Congress has reached a deal on a $484 billion funding package that includes $310 billion in additional funding for the Paycheck Protection Program. The package also includes an additional $60 billion for the SBA’s economic injury disaster loans and grants, another key source of assistance for small businesses, as well as about $75 billion in funding for hospitals and $25 billion to expand COVID-19 testing capacity. The Senate passed this legislation late this afternoon. I anticipate the House will hold a vote on Thursday on passage, with the President signing it into law soon thereafter. If all goes as planned, PPP dollars will resume flowing to our small businesses by the end of the week.
More information on CARES Act stimulus payments:
The Treasury and the IRS are urging Social Security retirement beneficiaries who have qualifying children and did not file a tax return in 2018 or 2019 to use the IRS' Non-Filer tool to enter in their information. This will ensure you receive your $500/child payment on top of the automatic $1,200 stimulus payment. If Social Security beneficiaries do not do this, they will still get the $1,200 — but not the additional payments for eligible children. Get more information here.
We've also heard from many constituents having issues with the IRS' Get My Payment app. This portal was created and launched from scratch in just a couple of weeks, with minimal testing and the unfortunate reality is that many government computer systems operate years or even decades behind the latest technology used by the private sector. The Treasury is constantly working to improve the program and add additional data for more taxpayers, so please be diligent in checking once a day to see if your information has been added.
So far, more than 80 million Americans have received their payments via direct deposit. Depending on your specific situation, it may take a bit longer for the IRS to process your payment, particularly if it requires sending you a physical check. Please be patient and be assured that these payments are going out as fast as possible.
North Carolina has been approved for the new Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program, to help families purchase food for children impacted by school closings due to COVID-19. It will benefit some 800,000 children across the state by helping families offset the cost of meals that would have been consumed at school. North Carolina was one of the first two states in the nation to be approved to participate in the program. More information here from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
Ocean Isle Beach has lifted some restrictions on beach access for walking, jogging and biking while still mandating social distancing. More information here.
New Hanover County Schools has a COVID-19 resource page, with updates for parents and students and links to distance learning portals, recorded academic instruction and information about meal service and drive-up wifi programs, among other items.
For today's "good news" story, I'm highlighting the Sewing Group in the Oyster Harbour community in Supply, Brunswick County. The group has made and donated dozens of masks to front line workers in the Life Care Hospice facility in Bolivia. It was brought to my attention by a reader of this newsletter, Elaine from Supply, and it's just one example of the countless groups, big and small, that are working across North Carolina to provide our health care workers with the equipment they need to combat the virus.
