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Information provided by Texas Chamber of Commerce Executives (TCCE)
The new package will also bring significant relief to Texas businesses including your members and others in the community. Following are a few key provisions of what is included for your member companies in need of assistance:
Texas Workers & Job Creators:
- Paycheck Protection Program (PPP): Provides more than $250 billion to replenish the program, which provides loans to allow small businesses to maintain their payroll, hire back laid-off employees, and cover interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities
- Save Our Stages Act: Provides Small Business Administration grants totaling $15 billion for entertainment venue operators affected by COVID-19 stay-at-home orders in order to keep venues afloat, pay employees, and preserve a critical economic sector
- Small Business Expense Protection Act: Clarifies the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) so small businesses can deduct expenses paid with a forgiven PPP loan from their taxes
- Extension of the Donation Acceptance Program: Provides a one-year extension of this program promoting public-private partnerships to boost staffing and make infrastructure improvements at U.S. ports of entry without adding to the national deficit
Texas’ Energy Sector:
Texans in Rural Areas & Farmers:
- Includes $300 million to build out rural broadband
- Provides an additional $250 million for telehealth
- Provides $11.2 billion in funding for agricultural assistance to support farmers, ranchers, logging and timber, textile mills, and producers.
- Provides $1 billion in repurposed funding for agricultural losses due to previous natural disasters.
Health Care Industry Response:
- Provides $19.695 billion for the purchase, development, and production of vaccines and $8.75 billion for vaccine distribution, administration, and monitoring
- Provides $22.4 billion to assist states with testing and containment
- Reauthorizes the Community Health Centers program for three years and provides $1.68 billion in appropriated funds.
- Provides $3.25 billion for the Strategic National Stockpile of PPE and other critical supplies
- Provides $3 billion for the Provider Relief Fund
Provides for Texas education, childcare, and nutrition:
- Provides $10 billion for childcare centers
- Allocates $82 billion in funding to support students, teachers, schools, and families, including:
- $54.3 billion to help elementary and secondary schools safely re-open or remain open;
- $22.7 billion to support students and institutions of higher education;
- And $4.1 billion as part of the Governors Fund to give states flexible funding to address students’ needs from early childhood through college
- Continues and provides additional waivers and flexibility for School Nutrition Programs, of which two-thirds of Texas school children participate in
- Provides $400 million in funding for the Emergency Food Assistance Program and $1.5 billion for the purchase of food and commodities to help Texas food banks meet unprecedented demand
- Includes a six-month increase in supplemental food benefits for low-income Texans
TCCE will continue to bring the latest updates and information to assist your chamber, members and community.
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