English
Comcast Announces Comprehensive COVID-19 Response to Help Keep Americans Connected to the Internet
https://corporate.comcast.com/covid-19
Español
Comcast Responde Al Covid-19 Con Una Iniciativa Integral Que Ayudará A Los Norteamericanos A Mantenerse Conectados A Internet
https://corporate.comcast.com/press/releases/comcast-responde-al-covid-19-norteamericanos-conectados-a-internet
Yesterday, the Senate approved the House passed HR 6201, which was the second dollop of COVID-19 related funding relief in the last two weeks and followed an initial $8 billion package addressing immediate health security needs and offering SBA loans for impacted small businesses and nonprofits.
The newly passed second round of funding contains an array of emergency related assistance including:
● $1 billion for Unemployment Insurance operations in light of the strong upsurge in UI claimants;
● Continuation of school lunch programming and enhanced Meals on Wheels funding for seniors;
● Flexibility in SNAP benefits and work requirements;
● Enhanced paid leave and sick leave;
● Full payment for COVID-19 testing of the uninsured.
However, even before the passage of HR 6201, Majority Leader McConnell had already begun making plans for a third, $1 trillion plus supplemental (Supp 3) to address the economic security needs of industries impacted by this crisis. McConnell formed working groups of key Republican Senators to develop policy proposals and worked with the Administration’s point person, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin to introduce S.3548, the “CARES Act”, this evening.
The core components of the CARES act focus on:
● $500 billion in direct stimulus to taxpayers;
○ $1200 to each adult earning less than $75k or couple making under $150k and an additional $500 per child;
● $300 billion in federally guaranteed loans to employers with under 500 employees, which would be forgivable and for core expenses such as employee retention, as well as expanded eligibility of lenders able to offer small business interruption loans;
● Provide the Secretary of Education with the power to grant “national emergency educational waivers”, statutory and regulatory waivers from ESSA, HEA, and CTE…if the Secretary deems that such a waiver is necessary and appropriate;
● Revival of the Treasury Department’s ability to use its exchange rate stabilization fund to guarantee money market mutual funds, a TARP authority last granted in 2008;
● $208 billion in loans to distressed industries, including $50 billion for passenger airlines and $8 billion for cargo airlines;
● Expands funding for procurement of medical supplies and equipment;
● Extends the tax filing deadline to July 15th;
● Increases charitable deductions, allowing for an above the line $300 deduction of cash contributions;
● Adjusts the limitations on deductions for charitable contributions by individuals who itemize, as well as corporations. For individuals, the 50% of adjusted gross income limitation is suspended for 2020;
● Waives the 10% early withdrawal penalty for distributions up to $100,000 from qualified retirement accounts for coronavirus-related purposes.
McConnell chose not to work with his Democratic counterparts until the introduction of the CARES Act and is now seeking to begin negotiations with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Schumer has urged a “four corners” approach to negotiating this bill and has developed his own proposal, seeking $750 billion, divided between $400 billion for “emergency surge” spending and $350 billion for social safety net programs.
Schumer’s emergency surge provisions:
● Massive new investment in public health and health care equipment;
● Immediate aid to states and localities through existing programs, such as CDBG;
● Expanded SBA lending to small business;
● Broad based education funding–from K-12 to assist distance learning, to loan repayment and loan forgiveness for higher education;
● Increased CCDBG;
● Expanded OAA social service funding;
● Emergency housing and transportation related assistance.
Safety net investments:
● Enhanced UI– including for Gig economy workers;
● Expansion of Medicaid;
● Increased SNAP benefits;
● Broader paid and sick leave– as proposed by Senator Murray in an amendment that was struck down in the Supp 2 package.
Schumer has indicated that Democratic support on a consensus bill requires a more balanced approach that assists workers, as well as employers.
Next Steps
McConnell and Schumer will begin negotiations on the specs of a potentially bipartisan bill. McConnell has asked Senators to stay in town, as negotiations are likely to continue through this weekend. McConnell hopes to find a bipartisan compromise, but if consensus is not achieved, he will need the support of nine Democrats, as 60 votes are required to move legislation through the Senate floor and two Republican members are currently unable to vote due to being self-quarantined.
McConnell’s strategy is to send the Senate bill to the House for an up or down vote, limiting the House’s input on this $1 trillion bill– as House members are currently in recess and becoming increasingly leery of returning to DC, particularly after two House members were diagnosed with Coronavirus.
However, Speaker Pelosi has been working on specs for her own Supp 3 bill, requesting Committee Chairs to put forward ideas to her on what should be included in this package. While the bill will not likely be released until next week, its core components are expected to include:
● Additional Unemployment Insurance assistance;
● Expanded Medicaid;
● Additional social safety net assistance for vulnerable populations, such as food and housing;
● Loans for small businesses;
● Assistance to impacted industries.
The exact timetable for enactment of supp 3 is unclear at this point, but both parties in both chambers recognize the need for expediency to address the crisis created by Coronavirus.
Moving Forward
Along with the current bills already underway, a fourth tranche of funding is also expected to address a $54 billion supplemental request from the Administration to address shortfalls in a number of Departments, with a specific focus on HHS and Homeland Security. Speaker Pelosi has indicated that she would rather address this request from the Administration in the Supp 3 bill, but is at odds with McConnell, who prefers it to be taken up separately in a fourth package.
Along with the Administration’s supplemental appropriations request, this fourth tranche could include the extension of key social service programming including TANF and Community Health Centers, as well as the potential for a jobs related package focused on infrastructure.
Impact on FY 21 appropriations process
The extraordinary effort to address the Coronavirus has caused the Appropriations Committee leadership and staff to focus nonstop on emergency funding measures, leaving consideration of the FY 21 regular appropriations process left for another day, with the need for a Continuing Resolution to keep the government open past September 30th a virtual certainty.
Charter Communications Press Statement
Beginning Monday, March 16, Charter commits to the following for 60 days:
o Charter will open its Wi-Fi hotspots across our footprint for public use.
As the country works collaboratively to contain this pandemic, broadband internet access will be increasingly essential to ensuring that people across the country are able to learn and work remotely, that businesses can continue to serve customers, and that Americans stay connected and engaged with family and friends. Charter’s advanced communications network will ensure our more than 29 million customers – including government offices and agencies, first responders, health care providers and facilities, and businesses – across 41 states maintain the connectivity they rely on.
Charter is working closely with federal, state, and local governments officials, community leaders, and alongside others in the industry to ensure we are meeting needs, sharing appropriate information, staying abreast of developments, and maintaining the appropriate access to geographies that may be operating under a state of emergency.
The network is built to sustain maximum capacity during peak usage which is typically in the evenings, so a surge during the day would be well within the network’s capabilities to manage. Charter will continue to closely monitor this dynamic situation, and is well-prepared to continue delivering reliable connectivity. Charter has extensive business and workforce continuity plans in place that will be adjusted as needed to best serve all our customers and employees.
English
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (COVID-19)
coronavirus.gov
usa.gov/coronavirus
U.S. Department of Labor: Coronavirus Resources
U.S. Department of Labor: Family and Medical Leave Act Questions and Answers
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB): Protect yourself financially from the impact the coronavirus
U.S. Department of Labor: Career OneStop Unemployment Benefits Finder
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Coronavirus: Small Business Guide & Loan Resources
Español:
Los Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades (COVID-19)
usa.gov/espanol/coronavirus
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB): Proteja sus finanzas del impacto del coronavirus
U.S. Department of Labor: Búsqueda de Prestaciones por Desempleo
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) en español
Dearest Friends & Partners,
We hope you are well. we know that everyone is feeling anxiety about COVID-19 and what it means for the communities where we live and work. I have spoken to many of you during the past few weeks about contingencies for large events and celebrations, as well as about the critical work to advocate and sustain programs for the most vulnerable members of our society.
At Comcast NBCUniversal Telemundo this work has been top of mind. While we modify our travel and plans, we want to make sure you are aware of an important announcement regarding Internet Essentials. This is their signature corporate social responsibility initiative to close the digital divide and today nearly 10 million low income Americans use Comcast Internet Essentials for at-home broadband. As more moves online in the coming days and weeks, they have made program upgrades that we would like you to share with your network:
The full announcement is below. This is a real-time work in progress, and they are still working so that it is available across the Comcast footprint as early as Monday.
If you are working with seniors, school-aged children, whomever – this is an incredible tool to show them the value of at-home broadband and have them cross the digital divide. Please consider reaching out to your networks to show them how this is a way to complete the Census, sign up for alerts, register for government programs and benefits, as well as connect with family and friends during this time of social distancing.
D&P Creative Strategies,
on behalf of Comcast NBCUniversal-Telemundo
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Comcast Increases Access to and Speeds of Internet Essentials’ Low-Income Internet Service to Support Americans Through the Coronavirus Pandemic
Dana Strong, President, Consumer Services, Comcast Cable
March 12th, 2020 – As our country continues to manage the COVID-19 emergency, we recognize that our company plays an important role in helping our customers stay connected – to their families, their workplaces, their schools, and the latest information about the virus – through the Internet.
We also know that for millions of low-income Americans who don’t have Internet service at home, this uncertain time is going to be even more difficult to manage. As schools and businesses close and families are encouraged, or even mandated, to stay home, Internet connectivity becomes even more important.
At Comcast, we’ve been looking for ways to help through our Internet Essentials program, which is the nation’s largest and most comprehensive broadband adoption program for low-income Americans. Since 2011, it has connected millions of individuals to the Internet.
A hallmark of this program has been our flexibility in adjusting Internet Essentials to meet the needs of low-income residents in our footprint. So, effective Monday, we are putting in place two substantial program enhancements to help these families deal with this crisis.
We want to make it as fast and simple as possible to access this service:
We’re also reaching out to our thousands of governmental and nonprofit partners to help us spread the word. Our hope is that broader access and faster speeds will help all of our Internet Essentials customers more easily work from home, access educational resources, obtain important government health care alerts, and stay in contact with their families during this difficult time.
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