H.R. 6897: Local News and Emergency Information Act of 2020

116th Congress · introduced 2020-05-15 · Commerce · Latest: Referred to the House Committee on Small Business.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2020-05-15 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Cicilline, David N. [D-RI-1] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the House Committee on Small Business. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Local News and Emergency Information Act of 2020

Plain summary

Local News and Emergency Information Act of 2020 This bill expands the Paycheck Protection Program, established to support small businesses in response to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019), to include certain newspaper publishers, radio stations, and television broadcasters. Specifically, such a media purveyor is eligible to receive a paycheck protection loan if (1) the individual physical location that applies for the loan does not exceed Small Business Administration size standards (up to 1,000 employees for newspaper publishers and $41.5 million in gross receipts for radio and television broadcasters); and (2) the proceeds of the loan are used to support the continued provision of local news, information, content, or emergency information. Such a recipient may not remit any portion of a paycheck protection loan to any entity other than the individual physical location that is the loan's intended recipient.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Local News and Emergency Information Act of 2020

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Cicilline, David N. [D-RI-1] · 24 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX), Brian K. Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Terri A. Sewell (D-AL), Gilbert Ray Cisneros, Jr. (D-CA), John B. Larson (D-CT), Adam B. Schiff (D-CA), Andy Harris (R-MD), Robin L. Kelly (D-IL), John Garamendi (D-CA), Angie Craig (D-MN), Ilhan Omar (D-MN)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (1)

Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-116hr6897.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/116/hr>

Record fed-us-cong116-hr6897 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116