Write a commentWednesday night, the Senate passed the CARES Act 96-0, and the House is expected to pass the bill Friday.
President Trump has pledged to quickly sign the bill into law. The CARES Act includes many provisions U.S Travel has advocated for and secures real, immediate assistance for our industry’s workforce and travel businesses of all sizes across every segment.
The nearly 13,000 messages you sent Congress demonstrated the impact this crisis is having on our industry. Your stories resonated and were an integral component to this important step forward.
A full summary of the CARES Act can be found here. Highlights include:
- $377 billion in loans and loan forgiveness for small travel businesses
- $454 billion in federally backed financial assistance for impacted businesses
- Tax relief to mitigate losses and spur recovery
- Grants for impacted tourism businesses and airports
We know many of you have questions about the plan’s details, eligibility guidelines and how to access assistance. We are working closely with Congress and the administration on making sure these dollars get to our industry quickly and will provide this information to you as soon as it is available at ustravel.org/ReliefResources.
All this said, the bill is not perfect, and we’ll need to continue to fight. We anticipate a Phase IV package when Congress returns in late April and U.S. Travel has already started to outline additional relief it should include. We will be calling on you again for your help. Thank you in advance for your continued engagement and support.
A united travel industry has made a huge difference. We are grateful to you for sharing your stories and making our collective voice heard. Please know you, your colleagues and your loved ones are in our hearts and minds through this challenging time. We WILL get through this.
