S. 3548: CARES Act
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S. 3548: CARES Act
116th Congress · introduced 2020-03-19 · Economics and Public Finance · Latest: Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Hearings held.
federal
Follow this bill, step by step
- Where it came from: introduced 2020-03-19 · official record
- Who proposed it: Sen. McConnell, Mitch [R-KY] · what a sponsor is
- What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
- Where it stands now: Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Hearings held. 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.
Official title
CARES Act
Plain summary
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act or the CARES Act This bill addresses economic impacts of, and otherwise responds to, the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak. The bill authorizes emergency loans to distressed businesses, including air carriers, and suspends certain aviation excise taxes. With respect to small businesses, the bill establishes, and provides funding for, forgivable bridge loans; and provides additional funding for grants and technical assistance. The bill also provides funding for $1,200 tax rebates to individuals, with additional $500 payments per qualifying child. The rebate begins phasing out when incomes exceed $75,000 (or $150,000 for joint filers). The bill establishes limits on requirements for employers to provide paid leave. With respect to taxes, the bill establishes special rules for certain tax-favored withdrawals from retirement plans; delays due dates for employer payroll taxes and estimated tax payments for corporations; and revises other provisions, including those related to losses, charitable deductions, and business interest. With respect to health care, the bill provides additional funding for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of COVID-19; limits liability for volunteer health care professionals; prioritizes Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review of certain drugs; allows emergency use of certain diagnostic tests that are not approved by the FDA; expands health-insurance coverage for diagnostic testing and requires coverage for preventative services and vaccines; revises other provisions, including those regarding the medical supply chain, the national stockpile, the health care workforce, the Healthy Start program, telehealth services, nutrition services, Medicare, and Medicaid. With respect to education, the bill temporarily suspends payments for federal student loans; and otherwise revises provisions related to campus-based aid, supplemental educational-opportunity grants, federal work-study, subsidized loans, Pell grants, and foreign institutions. The bill also authorizes the Department of the Treasury to temporarily guarantee money-market funds.
Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), 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.
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What does this mean? (plain words)
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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: Sen. McConnell, Mitch [R-KY] · 6 cosponsors
Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.
Cosponsors on this site
Mike Crapo (R-ID), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Roger F. Wicker (R-MS)
Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. McConnell, Mitch [R-KY] reported raising $278,697 (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.
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 (3)
- 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).
- Rulemaking
- The process agencies use to write regulations that carry out laws passed by Congress or a legislature. Usually an agency publishes a proposed rule, takes public comments, then publishes a final rule.
- Securities
- Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.
Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.
Sources
- Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
- Congress.gov
- Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-116s3548.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/116/s>
Record fed-us-cong116-s3548 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116