On March 14, the House passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201) by a vote of 363-40—the first of what is likely to be a series of bills.
The House of Representatives passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201) to provide free coronavirus testing for everyone and paid emergency leave. The legislation is a good first step to provide working families with the help they need, and now the Senate must act.
Key provisions of H.R. 6201 include free coronavirus testing, paid emergency and sick leave, enhanced unemployment Insurance, strengthened food security initiatives, and increased federal funding for Medicaid.
More than half our nation’s K-12 students and educators are affected by school closures—and the number continues to grow.
Please take action on this bill here. The current action is urging a NO VOTE on the Johnson amendment that would replace the paid sick and emergency leave provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act with unemployment insurance. We also are urging a YES VOTE on the Murray substitute that would provide emergency paid sick days and paid leave to all working people for the next two years. We will keep this action link up to date with current actions.
UPDATE: As of Wednesday evening (March 18th), this bill has passed the Senate and voted into law by President Trump. The bill is the second aid package. This bill provides paid sick and family leave for workers impacted by the illness and increases unemployment assistance. The measure also includes food aid and increases resources for testing.
This is just the first step. Additional legislation is already in the works and we need to weigh in. Watch the JESPA page for additional updates.
