This $2.2 trillion dollar COVID-19 relief bill retains provisions from the original, including providing funding for state and local governments to support relief efforts and relief funding for schools to meet educational needs, requiring the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health and Administration (OSHA) to issue enforceable rules to protect workers during the crisis, and ensuring other critical support for workers and communities.

In response to the passage of the bill, the BlueGreen Alliance released the following statement from Executive Director Jason Walsh:

“While Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans bellow about the need to allow large corporations to put workers’ lives at risk with impunity, the House has again shown leadership and passed a second Covid-19 relief bill. The updated HEROES Act rightly puts the health and safety of workers first and provides support to state and local governments that have been abandoned by the Trump administration.

“Hundreds of thousands of Americans have died from the coronavirus. Millions are unemployed. It is inexcusable that Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans have refused to stand up for the American people for the last four months. The Senate must act quickly to provide the support working families need.”