News
ISSA Coronavirus Government Response Update—Support Voiced for Cleaning & PPE Tax Credit
September 28, 2020
Welcome to the ISSA Coronavirus Government Response Update. This information is intended to keep our members up to date on government affairs related to the cleaning industry and COVID-19. Today’s update touches on U.S. Representatives and restaurant industry leaders expressing their support for a cleaning and personal protective equipment (PPE) tax credit, local officials saying they need more time to spend Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act money, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) promoting the availability of COVID-19 paid leave, and more.
Congressional, Restaurant Industry Leaders Voice Support for Cleaning & PPE Tax Credit
During a U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means subcommittee hearing on Friday, committee members, restaurant industry representatives, and other leaders expressed their support for the passage of a cleaning and personal protective equipment (PPE) tax credit—a bipartisan and bicameral proposal spearheaded by ISSA and supported by more than 40 trade associations to protect the safety of workers, customers, and the public. Using the link below, please contact your elected officials and urge them to pass a cleaning and PPE tax credit before they leave Washington, D.C. to campaign in their home districts for the November elections.
Local Officials ‘Need More Time’ to Spend CARES Act Money
According to city and county officials nationwide, an end-of-year deadline to use hundreds of millions of dollars in federal coronavirus aid could force them to “unnecessarily rush” spending over the coming months and will limit them from spreading the money into next year when the virus is likely to continue to be a threat. It would be immensely helpful, they say, if the federal government “pushed the cutoff date to use the money from December 30 out into 2021,” Route Fifty reported. Additional aid to local and state governments is a “sticking point” in the current impasse over another federal stimulus package.
DOL to Promote COVID-19 Paid Leave on TV to ‘Reach Many Millions More’
The U.S. Department of Labor will promote the availability of COVID-19 paid sick and family leave in a series of television, radio, and social media public service announcements, according to HRDive. The announcements will be in English and Spanish and are intended to “raise awareness and inform workers and employers of their rights under the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act (FFCRA), encouraging anyone with questions or concerns to contact the department.” The radio spots have already reached more than 12 million listeners; the television ads will begin airing this fall.
Other links of interest:
- Tell Your Elected Officials to ‘Return to the Negotiating Table’ to Pass a Cleaning Tax Credit
- Complete This ISSA Survey and Make Your Voice Heard
- Save Your Seat: Cleaning Products – A Regulatory Review
- U.S. Department of Labor: COVID-19 and the American Workplace
- Bouncing Back: A List of Statewide Return to Work Protocols
