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Blumenthal Statement on the Heroes Act

[WASHINGTON, DC] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) released the following statement on the Heroes Act:

“The HEROES Act presents a bold vision for the next phase of COVID-19 recovery and relief. I’m really pleased to see many provisions I fought for included in this proposal, including protections for frontline workers, funding for vital internet services, increased benefits and support for veterans and expanded testing at the VA. I’m obviously disappointed that the HEROES Act doesn’t include several legislative proposals that I believe are vitally necessary – especially the Paycheck Security Act and the CORE Act. I firmly believe that the Paycheck Security Act, which is based on a concept publicly supported by conservative Republicans and progressive Democrats, is an idea whose time has come. I’m also going to continue fighting for a broad, comprehensive set of oversight and transparency measures,” Blumenthal said.

“Now our Republican colleagues have a choice: does the suffering of workers and families in their states require urgent action, or not?”

The Heroes Act includes several provisions Blumenthal fought to include in the next COVID-19 relief package, including:

  • Expanding Support for Veterans: The Heroes Act includes several provisions Blumenthal laid out in a white paper including: increasing grants to disabled veterans for basic healthcare needs; streamlining reimbursement for emergency treatment at non-VA facilities; extending claims and appeals deadlines for VA benefits; expanding access to VA services during the covid-19 pandemic, including to unemployed veterans and National Guard and Reserve members.
  • The Protecting Families of Fallen Servicemembers Act: Blumenthal introduced this bipartisan legislation with U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) to allow spouses and dependents of service members who die or have a catastrophic injury or illness on active duty to terminate a phone, TV, or internet contract without penalty.
  • Implementing Lease Protections for Veterans: Blumenthal joined Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Ranking Member Jon Tester (D-MT) in introducing legislation to expand the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) to provide additional legal protections for servicemembers impacted by DOD’s stop movement order. The bill allows servicemembers to terminate housing and car leases early if their transfer orders are suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Emergency Benefit for Broadband Service: Earlier this month, Blumenthal led a group of twenty-seven senators in calling on Congressional leadership to commit at least $1 billion in funding for the Lifeline program in future coronavirus relief to meet the new connectivity needs of Americans. The Lifeline program makes basic internet and telephone service more affordable for low-income Americans. The Heroes Act expands the broadband providers and households that are eligible to participate in the FCC’s assistance program and dedicates additional funding to improve existing Lifeline service plans and registration, as Blumenthal called for in his letter. The Heroes Act authorizes significant additional funding to support expanded access to the program.
  • The COVID–19 Every Worker Protection Act: This Blumenthal-sponsored legislation, which is included fully in the Heroes Act, require the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue an Emergency Temporary Standard that establishes a legal obligation for all workplaces to implement comprehensive infectious disease exposure control plans to keep workers safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Blumenthal also led a letter calling on OSHA to utilize emergency enforcement mechanisms, track work-related COVID-19 infections, and develop and implement long-term, comprehensive standards to protect workers from future infectious disease outbreaks.
  • Boosting Funding for Workforce Development: Blumenthal and U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) led a group of twenty-two of their colleagues in pressing for critical workforce development and career and technical education (CTE) funding. The Senators requested a minimum workforce investment of $15.1 billion that would be funneled towards programs authorized by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and the Perkins Career and Technical Education Act—programs designed to help build a strong, skilled, and diverse American workforce.
  • Addressing the COVID-19 Crisis in Nursing Homes: Earlier this month, Blumenthal joined U.S. Senator Cory Book (D-NJ) in introducing legislation to address the high proportion of COVID-19 cases and deaths in nursing homes around the country. Provisions in the Heroes Act based on this legislation provide additional funding for states to establish and implement strike teams to deploy to nursing homes when at least three residents or employees test positive and ensure skilled nursing facilities provide a means for residents to conduct “televisitation” with loved ones while in-person visits are not possible. The Heroes Act also requires the Department of Health and Human Services to publicly release data on COVID-19 infections in nursing homes and provide assistance to facilities struggling with infection control.
  • Modernizing Public Health Data: Blumenthal led a letter with a group of nine senators calling for increased funding for a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data modernization initiative. In their letter, the senators stressed the need for this additional funding in upcoming coronavirus relief legislation to ensure public health departments have the necessary secure technology and skilled workforce in place to prepare for and respond to public health crises. The Heroes Act includes $130 million for public health data surveillance and analytics infrastructure modernization.
  • The NO HATE Act: The Khalid Jabara and Heather Heyer NO HATE Act would help close enormous gaps in hate crime statistics and improve the response to hate crimes by local, state, and federal law enforcement. While hate crimes are broadly on the rise, there has been an especially pronounced spike in reports of racism and hate crimes against Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. Blumenthal introduced the bipartisan, bicameral legislation in June 2019. Companion legislation was introduced by U.S. Representative Don Beyer (D-VA) and Pete Olson (R-TX) in the House of Representatives.
  • Protecting Inspectors General: The bill requires that inspectors general (IGs) only be fired for good cause and requires the President to inform Congress when any IG is removed from their post.
  • Adjusting Federal Cost-Sharing for Disaster Assistance: Blumenthal and the entire Connecticut Congressional Delegation sought a 100 percent cost-share adjustment for the major disaster declaration and emergency declaration issued to Connecticut in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Heroes Act adjusts cost-share for disaster assistance to 100 percent federal coverage.

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