Next Steps - Rubio Bill Fails to Advance, House Action Needed
This evening, efforts to pass the Rubio relief package in the Senate stalled, as the motion to cloture and move forward on debate on the bill failed. This means the Senate bill is no longer moving and we need to focus our attention on the House. We commend Chairman Rubio and Senator Durbin, Cardin, Collins, Schumer, and Shaheen for all their leadership and support in this effort.
The IRA and other stakeholders are currently fighting for a bill in the House that mirrors the relief efforts, and business-friendly definitions, that we secured in the Rubio/Cardin bill. Congresswoman Velasquez (NY 7th District) and Speaker Pelosi (CA 12th District) will likely carry the bill in the House.
We continue to fight for the following relief measures: definition of employer as 500 employees or less per location or legal entity, $350B with broad bipartisan agreements, cash loans to small businesses & nonprofits at 500 employees or less, forgivable loans from existing local lenders if they show cash went to cover worker payroll + business expenses (rent, utilities, healthcare costs etc), and unemployment relief for laid off workers, now at $500B.
As of 9:00 p.m. tonight, the House bill has not been introduced. We will continue to provide updates as they become available. In the meantime,
contact your Illinois Congressional leaders
to urge them to support legislation in the House that mirrors the business-friendly provisions included in the Rubio/Cardin bill.