Pandemic Disaster Assistance Act of 2020
Latest action · May 4, 2020 Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMay 1, 2020
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Pandemic Disaster Assistance Act of 2020
This bill authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide direct assistance to individuals who have been impacted by a pandemic and appropriates funds to the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Labor for unemployment compensation and disaster relief.
Specifically, at the discretion of a governor or the President, individuals impacted by a pandemic will be eligible to apply directly to federal agencies for various forms of assistance, including (1) assistance under the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program; (2) assistance under the Disaster Unemployment Assistance program; and (3) other needs assistance through FEMA's Individual Assistance program, including medical, funeral, and child care assistance.
With respect to the Disaster Unemployment Assistance program, the bill creates a national floor for benefits at 1.5 times the national weekly average and provides a waiver to the requirement to exhaust state unemployment insurance options.
With respect to the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program, the Department of Agriculture must provide options other than an in-person interview.
Cosponsors
Members who signed on, in the order they did.
Committees 2
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Transportation and Infrastructure Committee | Referred May 1, 2020 |
| Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Subcommittee | Referred May 4, 2020 | |
| House | Budget Committee | Referred May 1, 2020 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- May 4, 2020Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management.
- May 1, 2020Introduced in House
- May 1, 2020Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 166, no. 82, May 1, 2020, page H1973.
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R45478 | Unemployment Insurance: Legislative Issues in the 116th Congress | Report | Mar 8, 2021 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 3534 | Pandemic Disaster Assistance Act of 2020 | Related bill | Mar 19, 2020 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to provide assistance to individuals affected by a pandemic, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Pandemic Disaster Assistance Act of 2020
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Emergency Management.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- May 1, 2020Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
