Public Employers Need Inclusion in Relief Credits, Lawmakers Say

April 13, 2020

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker
U.S. House of Representatives
United States Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20515

The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Majority Leader
United States Senate
S-230, U.S. Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20510

The Honorable Kevin McCarthy
Republican Leader
U.S. House of Representatives
United States Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20515

The Honorable Charles Schumer
Democratic Leader
United States Senate
S-220, U.S. Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Speaker Pelosi, Leader McConnell, Leader McCarthy, and Leader Schumer:

As Congress continues to work on economic stimulus legislation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we ask that you restore parity between the private and public sector when it comes to eligibility for tax credits to mitigate the costs of emergency paid leave provisions included in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.

State and local governments are on the front lines in responding to this epidemic and coping with its punitive impacts. We strongly support provisions that provide emergency paid leave for employees, and tax credits allowing employers to recoup these costs. However, subsection (e)(4) of Section 7001 and subsection (e)(4) of Section 7003 exempt public employers from these tax credits despite their employees being eligible for emergency paid leave. This amounts to an unfunded federal mandate for state and local governments and should be amended. We respectfully request that you include this fix in subsequent COVID-19 economic stimulus legislation. Without it, these severe costs will undermine the ability of state and local governments to provide the critical public services necessary in the nation's COVID-19 response.

We appreciate your leadership as Congress continues to respond to the economic fallout from this pandemic. Thank you for your attention to this request.

Sincerely,

TJ COX
Member of Congress

JOHN KATKO
Member of Congress

BRADLEY S. SCHNEIDER
Member of Congress

SIGNATORIES

Eleanor Holmes Norton
Earl Blumenauer
Grace F. Napolitano
Jim Costa
Eric Swalwell
Harley Rouda
Julia Brownley
Doris O. Matsui
Thomas R. Suozzi
Dwight Evans
Jahana Hayes
Ted W. Lieu
Adam Smith
Tony Cárdenas
Barbara Lee
Salud O. Carbajal
Chris Pappas
Rosa L. DeLauro
Michael F.Q. San Nicolas
Linda T. Sanchez
Derek Kilmer
Ron Kind
Josh Gottheimer
Brian Higgins
John Garamendi
John B. Larson
Jimmy Panetta
Ami Bera, M.D.
Deb Haaland
Josh Harder
Jennifer Wexton
Sean Patrick Maloney
Ro Khanna
David N. Cicilline
Jackie Speier
Brian Fitzpatrick
Paul Cook
Ted S. Yoho, D.V.M.
Steve King
Jason Crow
Ann McLane Kuster
Mark Pocan
Katherine M. Clark
Gerald E. Connolly
Lois Frankel
Tom O'Halleran
Mikie Sherrill
Suzan K. DelBene
Danny K. Davis
Stephen F. Lynch
Suzanne Bonamici
Peter A. DeFazio
Charlie Crist
Jared Huffman
Greg Stanton
Juan Vargas
Anna G. Eshoo
Judy Chu
Elissa Slotkin
Peter Welch
Ben Ray Luján
Zoe Lofgren
Ilhan Omar
Xochitl Torres Small
Betty McCollum
Karen Bass
Stephanie Murphy
Mike Doyle
Debbie Dingell