[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 63 (Tuesday, March 31, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E346-E347]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          MIDDLE CLASS HEALTH BENEFITS TAX REPEAL ACT OF 2019

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. RUBEN GALLEGO

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 27, 2020

  Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, I rise to discuss the bill that we are 
voting on today, the

[[Page E347]]

Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (``CARES Act''). 
This bill is incredibly important to all of our citizens and 
communities. Our country is going through a war with this new virus, 
and we need to get every resource possible out into our communities to 
help fight this pandemic. We also need to protect our workers and keep 
them paid so they can purchase the food and supplies they need to get 
their families through this crisis safely.
  That is what I want to speak to. One of the last provisions added to 
this bill was Title VI, which establishes a Coronavirus Relief Fund 
that provides $150 billion for the Secretary of Treasury to disseminate 
to States, Tribal Governments, and units of local government in fiscal 
year 2020. These funds are to alleviate severe financial pressure these 
governments are under during this public health emergency.
  Specifically, the funds are intended to cover expenditures that were 
not accounted for in the budgets of these governments prior to the 
COVID-19 virus outbreak. For most of these governments, their budgets 
are based on the revenues they accounted for over the course of the 
fiscal year, including from revenues anticipated to be generated from 
business enterprises. These anticipated revenues are what these 
governments use to pay the wages of their employees.
  I want to memorialize that it is the intent of this Chamber that the 
funds in the Coronavirus Relief Fund are intended to help cover the 
loss of revenues that would have otherwise been collected and generated 
by these governments to cover the wages of their employees. We need to 
make sure these employees continue to be paid and that every effort is 
made to prevent them from losing their jobs during this pandemic.

                          ____________________