Bipartisan Bill Introduced by Senator Hassan, Colleagues to Support Non-Profits Amid COVID-19 Pandemic Passes House, Heads to President’s Desk

WASHINGTON – The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Protecting Nonprofits from Catastrophic Cash Flow Strain Act, bipartisan legislation that Senator Hassan helped introduce to assist non-profits in staying afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill – which now heads to the President’s desk to become law – helps support non-profits’ access to cash by ensuring that the federal government pays its share of unemployment benefits upfront instead of non-profits having to front the costs and wait for reimbursement.

“Non-profits are under an enormous amount of pressure right now, with many facing financial strain while also serving even more individuals and families who are struggling because of the pandemic,” said Senator Hassan. “This bipartisan bill makes sure that CARES Act provisions to help non-profits can work as intended and maximize the support available to non-profits. I am glad that the House passed this bill and that it now heads to the President’s desk to become law.”

Instead of paying unemployment taxes, many non-profits reimburse states for 100 percent of the unemployment benefits collected by their former employees. Recognizing that many non-profits would be unable to cover all of their unemployment costs, the federal CARES Act stated that non-profits would only need to reimburse 50 percent of the unemployment costs, with the federal government covering the other 50 percent.

The Department of Labor, however, issued guidance requiring states to collect 100 percent of unemployment costs from non-profits up front and would reimburse them later, putting a further strain on organizations hit hard by COVID-19. This legislation makes clear that non-profits would not have to front the whole cost, but just their 50 percent share.

Senator Hassan is working to support non-profits during this pandemic and recently led the rest of the New Hampshire Congressional Delegation in calling on House and Senate leaders to include significant support for non-profit organizations in upcoming COVID-19 response legislation. Additionally, in April, Senator Hassan voted in favor of bipartisan legislation to significantly bolster funding for programs that support small businesses and nonprofits, including the Paycheck Protection Program, a program that Congress set up in the CARES Act to provide much needed financial relief to non-profits and small businesses. More recently, the Senator voted to give non-profits and small businesses more flexibility in using the funds provided to them by the Paycheck Protection Program.  

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