Senator Hassan Joins In Introducing Bipartisan Legislation to Help Non-Profits During COVID-19 Pandemic

WASHINGTON –  U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) joined her colleagues in introducing the Protecting Nonprofits from Catastrophic Cash Flow Strain Act, bipartisan legislation to help keep non-profits afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic. This bipartisan legislation was led by Senators Tim Scott (R-SC), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

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 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.

“Non-profits are supporting our communities during this unprecedented pandemic, and this bipartisan bill would fix harmful Department of Labor guidance that puts an unnecessary financial strain on non-profits,” Senator Hassan said. “This commonsense bill would ensure that the CARES Act works as intended so that non-profits can continue to provide vital services to Granite Staters and Americans across the country.”

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.  

More information on the bill can be found HERE.

###