U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., voted to pass the $3 trillion Heroes Act, which Democrats say is aimed at supporting small businesses and expanding testing during the pandemic.

The controversial bill, authored by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was passed by House Democrats in a partisan vote, but had little chance of getting passed the Republican-controlled Senate.

“The Senate has shown no sense of urgency to move forward on additional relief for Americans struggling with the health and economic impacts of COVID-19, and this bill serves as a starting point for those negotiations," Houlahan said. "We need the American people to help build pressure on Senator McConnell and his colleagues to come to the table with us to craft a bill that can pass both chambers and be signed into law. The virus has not abated in our communities, and we need a national strategy to safely reopen our economy."

The bill includes $500 billion for state and $375 billion for local governments, helping to replace lost revenue and make them whole for money spent on COVID-19 response. This has been a major priority for Gov. Tom Wolf and the leadership of Chester and Berks counties, Houlahan said.

The small business section includes many items that Houlahan advocated for after hearing from small business owners in the community: a carve out for micro-businesses, greater flexibility for PPP forgiveness and better transparency and reporting, she said.

The bill requires the CDC to develop a comprehensive, national strategy to provide diagnostic and serologic testing, contact tracing, and recovery. Houlahan said it will better enable local communities to safely reopen and get back to work without risking another wave of infections.

“Beyond these things, the bill includes funding for hazard pay and childcare for our frontline workers, expansion of high speed internet to help our families working and studying virtually, assistance for our dairy and specialty crop producers who are struggling, funding for safe and secure elections, support to the U.S. Postal Service and much more," she said.

“While there is a lot of good in this bill, I cast my vote knowing that it is imperfect," Houlahan said. "For example, it authorizes another round of economic stimulus payments knowing full well that the IRS rollout of the first round has been rocky and frustrating for millions of Americans still wondering when their first payment will arrive. I am disappointed that the bill does not include any role for national service volunteers, like AmeriCorps, to play a greater role in the recovery. The bill also includes worthy priorities that are not necessarily relevant to the crisis at hand. Finally, I am concerned about the cost. As a former business leader, I know that sometimes you have to invest on the front end to achieve an outcome later. We will likely need much, much more relief as this crisis continues and even when we begin to recover, but we must also be mindful of the long-term costs.”