Paycheck Recovery Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6918 To direct the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a grant program for employers adversely affected by COVID–19, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 19, 2020 Ms. JAYAPAL (for herself, Ms. STEVENS, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. CASTEN of Illinois, Mr. POCAN, Ms. PORTER, Ms. ESCOBAR, Ms. ADAMS, Ms. BASS, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. BEYER, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. COHEN, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. DEFAZIO, Ms. DELAURO, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. EVANS, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. HASTINGS, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. HECK, Mr. HORSFORD, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. JEFFRIES, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. KEN- NEDY, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Mr. LEVIN of California, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. MALINOWSKI, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. MENG, Mr. MORELLE, Mr. NADLER, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. NEGUSE, Ms. NORTON, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. OMAR, Mr. PALLONE, Ms. PINGREE, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. RICHMOND, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. RUSH, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. SCAN- LON, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. SCHRIER, Ms. SHALALA, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. SOTO, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. SUOZZI, Ms. TLAIB, Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. VELA, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mrs. WATSON COLE- MAN, Mr. WELCH, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. CLYBURN, Ms. SHERRILL, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. GONZALEZ of Texas, Mr. RYAN, Mr. GALLEGO, and Mrs. KIRKPATRICK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and Energy and Commerce, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:24 Jun 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H6918.IH H6918 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6918 IH A BILL To direct the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a grant program for employers adversely affected by COVID– 19, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Paycheck Recovery Act of 2020’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Paycheck recovery program. Sec. 3. Conditions in general. Sec. 4. Conditions relating to labor protections. Sec. 5. Application of bankruptcy provisions. Sec. 6. Rehiring bonus and Pandemic Unemployment Compensation. Sec. 7. Audits and penalties. Sec. 8. Paycheck Recovery Program Implementation Oversight Board. Sec. 9. Severability. Sec. 10. Definitions. SEC. 2. PAYCHECK RECOVERY PROGRAM. 8 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of the 9 Treasury (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall 10 establish a grant program (in this Act referred to as the 11 ‘‘Program’’) to award grants to carry out the activities 12 described in subsection (f). 13 (b) ELIGIBILITY.— 14 (1) LOSS OF REVENUE AND SMALL BUSI- 15 NESSES.— 16 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:24 Jun 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6918.IH H6918 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6918 IH (A) LOSS OF REVENUE ELIGIBILITY.—The 1 Secretary shall award a grant under the Pro- 2 gram to an employer that submits an applica- 3 tion under subsection (c) and has experienced, 4 or anticipates experiencing, a loss of revenue as 5 a result of the coronavirus disease 2019 6 (COVID–19)— 7 (i) for an employer that is not a new 8 employer, in an amount that is at least 10 9 percent of the gross receipts of the em- 10 ployer for the corresponding 2019 period 11 that relates to the calendar quarter in 12 which the employer submits such applica- 13 tion; or 14 (ii) for a new employer, in an amount 15 that is at least 10 percent of the gross re- 16 ceipts of the new employer for the period 17 for which the new employer most recently 18 filed employment tax information with the 19 Secretary. 20 (B) SMALL BUSINESS ELIGIBILITY.—Re- 21 gardless of whether the employer meets the re- 22 quirements of subparagraph (A), the Secretary 23 shall award a grant under the Program to an 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:24 Jun 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6918.IH H6918 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6918 IH employer that submits an application under 1 subsection (c) if— 2 (i) the employer employed 20 or fewer 3 employees on March 1, 2020; and 4 (ii) the annual gross receipts of such 5 employer for 2019 is an amount less than 6 $3,000,000 or, in the case of a new em- 7 ployer, the projected annual gross receipts 8 of such new employer (calculated by deter- 9 mining the median amount of gross re- 10 ceipts for the months for which the new 11 employer has been in existence and multi- 12 plying the amount by 12) is an amount 13 less than $3,000,000. 14 (2) INTERACTION WITH OTHER PROGRAMS.— 15 (A) IN GENERAL.—An employer is not eli- 16 gible to receive a grant under the Program if 17 the employer is simultaneously receiving assist- 18 ance under— 19 (i) an employee retention tax credit 20 pursuant to section 2301 of the CARES 21 Act (Public Law 116–136); 22 (ii) the Exchange Stabilization Fund 23 established under section 5302 of title 31, 24 United States Code; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:24 Jun 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6918.IH H6918 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 6918 IH (iii) a covered loan under section 1 7(a)(36) of the Small Business Act (15 2 U.S.C. 636(a)(36)); or 3 (iv) a Main Street Lending Program 4 of the Federal Reserve System. 5 (B) CONVERSION OF ASSISTANCE FROM 6 OTHER PROGRAMS.—The Secretary shall take 7 such steps as are necessary to establish a proc- 8 ess by which an employer who has received as- 9 sistance under a program specified in subpara- 10 graph (A) may convert such assistance into a 11 grant under the Program. 12 (3) STAY-AT-HOME ORDERS.—The existence or 13 nonexistence of a stay-at-home order issued as a re- 14 sult of COVID–19 by the government of the State 15 or locality in which an employer operates shall have 16 no effect on the eligibility of the employer under the 17 Program. 18 (c) APPLICATIONS.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para- 20 graph (2), to receive a grant under the Program, an 21 eligible employer shall submit to the Secretary an 22 application in such form, at such time, and con- 23 taining such information the Secretary determines 24 appropriate, which shall include at a minimum a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:24 Jun 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6918.IH H6918 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 6918 IH sworn declaration attesting to any loss of revenue 1 experienced, or anticipated to be experienced, by the 2 employer as a result of COVID–19. 3 (2) SMALL BUSINESSES.— 4 (A) APPLICATION.—The Secretary shall 5 not require an employer that is eligible under 6 subsection (b)(1)(B) to include in an applica- 7 tion for a grant under the Program a sworn 8 declaration attesting to any loss of revenue ex- 9 perienced, or anticipated to be experienced, by 10 the employer as a result of COVID-19. 11 (B) OUTREACH AND TECHNICAL ASSIST- 12 ANCE.—The Secretary shall conduct outreach 13 and provide technical assistance to small busi- 14 nesses to assist eligible small businesses in ap- 15 plying for grants under the Program. 16 (d) AMOUNT OF GRANT.— 17 (1) INITIAL GRANT.—Under the Program, the 18 Secretary shall provide to an eligible employer an 19 initial grant in an amount that is equal to the sum 20 of— 21 (A) except as provided in paragraph (3) 22 and subject to paragraph (4)— 23 (i) for an employer that is not a new 24 employer, an amount calculated by multi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:24 Jun 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6918.IH H6918 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 6918 IH plying the percentage of experienced or an- 1 ticipated loss of revenue attested to in sub- 2 section (c) by the amount of wages pro- 3 vided by the employer to any covered em- 4 ployees or covered former employees during 5 the corresponding 2019 period that relates 6 to the period— 7 (I) beginning on the date that is 8 the later of March 1, 2020, or the 9 date on which the employer became el- 10 igible under subsection (b); and 11 (II) ending on the date that is 90 12 days after the date on which the Sec- 13 retary provides the initial grant; or 14 (ii) for a new employer, an amount 15 calculated by multiplying the percentage of 16 experienced or anticipated loss of revenue 17 attested to in subsection (c) by an amount 18 determined by the Secretary based on the 19 employment tax information statement 20 filed with the Secretary by the new em- 21 ployer for the most recent month; and 22 (B) the amount that is 25 percent of the 23 amount of wages provided by the employer to 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:24 Jun 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6918.IH H6918 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 6918 IH any covered employees or covered former em- 1 ployees during— 2 (i) for an employer that is not a new 3 employer, the corresponding 2019 period 4 specified in subparagraph (A)(i); or 5 (ii) for a new employer, the most re- 6 cent month for which the new employer 7 filed an employment tax information state- 8 ment with the Secretary. 9 (2) SUBSEQUENT GRANTS.—With respect to the 10 first full month beginning 90 days after the date on 11 which the Secretary provides to an eligible employer 12 an initial grant under paragraph (1), and each 13 month thereafter until the date on which the Sec- 14 retary terminates the program, the Secretary shall 15 provide to such employer a grant in an amount that 16 is equal to the sum of— 17 (A) except as provided in paragraph (3) 18 and subject to paragraph (4)— 19 (i) for an employer that is not a new 20 employer, an amount calculated by multi- 21 plying the percentage of experienced or an- 22 ticipated loss of revenue attested to in sub- 23 section (c) by the amount of wages pro- 24 vided by the employer to covered employees 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:24 Jun 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6918.IH H6918 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 6918 IH and covered former employees during the 1 corresponding 2019 period that relates to 2 such month; or 3 (ii) for a new employer, an amount 4 calculated by multiplying the percentage of 5 experienced or anticipated loss of revenue 6 attested to in subsection (c) by an amount 7 determined by the Secretary based on the 8 employment tax information statement 9 filed with the Secretary by the new em- 10 ployer for the most recent month; and 11 (B) the amount that is 25 percent of the 12 amount of the amount of wages provided by the 13 employer to any covered employees or covered 14 former employees during— 15 (i) for an employer that is not a new 16 employer, the corresponding 2019 period 17 that relates to such month; or 18 (ii) for a new employer, the most re- 19 cent month for which the new employer 20 filed an employment tax information state- 21 ment with the Secretary. 22 (3) SMALL BUSINESS AMOUNTS.—In calculating 23 the amount of an initial or subsequent grant under 24 the Program for an employer that was determined 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:24 Jun 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6918.IH H6918 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 6918 IH eligible under subsection (b)(1)(B), the Secretary 1 shall add— 2 (A) subject to paragraph (4), the amount 3 of wages provided by the employer to any cov- 4 ered employees or covered former employees 5 during the period specified in paragraph (1), 6 for an initial grant, or paragraph (2), for a sub- 7 sequent grant; and 8 (B) the amount that is 25 percent of the 9 amount of wages provided by the employer to 10 any covered employees or covered former em- 11 ployees during such period. 12 (4) SALARY LIMITATION.—The amount of 13 wages (excluding any benefits) provided by an em- 14 ployer to any covered employee or covered former 15 employee of the employer which may be taken into 16 account to determine a grant amount under this 17 subsection shall not exceed $90,000 in annual salary 18 (excluding any benefits) per employee. 19 (5) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary may pro- 20 mulgate regulations on the formula for determining 21 grant amounts pursuant to this subsection. 22 (e) CONDITION ON ACCEPTANCE OF FUNDS.—Before 23 accepting grant funds awarded under the Program, an em- 24 ployer shall enter into an agreement with the Secretary, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:24 Jun 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6918.IH H6918 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 6918 IH or otherwise certify, as determined appropriate by the Sec- 1 retary, that the employer shall comply with each condition 2 required under this section and sections 3 and 4. 3 (f) USE OF FUNDS.—Grant funds awarded under the 4 Program may only be used as follows: 5 (1) Grant funds in amounts determined under 6 paragraphs (1)(A), (2)(A), or (3)(A) of subsection 7 (d) may be used to pay any covered employees or 8 covered former employees the amount of wages (sub- 9 ject to the salary limitation in subsection (d)(4)) 10 provided by the employer to such employees— 11 (A) for an employer that is not a new em- 12 ployer, during the corresponding 2019 period 13 (adjusted, in the case of amounts determined 14 under paragraphs (1)(A) or (2)(A), for the per- 15 centage of experienced or anticipated loss of 16 revenue attested to in subsection (c)); or 17 (B) for a new employer, during the cor- 18 responding period for which the employer most 19 recently filed with the Secretary an employment 20 tax information statement (adjusted, in the case 21 of amounts determined under paragraphs 22 (1)(A) or (2)(A), for the percentage of experi- 23 enced or anticipated loss of revenue attested to 24 in subsection (c)). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:24 Jun 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6918.IH H6918 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 6918 IH (2) Grant funds in amounts determined under 1 paragraphs (1 [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]