When Recharge & Recover PHL released Phase 1 recommendations in September, a suite of advocacy priorities were introduced to support, scale, and fund our regional recovery efforts. With a focus on health and safety standards, reskilling and skills-based hiring, and buying from Black, brown, and local businesses, the Chamber’s advocacy team has been working to advance these priorities at the federal, state, and local levels of government.

Our efforts in Washington D.C. have been reflected in both emergency and discretionary spending packages that will soon be flowing into our region as a result of the passage of this week’s 2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act. From $325 billion to support small businesses to $69 billion to reverse the spread of the coronavirus through vaccine distribution and testing, activities key to our region’s recovery and aligned with our current legislative efforts are on track to make real economic progress in the coming months. As we move into a new session of Congress, maintaining this momentum with our elected officials will be essential to a more prosperous 2021.

Highlights from the roughly $900 billion in emergency coronavirus response and relief and $1.4 trillion omnibus appropriations include:

$325 billion in small business assistance, including:

  • $284 billion funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), including set-asides for community-based lending, borrowing eligibility expanded to include 501(c)(6) nonprofits and Destination Marketing Organizations, tax-deductibility for business expenses paid for with PPP proceeds, streamlined forgiveness on PPP loans up to $150,000, a second draw of PPP for smaller and harder-hit businesses; and increased allowance for small businesses in the restaurant and hospitality industries to receive larger awards; and
  • $20 billion for new Economic Injury Disaster Loan grants for businesses in low-income communities; and
  • $15 billion in dedicated funding for live venues, independent movie theaters, and cultural institutions.

$12 billion in funding for Community Development Financial Institutions through the creation of a new Neighborhood Capital Investment program to help low-income and minority communities as well as an extension for the New Markets Tax Credit which helps attract private investment necessary to reinvigorate struggling local economies.

$69 billion for vaccine distribution, testing, and contact tracing, including:

  • $20 billion to Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority for procurement of vaccines and therapeutics as well as $3 billion for the strategic national stockpile;
  • $9 billion to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and states for vaccine distribution;
  • $22 billion to states for testing and tracing programs including a $2.5 billion set-aside for underserved areas;
  • $9 billion in support for health care providers;
  • $4.5 billion in mental health funding; and
  • $1 billion for National Institutes of Health to research COVID-19.

$45 billion in assistance to distressed transportation sectors experiencing historic decreases in rider ships and revenues, including:

  • $15 billion to the extend airline employee payroll assistance;
  • $1 billion for airline contractor payrolls;
  • $2 billion for airports and airport concessionaires;
  • $14 billion for transit;
  • $10 billion for state highways;
  • $1 billion for Amtrak; and
  • $2 billion for the private motorcoach, school bus, and ferry industries.

$82 billion for education, including:

  • $54.3 billion for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund;
  • $22.7 billion for the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund with set-asides financial aid grants to students as well as for Historically Black colleges and universities; and
  • $4 billion for the Governors Emergency Education Relief Fund, which includes a set aside for services to private K-12 schools.

Over $325 billion in assistance to individuals and families, including:

  • An additional round of direct payments of $600 for individuals making up to $75,000 per year and $1,200 for couples making up to $150,000 per year, as well as a $600 payment for each child dependent;
  • Extension of the $300 per week supplemental unemployment benefit through March 14, 2021;
  • Increased benefit under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program by 15% for a period of 6 months;
  • $25 billion funding for rental assistance for past due rent, future rent payments, as well as to pay utility and energy bills and prevent shutoffs; and
  • $638 million in assistance to low-income families through states for drinking water and waste water utility bills.

$7 billion for broadband investments including emergency funds for low-income families to access broadband as well as funding for telehealth.

$10 billion in funding to the Child Care & Development Block Grant program, which provides child care assistance to families and helps child care providers cover increased operating costs.

Extends or enhances existing tax credits and deductions, including:

  • Enhances the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit to help increase affordable housing construction and provide greater certainty to new and ongoing affordable housing projects;
  • Extends the refundable Employee Retention Tax Credit established through the CARES Act to keep additional workers on through July 1, 2021;
  • Extends the refundable tax credit to employers that offer paid sick leave established through the Families First Coronavirus Response Act;
  • Extends for one-year the $300 above-the-line-deduction established through the CARES Act;
  • Extends through 2025 the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, which supports individuals in targeted population groups that have consistently faced significant barriers to employment;
  • Extended tax credits for biofuels, wind, and solar projects;
  • Extends through December 31, 2021 the Coronavirus Relief Fund which provides aid to states and local governments established through the CARES Act.

Authorizes FY2021 discretionary spending, including key federal programs highlighted in our FY21 Appropriations requests:

  • Amtrak – $2 billion, equal to the 2020 enacted level, including $700 million for Northeast Corridor Grants, equal to the 2020 enacted level;
  • Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grants – $1 billion, equal to the 2020 enacted level;
  • Capital Investment Grants – $2 billion, $36 million above the 2020 enacted level;
  • Career and Technical Education State Grants – $1.3 billion, an increase of $52 million above the 2020 enacted level;
  • Corporation for Public Broadcasting – Advance funding in the amount of $475 million for fiscal year 2023;
  • Federal-State Partnership for State of Good Repair Grants – $200 million, equal to the 2020 enacted level;
  • Medical Research authorized under the 21st Century Cures Act – $474 million;
  • National Institutes of Health (NIH) – $42.9 billion, an increase of $1.25 billion above the 2020 enacted level; and
  • Pell Grant award increased by $150, or 2.4 percent, from $6,345 to $6,495 for the 2021-2022 academic year

Recharge & Recover PHL

Join regional leaders as we prioritize regional health and safety, create opportunities for displaced workers, and bolster support for Black, brown, and local businesses in a shared effort to stabilize, energize, and prepare Greater Philadelphia for a durable recovery.