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Law360 (April 7, 2020, 9:51 PM EDT) -- Senate Democrats are seeking to include a "heroes fund" in a future coronavirus response bill that could provide nurses, grocery clerks and other workers on the pandemic's front lines up to $25,000 in extra wages, party leaders said Tuesday.
The fund would pay certain essential workers $13 extra per hour through the end of the year and shore up staffing at struggling health and home care providers and first responder services by providing $15,000 bonuses to entice recruits.
"Essential front-line workers sacrifice daily for our collective health and well-being, and Senate Democrats are fully committed to supplying these heroes the financial support they deserve," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement.
Lawmakers are gearing up to debate further measures to fight COVID-19 and blunt the pandemic's economic impact after passing a trio of response bills last month, including a $2 trillion relief package that became law March 27.
Along with Democratic Sens. Patty Murray of Washington, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Tom Udall of New Mexico and Gary Peters of Michigan, Schumer broadly sketched out the plan to include so-called hazard pay as part of "phase four" of the response Tuesday.
The plan would provide federally funded raises to certain workers deemed essential who continue to perform jobs that could expose them to the novel coronavirus. The program would pay eligible workers an additional $13 per hour through Dec. 31, capped at $25,000 for workers earning less than $200,000 per year and at $5,000 for workers whose salaries top that amount, according to a white paper the lawmakers released Tuesday.
The government would fund the raises through direct payments to essential employers that sign up. The raises would be retroactive to Jan. 27, when the pandemic was declared a public health emergency.
The Democrats' white paper does not include a proposed definition for essential worker, saying it "will be the subject of debate." But its backers on Tuesday mentioned several possibilities, including doctors and nurses, grocery store workers, truck drivers and home health care providers, among others.
"We must recognize and reward those who are on the front lines … for their selfless efforts to do the critical work of protecting our citizens and keeping our country running so millions of Americans can stay safe at home," Casey said.
The announcement comes as Republican congressional leaders say they're fast-tracking a plan to approve more funding for the $350 billion Paycheck Protection Program, which provides partially forgivable loans to struggling small businesses to help them make payroll and other costs.
In a Tuesday press call, Schumer faced multiple questions about whether Democrats would stall that measure unless Republicans back the hazard pay plan, but would not commit.
"This is one of our very highest priorities in COVID [phase] four," Schumer said.
--Additional reporting by Andrew Kragie. Editing by Alanna Weissman.
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