Responsible Relief for Americans Act

Responsible Relief for Americans Act

This bill revises and establishes economic assistance measures in response to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019).

Specifically, the bill provides funding for and authorizes the Small Business Administration (SBA) to guarantee paycheck protection loans made to small businesses. Recipients of such loans are eligible for forgiveness of amounts expended for specified costs such as payroll. Small businesses may request an advance of up $10,000 on an SBA disaster loan for which they have applied in response to COVID-19.

Further the bill

• requires the SBA to temporarily pay the principal, interest, and any associated fees that are owed on certain SBA loans;
• repeals provisions that require an employer to provide paid sick leave for employees who are unable to work due to COVID-19;
• repeals provisions authorizing the use of certain funds to provide educational assistance and training for U.S. workers;
• provides additional time for federal contractors to carry out their responsibilities and guarantees payment continuation for federal contractors who are delayed or interrupted because of COVID-19;
• increases and expands the tax deduction for certain trade or business income;
• authorizes borrowers with federally backed mortgages who are experiencing financial hardship due to COVID-19 to request forbearance;
• revises provisions relating to health savings accounts (HSAs), including to allow increased participation in HSAs and to increase the limit on contributions to HSAs;
• expands reporting requirements for pharmaceutical manufacturers; and
• extends the deadline for filing 2019 individual income tax returns from April 15, 2019, to November 15, 2019.