Payroll Support Program Extension Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8504 To extend the Payroll Support Program, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 2, 2020 Mr. DEFAZIO (for himself and Mr. LARSEN of Washington) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure, and 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 A BILL To extend the Payroll Support Program, 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. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Payroll Support Pro- 4 gram Extension Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 Unless otherwise specified, the definitions in section 7 40102(a) of title 49, United States Code, shall apply to 8 this Act, except that— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Nov 01, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8504.IH H8504 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8504 IH (1) the term ‘‘airline catering employee’’ means 1 an employee who performs airline catering services; 2 (2) the term ‘‘airline catering services’’ means 3 preparation, assembly, or both, of food, beverages, 4 provisions and related supplies for delivery, and the 5 delivery of such items, directly to aircraft or to a lo- 6 cation on or near airport property for subsequent 7 delivery to aircraft; 8 (3) the term ‘‘contractor’’ means— 9 (A) a person that performs, under contract 10 with a passenger air carrier conducting oper- 11 ations under part 121 of title 14, Code of Fed- 12 eral Regulations— 13 (i) catering functions; or 14 (ii) functions on the property of an 15 airport that are directly related to the air 16 transportation of persons, property, or 17 mail, including but not limited to the load- 18 ing and unloading of property on aircraft; 19 assistance to passengers under part 382 of 20 title 14, Code of Federal Regulations; se- 21 curity; airport ticketing and check-in func- 22 tions; ground-handling of aircraft; or air- 23 craft cleaning and sanitization functions 24 and waste removal; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Nov 01, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8504.IH H8504 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8504 IH (B) a subcontractor that performs such 1 functions; 2 (4) the term ‘‘employee’’ means an individual, 3 other than a corporate officer, who is employed by 4 an air carrier or a contractor; and 5 (5) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 6 of the Treasury. 7 SEC. 3. PANDEMIC RELIEF FOR AVIATION WORKERS. 8 (a) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR EMPLOYEE WAGES, 9 SALARIES, AND BENEFITS.—Notwithstanding any other 10 provision of law, to preserve aviation jobs and compensate 11 air carrier industry workers, the Secretary shall provide 12 financial assistance that shall exclusively be used for the 13 continuation of payment of employee wages, salaries, and 14 benefits to— 15 (1) passenger air carriers, in an aggregate 16 amount up to $25,500,000,000; 17 (2) cargo air carriers, in an aggregate amount 18 up to $300,000,000; and 19 (3) contractors, in an aggregate amount up to 20 $3,000,000,000. 21 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Notwithstanding 22 any other provision of law, the Secretary may use funds 23 made available under section 4112(b) of the CARES Act 24 (15 U.S.C. 9072(b)) for costs and administrative expenses 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Nov 01, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8504.IH H8504 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8504 IH associated with providing financial assistance under this 1 Act. 2 SEC. 4. PROCEDURES FOR PROVIDING PAYROLL SUPPORT. 3 (a) AWARDABLE AMOUNTS.—The Secretary shall 4 provide financial assistance under this Act— 5 (1) to an air carrier required to file reports pur- 6 suant to part 241 of title 14, Code of Federal Regu- 7 lations, as of March 27, 2020, in an amount equal 8 to— 9 (A) the amount such air carrier received 10 under section 4113 of the CARES Act (15 11 U.S.C. 9073); or 12 (B) at the request of such air carrier, or 13 in the event such an air carrier did not receive 14 assistance under section 4113 of the CARES 15 Act (15 U.S.C. 9073), the amount of the sala- 16 ries and benefits reported by the air carrier to 17 the Department of Transportation pursuant to 18 such part 241, for the period from October 1, 19 2019, through March 31, 2020; 20 (2) to an air carrier that did not transmit re- 21 ports under such part 241, as of March 27, 2020, 22 in an amount equal to— 23 (A) the amount such air carrier received 24 under section 4113 of the CARES Act (15 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Nov 01, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8504.IH H8504 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8504 IH U.S.C. 9073), plus an additional 15 percent of 1 such amount; 2 (B) in the event such an air carrier did not 3 receive assistance under section 4113 of the 4 CARES Act (15 U.S.C. 9073), an amount that 5 such an air carrier certifies, using sworn finan- 6 cial statements or other appropriate data, as 7 the amount of total salaries and related fringe 8 benefits that such air carrier incurred and 9 would be required to be reported to the Depart- 10 ment of Transportation pursuant to such part 11 241, if the air carrier were required to transmit 12 such information during the period from Octo- 13 ber 1, 2019, through March 31, 2020; or 14 (C) at the request of such carrier, provided 15 such carrier received assistance under section 16 4113 of the CARES Act (15 U.S.C. 9073), the 17 sum of— 18 (i) the amount that such air carrier 19 certifies, using sworn financial statements 20 or other appropriate data, as the amount 21 of total salaries and related fringe benefits 22 that such air carrier incurred and would be 23 required to be reported to the Department 24 of Transportation pursuant to such part 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Nov 01, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8504.IH H8504 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8504 IH 241, if the carrier were required to trans- 1 mit such information during the period 2 from October 1, 2019, through March 31, 3 2020; and 4 (ii) an additional amount equal to the 5 difference between the amount certified 6 under clause (i) and the amount the air 7 carrier received under section 4113 of the 8 CARES Act (15 U.S.C. 9073); and 9 (3) to a contractor in an amount equal to— 10 (A) the amount such contractor received 11 under section 4113 of the CARES Act (15 12 U.S.C. 9073); or 13 (B) in the event such contractor did not 14 receive assistance under section 4113 of the 15 CARES Act (15 U.S.C. 9073), an amount that 16 the contractor certifies, using sworn financial 17 statements or other appropriate data, as the 18 amount of wages, salaries, benefits, and other 19 compensation that such contractor paid the em- 20 ployees of such contractor during the period 21 from October 1, 2019, through March 31, 22 2020. 23 (b) DEADLINES AND PROCEDURES.— 24 (1) IN GENERAL.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Nov 01, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8504.IH H8504 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8504 IH (A) FORMS; TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Fi- 1 nancial assistance provided to an air carrier or 2 contractor under this Act shall— 3 (i) be in such form, on such terms 4 and conditions (including requirements for 5 audits and the clawback of any financial 6 assistance provided upon failure by a pas- 7 senger air carrier, cargo air carrier, or con- 8 tractor to honor the assurances specified in 9 section 5), as agreed to by the Secretary 10 and the recipient for assistance received 11 under section 4113 of the CARES Act (15 12 U.S.C. 9073), except where inconsistent 13 with this Act; or 14 (ii) in the event such an air carrier or 15 contractor did not receive assistance under 16 section 4113 of the CARES Act (15 17 U.S.C. 9073), be in such form, on such 18 terms and conditions (including require- 19 ments for audits and the clawback of any 20 financial assistance provided upon failure 21 by a passenger air carrier, cargo air car- 22 rier, or contractor to honor the assurances 23 specified in section 5), as the Secretary de- 24 termines appropriate. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Nov 01, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8504.IH H8504 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8504 IH (B) PROCEDURES.—The Secretary shall 1 publish streamlined and expedited procedures 2 not later than 5 days after the date of enact- 3 ment of this Act for air carriers and contractors 4 to submit requests for financial assistance 5 under this Act. 6 (2) DEADLINE FOR IMMEDIATE PAYROLL AS- 7 SISTANCE.—Not later than 10 days after the date of 8 enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall make ini- 9 tial payments to air carriers and contractors that 10 submit requests for financial assistance approved by 11 to the Secretary. 12 (d) PRO RATA REDUCTIONS.—The amounts under 13 subsections (a)(1)(B) and (a)(2)(B) shall, to the max- 14 imum extent practicable, be subject to the same pro rata 15 reduction applied by the Secretary to air carriers or con- 16 tractors, as applicable, that received assistance under sec- 17 tion 4113 of the CARES Act (15 U.S.C. 9073). 18 (e) AUDITS.—The Inspector General of the Depart- 19 ment of the Treasury shall audit certifications made under 20 subsection (a). 21 SEC. 5. REQUIRED ASSURANCES. 22 (a) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible for financial assist- 23 ance under this Act, an air carrier or contractor shall 24 enter into an agreement with the Secretary, or otherwise 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Nov 01, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8504.IH H8504 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8504 IH certify in such form and manner as the Secretary shall 1 prescribe, that the air carrier or contractor shall— 2 (1) refrain from conducting involuntary fur- 3 loughs or reducing pay rates and benefits until— 4 (A) with respect to air carriers, March 31, 5 2021; or 6 (B) with respect to contractors, March 31, 7 2021, or the date on which the contractor ex- 8 hausts such financial assistance, whichever is 9 later; 10 (2) ensure that neither the air carrier or con- 11 tractor nor any affiliate of the air carrier or con- 12 tractor may, in any transaction, purchase an equity 13 security of the air carrier or contractor or the parent 14 company of the air carrier or contractor that is list- 15 ed on a national securities exchange through— 16 (A) with respect to air carriers, March 31, 17 2022; or 18 (B) with respect to contractors, March 31, 19 2022, or the date on which the contractor ex- 20 hausts such financial assistance, whichever is 21 later; 22 (3) ensure that the air carrier or contractor 23 shall not pay dividends, or make other capital dis- 24 tributions, with respect to common stock (or equiva- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Nov 01, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8504.IH H8504 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8504 IH lent interest) of the air carrier or contractor 1 through— 2 (A) with respect to air carriers, March 31, 3 2022; or 4 (B) with respect to contractors, March 31, 5 2022, or the date on which the contractor ex- 6 hausts such financial assistance, whichever is 7 later; 8 (4) meet the requirements of sections 6 and 7; 9 and 10 (5) affirm that the air carrier or contractor 11 has— 12 (A) in the case of an air carrier or con- 13 tractor that received loans, loan guarantees, 14 other investments, or financial assistance under 15 title IV of the CARES Act, recalled any em- 16 ployees involuntarily furloughed by such air car- 17 rier or contractor between March 27, 2020, and 18 the date such air carrier or contractor enters 19 into an agreement with the Secretary for finan- 20 cial assistance under this Act, compensated 21 such employees for lost pay and benefits, and 22 restored the rights and protections for such em- 23 ployees as if they had not been involuntarily 24 furloughed; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Nov 01, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8504.IH H8504 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 8504 IH (B) in the case of an air carrier or con- 1 tractor that did not receive loans, loan guaran- 2 tees, other investments, or financial assistance 3 under title IV of the CARES Act, recalled any 4 employees involuntarily furloughed by such air 5 carrier or contractor between October 1, 2020, 6 and the date such air carrier or contractor en- 7 ters into an agreement with the Secretary for 8 financial assistance under this Act, com- 9 pensated such employees for lost pay and bene- 10 fits, and restored the rights and protections for 11 such employees as if they had not been involun- 12 tarily furloughed. 13 SEC. 6. PROTECTION OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREE- 14 MENTS. 15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Neither the Secretary, nor any 16 other actor, department, or agency of the Federal Govern- 17 ment, shall condition the issuance of financial assistance 18 under this Act on an air carrier’s or contractor’s imple- 19 mentation of measures to enter into negotiations with the 20 certified bargaining representative of a craft or class of 21 employees of the air carrier or contractor under the Rail- 22 way Labor Act (45 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) or the National 23 Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 151 et seq.), regarding 24 pay or other terms and conditions of employment. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Nov 01, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8504.IH H8504 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 8504 IH (b) AIR CARRIER PERIOD OF EFFECT.—With respect 1 to any air carrier to which financial assistance is provided 2 under this Act, this section shall be in effect with respect 3 to the air carrier beginning on the date on which the air 4 carrier is first issued such financial assistance and ending 5 on March 31, 2021. 6 (c) CONTRACTOR PERIOD OF EFFECT.—With respect 7 to any contractor to which financial assistance is provided 8 under this Act, this section shall be in effect with respect 9 to contractor beginning on the date on which the con- 10 tractor is first issued such financial assistance and ending 11 on March 31, 2021, or until the date on which all funds 12 are expended, whichever is later. 13 SEC. 7. LIMITATION ON CERTAIN EMPLOYEE COMPENSA- 14 TION. 15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may only provide 16 financial assistance under this Act to an air carrier or con- 17 tractor a [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]