(03/15/20) - With bipartisan support the Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act late Friday night.
It's an emergency bill that follows another emergency move by the House -- to find a vaccine for COVID-19 and to bring relief to families whose lives have been drastically changed.
Mid-Michigan Democratic Congressman Dan Kildee (MI-05) stopped by the ABC12 studio to tell the public what's in each piece of legislation.
"It does a few things. It is really is intended to deal with the immediate economic impact that families might face or just need to protect themselves," Kildee said.
The Families First Act would help in the areas of paid leave by providing two weeks of paid sick leave and up to three months of paid family and medical leave.
"It would provide the many employees that don't right now have sick time to be able to have two weeks of sick time and it's paid," Kildee said. "So that if they're sick they can stay home. Not only does it have an economic effect, but it reduces the spread."
In addition to paid leave, the bill provides free COVID-19 testing.
"Nobody should be afraid of seeking a test because they can't afford it," Kildee said. "We're also trying to expand the number of labs that are certified to actually execute the testing so that we can get it done more quickly. It's been one of the real challenges, getting testing done at scale."
Additional assistance items in the legislation include enhanced unemployment insurance, strengthened food assistance and Medicaid support.
The Senate and the president are expected to approve the bill.
The other emergency bill passed by the House provides $8.3 billion in emergency funding for the development of vaccines.
"I think there's a lot more that we need to do. I think one of the lessons is this country needs to be far better prepared for this sort of an outbreak. Many of us have been advocating for that. When this is done I think we need to have a real serious national conversation on that," Kildee said.
Kildee said he thinks we are still in the early stages of the spread in the U.S.
"I think how bad it gets has a lot to do with how we respond on the state and federal level," Kildee said. "But also people's individual behavior is the most significant factor."
He's holding a telephone town hall on Wednesday March 18 at 7 p.m. You can visit his website or call his office at 810-238-8658 for more information.