Coronavirus Federal Response Update From

Congressman Andy Barr 

Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act

This week, I voted to pass the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act.  This legislation replenishes the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) with $310 billion in additional funding and allocates $60 billion in funding for the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) economic injury disaster loan and grant program.  This legislation also provides $75 billion in funding to support the work of our hospitals and our heroic healthcare providers fight on the frontlines to defeat this COVID-19 pandemic.  Finally, this package includes $25 billion to expand testing to help us safely reopen our economy.  For weeks I have been calling on Congress to provide additional funding for the PPP, which has saved millions of small businesses from closure and kept their employees on the payroll.  To watch my House floor speech in support of this legislation, click here.  If you find this update to be helpful, and you would like to receive my regular e-newsletter, please sign up by visiting https://barr.house.gov/newsletter-subscription.

In the first wave of PPP funding, 1.6 million small businesses received loans, including almost 24,000 loans approved totaling over $4.1 billion here in Kentucky according to the SBA and United States Department of the Treasury.  In addition, 74% of loans from the first wave of PPP funding were under $150,000 in value, indicating that the overwhelming majority of forgivable loans went to the smallest businesses.  Almost 20% of loans were processed by lenders with less than $1 billion in assets, and approximately 60% of the loans were approved by banks with $10 billion in assets or less.  No lender accounted for more than 5% of the total dollar amount of the program.  In short, the PPP is not a bailout for big business. 

Congressional Investigation Into China 

Last Friday, I introduced House Concurrent Resolution 97, establishing a bicameral, bipartisan joint select committee to investigate the origins of and China’s handling of the 2019 novel Coronavirus.  I wrote an opinion piece on Fox News outlining my proposal and I also discussed my legislation earlier this week in an interview on Fox Business Network with Maria Bartiromo. You can watch my full interview here.

The committee established by my legislation would investigate and report on the following issues:

• The origins and causes of the Coronavirus, including evidence the virus originated in the Wuhan Institute of Virology lab, as well as China’s response to the outbreak.

• China’s suppression of information which enabled rapid spread of the disease, including censorship of whistleblowers like Dr. Li Wenliang who sounded the alarm before dying of COVID-19.

• China’s campaign of propaganda and disinformation, including denials of human-to-human transmission and conspiracy theories regarding the spread of the virus, including blaming the United States Military for its spread.

• The Chinese government’s denial of humanitarian assistance by foreign governments, NGOs, charitable and faith-based organizations.

• China’s actions to influence the World Health Organization’s response to the outbreak of the Coronavirus.

• China’s efforts to vacuum up and hoard critical personal protective equipment and pharmaceuticals and weaponize the global supply chain against the international community, including the United States.

• Recommendations regarding the United States’ response to China and policy changes to improve the resiliency of the domestic supply chain to reduce the United States’ dependence on critical medical supplies and pharmaceutical components from foreign sources.

Since this pandemic began, over 50,000 Americans have been killed by the COVID-19 virus, our economy has been subject to a government-imposed shutdown and American life has been turned upside down in every way because of this public health emergency.  China has endangered the global community with its dishonesty and deception.  It’s time for Congress to exercise its oversight responsibilities, expose the truth and hold China accountable.

Telehealth Advocacy

This week, I secured much needed clarity on the use of telehealth services in hospitals from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).  My office successfully advocated for same-location telehealth services to help COVID-19 patients, protect healthcare workers and conserve critical personal protective equipment (PPE).  This decision provides greater flexibility to expand telehealth services in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.    

At my request, CMS provided guidance that, to the extent a medical service can be performed via telehealth when the locations are different, the same technology can also be used within the hospital.  More specifically, if the beneficiary and the practitioner furnishing the service are in the same institutional setting, like a hospital, but are utilizing telecommunications technology to keep socially distant while still furnishing the service but also reducing exposure risks, the practitioner need not report this service as telehealth and should instead report the face-to-face code for the in-person service furnished.  CMS has clarified this policy is now in place and providers should contact their Medicare Administrative Contractor with any questions.

I was first notified of this issue by Lexington epidemiologist, Dr. Mark Dougherty, one of the many healthcare providers on the front lines battling COVID-19.  Upon hearing his interest in using same-site telehealth, my office diligently worked for clarification and promoted to CMS the benefits of expanding these services, particularly for patients with COVID-19.  Dr. Dougherty recently released a video discussing the importance of conserving PPE through in-hospital telehealth in this video message. 

Testing & Supplies

On Wednesday, I had a productive phone call with Dr. Tammy Beckham, Director of the Office of Infectious Disease Policy at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), who is a key federal official in coordinating testing and supplies.  I was able to convey to her the concerns and requests of Sixth District hospitals and medical providers, specifically the need for additional testing kits and supplies.  I appreciated her willingness to work with us as the availability of testing in our area greatly improves.  

The U.S. has performed more than 4.93 million COVID-19 tests, more than France, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, India, Austria, Australia, Sweden and Canada combined.  This is a testament to the great public-private partnership that has been instrumental in ramping up test production capacity and the development of high throughput tests.  To that end, the FDA has authorized more than 50 different diagnostic tests for COVID-19.  On Tuesday, the FDA announced an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for LabCorp that would allow for an at-home sample collection.

Additionally, the FDA issued an EUA for the Sterilucent Sterilizer System, which can be used in decontaminating compatible N95 or N95-equivilant respirators for single-user reuse by health care providers.  Also, as of April 20, FEMA’s Project Airbridge has completed 68 flights with 46 more scheduled for a total of about 114 flights to secure medical equipment abroad.  Finally, President Trump announced that GE is working with Ford to make 50,000 ventilators over the next 100 days.  Importantly, every American who has needed a ventilator has received one and these efforts will reinforce our supply.

Economic Impact Payment Update

Economic Impact Payments from the CARES Act are still being distributed.  The full amount of these recovery rebates, enacted as part of the CARES Act, is $1,200 for individuals with adjusted gross income at or below $75,000 and $2,400 for couples with adjusted gross income at or below $150,000.  Families with children will receive an additional $500 per child.  Rebates will be gradually reduced for individuals and couples above those income thresholds and ultimately phased out at $99,000 for individuals and $198,000 for couples.  In order to be eligible, a person must have a valid Social Security Number.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Treasury Department launched the “Get My Payment” app last week to allow you to track the status of your payment.  You can click this link to access the app on your desktop, and it is free to download on any tablet or mobile device.  Please also stay vigilant against potential rebate check scams.  The IRS will not call you, text you, email you or contact you on social media asking for personal or bank account information for the purpose of delivering the economic impact payments.

Keep in mind that these are only one-time payments.  Please note that if you have received your payment, you can’t receive any additional payments.  If you have not received your payment and you are having difficulty with the Get My Payment app, please don’t hesitate to contact my office (859) 219-1366.

G.I. Bill Fix

On Tuesday, the Senate passed H.R. 6322, the Student Veteran Coronavirus Response Act of 2020.  I was proud to cosponsor this legislation and support its passage in the House to ensure student veterans’ education and training benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are not in limbo due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  We can’t allow the pandemic to interrupt the G.I. Bill benefits our veterans have earned.

In addition, I want to reiterate my deepest gratitude for all military servicemembers who are serving in uniform during this pandemic.  This includes the hundreds of Kentucky National Guards members providing support at drive through testing sites, food banks, call centers, warehouses, hospitals and other operations throughout the Commonwealth of Kentucky and our country.

Finally, you can always reach out to my Lexington office (859) 219-1366 or my Washington office (202) 225-4706 with your input.  Lastly, if you would like to stay informed on what is happening in Washington, D.C. and around the Sixth Congressional District, again, I encourage you to sign up to receive my e-newsletter by visiting https://barr.house.gov/newsletter-subscription.  If you want to unsubscribe to my e-newsletter, you can do so by clicking here.