirus relief by cutting through federal red tape.

For Georgia Families:

$8 billion in Economic Impact Payments to 4.7 million Georgians
Urged the U.S. Department of Treasury and Internal Revenue Service to process backlog of Economic Impact Payments to eligible Georgians
Urged the Trump administration to expand telehealth services for veterans

Actions taken by Senator Loeffler regarding COVID-19:

Traveled with President Trump to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to hear directly from doctors working on the front line to combat the coronavirus;
Voted for the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and the Coronavirus Aid, Recovery and Economic Stability (CARES) Act;
Drafted and introduced the USA Restoring & Igniting the Strength of our Economy (USA RISE) Plan to reinvest in America, grow jobs, help families through the COVID-19 pandemic and trigger an economic recovery;
Voted for the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act to expand flexibility for PPP loans;
Served on President Trump's Congressional Task Force to Reopen America;
Worked with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to improve conditions for quarantined cruise ship passengers at Dobbins Air Force Base;
Hosted a telephone town hall with U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La.), also a physician, to discuss the federal response to coronavirus with Georgians;
Held dozens of conference calls with hundreds of elected officials, county leaders, hospitals, first responders, food banks, small business owners, farmers, producers, educators, community banks, large employers, nonprofits and chambers of commerce across Georgia to provide updates on coronavirus efforts;
Participated in six U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions hearings on the coronavirus and the federal government's response;
Worked with the U.S. State Department to help bring home Georgians stranded in more than 20 countries due to travel bans;
Advocated for solutions to reopen and restart the economy with President Trump and the leaders of the U.S. Department of Treasury, Federal Reserve and Small Business Administration;
Hosted a conference call with Georgia farmers and the United States Department of Agriculture Undersecretary to discuss how to help the agriculture industry; and
Hosted a telephone town hall with the U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and thousands of Georgians to discuss reopening schools and school choice.

Legislation introduced by Senator Loeffler in response to coronavirus:

Three Loeffler bills included in the final CARES Act and enacted into law to fund rural health and telehealth programs and to prevent shortages of essential medical devices, like masks, respirators and ventilators;
The Bring Entrepreneurial Advancements to Consumers Here In North America (BEAT CHINA) Act to incentivize pharmaceutical and medical device and supply manufacturers to relocate to the United States;
The Preventing Essential Medical Device Shortages Act to ensure critical medical supplies are available during a national emergency;
The Right to Test Act to help states reduce testing delays;
The American Workforce Development Act to increase the amount an employer can provide to employees in tax exempt tuition benefits from $5,250 to $11,500 per year;
The Paycheck Protection Program Timeframe, Modification, and Extension (PPP TIME) Act to allow small businesses to use their eight-week Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan over 24 weeks and reduces the amount of the loan that must be spent on payroll to be forgivable to 50%;
The Helping Americans Return to Work Act to encourage Americans to get back to work and limit government dependency;
The Lessening Regulatory Costs and Establishing a Federal Regulatory Budget Act to codify the Trump executive order that requires for every new federal regulation, two regulations will be eliminated;
The Protecting Reopening Businesses Recovering from COVID-19 Act to protect businesses and health care providers who take appropriate health measures from being held liable for customers or employees who contract COVID-19;
The Telemedicine Everywhere Lifting Everyone's Healthcare Experience and Long Term Health (TELEHEALTH) HSA Act to make it easier for patients to access health care via telemedicine;
The Patient Credit Protection Act to ensure patients' credit scores aren't impacted by a surprise medical bill;
The Working Families Childcare Access (WFCA) Act to give additional flexibility to working families by allowing parents to contribute more to their employer-sponsored Dependent Care Cafeteria Plan Flexible Spending Account (FSA);
The Limiting Infant Fatality and Empowering Nonprofit Organization Workforces (LIFE NOW) Act to allow larger nonprofits to receive Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and prohibit taxpayer dollars from funding abortion providers;
The Affordable Health Care Options Act to codify the Trump Administration's regulations on short-term, limited-duration health insurance plans to help Georgians who have lost their jobs buy health insurance;
The Securing America's Medical Supply Chain and Advancing the Production of Life Saving Medicines Act to create a new administration position to negotiate and oversee trade of critical medical supplies;
The Regulatory Relief to Support Economic Recovery Act to get red tape out of the way to help small businesses recover from the impact of COVID-19;
The American Farms, Food Banks and Families Act to create a supply chain administrator at the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help break down barriers and expand domestic market access for American farmers;
The American Agriculture First Act to require the federal government to prioritize the purchase of American-grown agriculture commodities from American-owned farms during a national emergency;
The Enforcing Accountability and Transparency in International Trade Act to address China's continued manipulation of developing country status within the World Trade Organization (WTO) and to level the playing field for America farmers, ranchers and manufacturers;
The VA Mission Telehealth Clarification Act to ensure that U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare trainees receive the telehealth training they need and expand the number of VA healthcare employees that can provide care via telehealth. The bill was added to the Senate's version of the FY21 NDAA and successfully passed out of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee; and
A resolution to increase funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grants.

For the State of Georgia and local governments:

$4.1 billion in direct assistance to the state of Georgia
$12.5 million to expand rural broadband
$32 million for administering expanded unemployment benefits
$50.5 million in Community Development Block Grants for Georgia and local governments
$25.4 million for homeless assistance grants
Funding for Georgia transportation organizations, including $300 million for MARTA; $4.8 million for the Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport; $15 million for Gwinnett County Transit; $411 million for Georgia airports, including $338 million for Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

For Georgia Schools and Education:

$457.2 million for K-12 education
$105.4 million for K-12 and higher education
$57 million for 60 colleges and universities, $43 million of which is for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)
$144.4 million for Child Care Development Block Grants
Urged Congress to consider COVID-19 relief for HBCUs

For Georgia Employers and Workers:

$14.6 billion in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans to 174,429 small businesses
$7.5 billion in Economic Impact Disaster Loans to 176,324 small businesses
$12 million in additional federal funding for Georgia small businesses impacted by the pandemic
$15.9 million in CARES Act grants to local economic development organizations to recover from the pandemic and update economic development plans
Cosponsored bills to simplify PPP loan forgiveness for very small businesses and protect small businesses from tax liability for PPP loans
Led a letter urging the U.S. Department of Treasury and the Federal Reserve to improve the Main Street Lending Program (MSLP) to help small and mid-sized employers access loans and save jobs
Spearheaded an effort alongside 28 senators to demand the U.S. Treasury Department to investigate Planned Parenthood receiving loans from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)

For Georgia Hospitals and Health Care providers:

$2.66 billion for Georgia's health care system
$46 million in reimbursement for testing and treating uninsured patients
$828,000 to expand telehealth, as part of a provision Loeffler sponsored in the CARES Act
Urged the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide funding for children's hospitals impacted by COVID-19
Asked HHS and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to examine how several states that rejected federal guidance contributed to the spread of the coronavirus in nursing homes during the pandemic
Urged HHS and CMS to prioritize CARES funding for safety net and rural hospitals

For Georgia Farmers:

$128.5 million in direct payments from the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP)
Secured access to Economic Injury Disaster Loans for farmers
Helped secure additional flexibility for the CFAP to better serve Georgia's expansive and diverse agriculture industry
Urged the Small Business Administration (SBA) to help rural small businesses access PPP loans
Successfully urged the Chief Agricultural Negotiator Gregg Doud to reschedule a United States Trade Representative (USTR) field hearing, that was delayed due to COVID-19, to focus on how foreign trade policy, especially the dumping of imported produce into the U.S. market, threatens domestic farmers' livelihoods

For Georgia Veterans:

Urged the Trump administration to expand telemental services for veterans
Cosponsored the Homeless Veterans Coronavirus Response Act of 2020 to improve the ability of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide critical services to homeless veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic
Cosponsored a bill to amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to provide additional legal protections for service members and their families who are affected by stop movement orders during the pandemic.
Cosponsored two bills to ensure that GI beneficiaries are not adversely affected by the pandemic, language from both of which were signed into law

Source