UPDATE: House Leadership have unveiled the $3 trillion CARES 2 draft bill. The legislation includes $1.5 billion for broadband hotspots and $10 billion in grants to small businesses that have suffered financial losses as a result of the pandemic. The draft bill also proposes a second round of direct payments to citizens. More information on the CARES 2 draft is available from the Washington Post and Politico.

While this bill is expected to pass the House on party lines on Friday, the Senate is not expected to immediately take up the legislation. 

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) indicated that House Democrats are prepared to introduce their draft of the CARES 2 bill, which is the latest round of emergency coronavirus relief measures.

The bill is expected to primarily expand on programs and funding initially established in the first CARES Act. Focus would continue to be on hospitals, small businesses, and families hit hard by the pandemic.

The Hill identified 8 focus areas of the bill:

Infrastructure is not expected to be broadly addressed in CARES 2 - the only significant infrastructure provisions are addressing the expansion of broadband service to rural, low-income and other vulnerable communities.

The business provisions of the bill focus on replenishing the funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Additionally, lawmakers seek to amend the guidelines of the popular program to ensure that smaller businesses in under-served areas are able to access the funds. If you have not yet applied for a PPP loan, ACRA has published guides to understanding the program and its requirements.

Read the full details of the anticipated CARES 2 bill in the article on The Hill, and stayed tuned to the ACRAsphere for further updates.