A few weeks ago, I voted in support of the Coronavirus relief package, which the President signed into law. As millions of Americans faced the end of their unemployment benefits or struggle to keep their small business open, we needed to stop the stalemate and do something. This package is not nearly enough, and we will keep fighting to get funding for state and local governments, for independent restaurants, and to provide much larger and sustained survival checks. The work is not over.

I know many of you are anxious to apply for and learn more about the extended and expanded benefits available through this legislation. Below, I have included links to the various congressional Committees which drafted the bill, which will provide much more detailed information, and to the federal and state agencies who will administer the programs.

It may take days or even weeks for state and federal agencies to open applications for some of these programs. The fastest way to find information on when applications will be available, and learn more about individual program requirements, is to visit the following websites:

Unemployment Insurance: The law provides up to 11 additional weeks of $300/week emergency unemployment benefits and extends pandemic-related unemployment insurance through March 14, 2021.

For more detailed information, please visit the Ways and Means Committee.

For updated information on applying for Unemployment Insurance please visit the New York State Department of Labor.

Small business relief: The law provides $300 billion for small business relief, including reopening the Paycheck Protection Program, with special emphasis on the smallest businesses and minority- and women-owned business, providing a second round of forgivable loans to small businesses most impacted by the pandemic such as restaurants, expanding eligibility to include Housing Cooperatives and targeting grants to shuttered venue operators.

For more detailed information, please visit the Small Business Committee.

Updated information on how to apply for programs like the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), including for Co-ops, Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL), and Shuttered Venue Operator Grants should soon be available from the Small Business Administration.

Direct (survival) payments: the law provides a one-time $600 payment for individuals or $1200 for married couples, plus an additional $600 for each child under the age of 17, phasing out for filers with incomes above $75,000 for individuals or $150,000 for couples.

For more detailed information, please visit the Ways and Means Committee.

For information on when you will receive your check, or on how to claim the first round of payments issued in 2020 if you have already not done so, please visit the Internal Revenue Service.

Rental Assistance: the law provides $25 billion in rental assistance to help people stay in their homes and a short extension of the CDC eviction moratorium.

For more detailed information, please visit the Financial Services Committee.

For information on how to apply for rental assistance in New York, please visit the New York State Department of Homes and Community Renewal.

Thank you, and I wish you a happy and healthy New Year.