Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Votes for Urgently Needed Aid to Individuals, Small Businesses and Local Governments

Press Release

Today, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (HI-02) voted to pass H.R.6800, the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, a massive emergency funding bill which includes another direct stimulus payment to individual Americans, bolsters unemployment insurance and small business loan programs, provides resources to local governments for essential services, tracing and testing for COVID-19, as well as closes loopholes and provides clarifications to previous emergency funding bills.

"So many of our states, counties, small businesses, and individuals are in dire straits and need help. In spite of serious concerns with some sections of the bill, I voted for the HEROES Act today because we must urgently get resources to those who are bearing the brunt of the impact of this pandemic. Smaller local governments, like Maui, Kaua"i, and Hawai"i counties, will get the direct assistance they need right now to continue basic essential services and to ramp up testing and tracing efforts to continue to defeat this disease," said Rep. Tulsi Gabbard. "However, there was a major glaring omission in this bill that if included, would have made an incredible positive impact on people's lives. In March, I was the first Member to introduce legislation that would provide a monthly emergency universal basic payment to every American until the public health crisis ended. Instead of directly empowering Americans with $2,000/month during this crisis, cutting through red tape and empowering individuals to make the best choices for themselves and their families, the authors of the bill chose to fund a one-time payment along with many other government programs, failing to to take the opportunity to provide the help people need most."

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