WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Congressman Donald Norcross (NJ-01) today voted in favor of an interim emergency coronavirus relief package, which will provide emergency resources to increase testing, support hospitals and health care providers and includes additional assistance for small businesses.

“We are in the midst of a grave health emergency and an economic crisis, and health care providers, small businesses and working families urgently need relief,” said Congressman Norcross. “This package provides critical funding to increase testing, more resources for hospitals and health care providers to continue their response to the crisis, and additional assistance for small businesses to keep workers employed. I will continue to fight for South Jersey families and workers in Congress to ensure our communities get the tools and supplies we need to combat this outbreak and keep residents healthy and secure.”

Specifically, the CARES 1.5 Interim Relief Package provides funding for:

• For all Americans: $25 billion for testing and developing a national strategic testing policy that will focus on increasing domestic testing capacity including testing supplies.
• For hospitals and health care workers: $75 billion to provide resources to the frontlines, including Personal Protective Equipment.
• For small businesses: $310 billion in additional funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), with $30 billion reserved for community-based lenders, small banks and credit unions and $30 billion for medium-sized banks and credit unions. Small business support will be expanded beyond PPP with $50 billion for SBA disaster lending, translating into more than $350 billion in loans, and $10 billion in SBA disaster grants. 

Following the passage of the interim emergency legislation, Congress will work to advance a CARES 2 Act that will extend and expand the bipartisan CARES Act to meet the needs of the American people.

Norcross is a member of the House Education and Labor Committee and serves as Chair of the Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee on the House Armed Services Committee.

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Contact: Carrie Healey, Communications Director
carrie.healey@mail.house.gov