What Is in the $900 Billion Covid-19 Aid Bill

Congress is set to pass a $900 billion Covid-19 aid bill. The legislation includes $7 billion for broadband. 

• $3.2 billion in emergency funds for low-income families to access broadband through a Federal Communications Commission fund. The benefit will provide $50 per month for broadband for low-income families
• $1 billion tribal broadband fund 
• $250 million dollars in telehealth funding
• $65 million to complete the broadband maps in order for the government to effectively disperse funding to the areas that need it most.
• $2 billion to small telecommunication providers to rip out Huawei/ZTE equipment to replace it with secure equipment
• A new $300 million grant program to fund broadband in rural areas.

The bill also includes assistance for households and businesses, as well as funding for vaccine distribution and more. The bill provides $82 billion for public and private K-12 schools, as well as colleges. Of that, the bulk would go to a $54.3 billion fund for public schools, while $22.7 billion would go to public and private higher education. The bill loosens some of the strings imposed on the US Postal Service from the CARES Act, which provided a $10 billion Treasury loan after terms were negotiated. The bill would still provide $10 billion to the financially strained institution, but the Postal Service wouldn’t be required to repay it, and the conditions imposed by the Treasury wouldn’t apply. In exchange, the bill would require the Postal Service to provide more information to Congress, including a plan about its long-term financial solvency, within 180 days of the bill’s passing and information about how it plans to use the funds in reports to the Postal Regulatory Commission.