Friends, 

Late last night, the Senate voted unanimously, 96-0, in favor of The CARES Act, the third coronavirus relief package providing emergency aid for American workers, families, small businesses, and hospitals.

This bill has specific funding dedicated to rural hospitals and the SBA-loan program that will provide a lifeline to small businesses across Wyoming, allowing them to keep their doors open and pay employees. There are also key agriculture provisions of this bill that will assist our farmers and ranchers who have been negatively affected as a result of this virus. It also empowers hospitals to beat this virus faster and supplies necessary equipment and masks to our healthcare providers on the front lines of this pandemic. 

This legislation now heads over to the House where a final vote is expected on Friday morning. The full text of the bill can be found here. 

President Trump said at Wednesday’s briefing with the White House Coronavirus Task Force, “I encourage the House to pass this vital legislation and send the bill to my desk for signature without delay. I will sign it immediately.” He also tweeted early this morning following the Senate’s passage of the bill:

In addition to the CARES Act, the White House has taken executive action to protect the health and wellbeing of Americans:

• Declared a national emergency and implemented a whole-of-government response with the Coronavirus Task Force
• Imposed travel restrictions on global hot spots including China and Europe
• Expanded testing access by removing burdensome FDA regulations and granting emergency approval for tests
• Announced disaster loans available from the Small Business Administration
• Announced the invoking of the Defense Production Act and marshaled the private sector to assist with response efforts
• Taken steps to further the development of vaccines and therapeutics

Going Forward:

After the CARES Act is signed into law our focus must be on defeating this virus and getting people back to work. The keys to doing that are:

1. Continuing to massively expand testing across the country and isolating those who test positive
2. Ensure resources are available to develop therapeutics to treat the virus and a vaccine to protect against it

If we do this successfully, we can get to a point where we’ve turned the corner and people can go back to work, but it must be done responsibly so hospitals aren’t overwhelmed, and we don’t face more economic pain than we’ve already seen.

It is likely that we will continue to see tough days and weeks ahead, but there is no doubt that we will defeat this virus and emerge stronger as a state and country because of it. I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress and the Administration to defeat this virus and protect the health and economic security of the American people.

What Wyoming Small Businesses Need To Know:

Copied below is important information for Wyoming small business owners who have questions about the financial aid included in the CARES Act:

Wyoming small businesses impacted by coronavirus have received final federal approval to seek loans up to $2 million as part of the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan program.

SBA has added all 23 Wyoming counties to it’s list of designated “economic disaster” regions eligible for small business disaster loan assistance.

To apply for a SBA Federal Disaster Loan, click on the following link:  https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/

FEMA Coronavirus Rumor Control: Myth Of The Day

Due to the large amount of speculation regarding coronavirus, this is a reminder to rely on OFFICIAL sources for accurate information. Help control the spread of rumors by sharing this page: https://www.fema.gov/coronavirus-rumor-control

MYTH: Only those over 60 years of age and those with existing health problems are at risk from coronavirus.

FACT: It is an unfortunate rumor that only people over 60 years of age are at risk of getting this disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), those at higher risk include older adults and people with serious chronic medical conditions. However, symptoms can range from mild to severe with and may have different complications for each individual. The CDC has a list of COVID-19 symptoms you may experience. Please continue to follow the official information from the CDC.

Latest Updates From The White House Coronavirus Task Force

The White House has made several important announcements this week at briefings with the Coronavirus Task Force:

Small Business Relief 
Treasury Secretary Mnuchin announced that small business retention loans would cover roughly 50% of private payroll, making loans that would supply eight weeks of salaries, as long as they keep workers employed, and overhead. The loans would be forgiven at the end of the eight-week period if the businesses keep their employees.

Please follow this newsletter and the coronavirus page on my website for continued updates about COVID-19 and how government is responding to protect both the country’s health and our economic security. 

Congresswoman Liz Cheney