House Approves Next Coronavirus Stimulus, Includes Research Funding

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a new coronavirus relief package, The Heroes Act, on May 15, 2020. If passed by the Senate and signed by the President, this will be the fifth measure adopted by Congress to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The $3 trillion stimulus bill includes $1 trillion in assistance for state, local, territorial, and tribal governments; $75 billion for coronavirus testing, contact tracing, and isolation measures; emergency supplemental appropriations to federal agencies; another round of direct payments; and $200 billion for a “Heroes’ fund” to provide hazard pay for essential workers. The bill includes funds to support coronavirus-related research. The National Institutes of Health would receive $4.721 billion to “expand COVID-19-related research on the NIH campus and at academic institutions across the country and to support the shutdown and startup costs of biomedical research laboratories nationwide.” $4 billion would be directed to the Office of the Director, of which $3 billion would be available for “offsetting the costs related to reductions in lab productivity resulting from the coronavirus pandemic or public health measures related to the coronavirus pandemic” and the remaining $1 billion would “support additional scientific research or the programs and platforms that support research.” The National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases would receive $500 million and the ...
Source: Public Policy Reports - Category: Biology Authors: Source Type: news