Middle Class Health Benefits Tax Repeal Act of 2019

Floor Speech

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Mrs. TORRES of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the Senate Amendment to H.R. 748, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. This bill will provide emergency relief to millions of Americans as we fight the coronavirus outbreak.

I want to highlight Title VI, which establishes a Coronavirus Relief Fund that provides $150 billion for the Secretary of Treasury to disseminate to States, Tribal Governments and units of local government in fiscal year 2020. Tragically, in recent days I've heard from many tribal nations in California, and they are really struggling. That's because they did the right thing to help our country combat this virus by closing their businesses.

It is worth noting that they did so proactively and were under no obligation to take such drastic steps. But, as we have come to expect from our leaders in the tribal community, they did the right thing because it was the right thing to do.

These closures have been nothing short of catastrophic. The very resources that had been used to fund the tribal government and provide services virtually evaporated overnight. These governments run, for the most part, on these tribal funds. The funds provided by the federal government via the Indian Health Service and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and other federal programs, often only make up a very small percentage of the total cost of running Tribal governments. So, when these businesses closed, the Tribes knew that doing so would compromise their ability to serve their people during this time of crisis.

I heard these stories and knew that Congress had to respond. This $8 billion fund will address the decrease in revenues, and we have mandated that the Secretary of Treasury work with the Secretary of Interior, to make sure that these decreased revenues are into their determination when making funds available to tribes.

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