President Trump on April 24 signed into law a $484 billion coronavirus response bill that was passed by the House of Representatives on April 23.
The legislation provides additional funding for business loans and grants, and $100 billion in funding for hospitals and COVID-19 testing. As part of the latter, the bill would provide $11 billion for states, localities, territories, and tribes to develop, purchase, administer, process, and analyze COVID-19 tests, scale-up laboratory capacity, trace contacts, and support employer testing.
Trump has said he will work with Congress to draft another bill including direct aid to states and infrastructure investment incentives.
In late March, Trump signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The measure will provide $2 trillion in financial assistance in response to the pandemic.
Among other things, the CARES Act provides $900 million for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which comes in addition to the $3.74 billion already appropriated for the account for fiscal year 2020.
As Congress moves to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, additional funding for LIHEAP has been a key priority for the American Public Power Association.
