What does the revised $2.2 trillion HEROES Act mean for your wallet?

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - There’s no stamp of approval just yet on another official coronavirus relief bill. The Democrat-led House of Representatives passed a revised version of its HEROES Act, but discussions on Capitol Hill are progressing slowly.

The new $2.2 trillion HEROES Act wants to put money in a lot of areas that need help, including education, childcare, COVID-19 testing and contact tracing, rental and mortgage assistance, airlines, and another Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan.

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But that’s where the mediation ends. The House and Senate can’t agree on how much to spend in these sectors. However, Baton Rouge area financial advisor, Chris Burns, says they do agree they also want to help you.

“Both sides agree on the $1,200 stimulus checks and both sides care about unemployment. Really, the big sticking point is when it comes to federal bailout money for the states,” said the advisor from Burns Estate Planning and Wealth Advisors.

According to the new HEROES Act, if you received a stimulus check in the first round, you may get another. The House also wants to bring back that $600 in additional unemployment benefits, but Burns isn’t sure when you might see that money.

“Is that package going to get passed this year? Because with anything in Capitol Hill, unfortunately, things move very, very slow," he said.

He says the timeline is blurry, and he isn’t certain if you’ll see a stimulus check before the November election, so now might be a good time to plan ahead for if you do get that check.

“Definitely don’t factor it in so in case it doesn’t come true, it doesn’t blow up your plan, but have a plan in place so that when you receive this, you know where it is most needed,” said Burns.

Where the check is most needed might be to pay off debt or catch up on bills. Burns says it’s also good idea to put that money away in your emergency savings account. You may need to reassess your plan with unemployment money too.

“If you anticipate that coming back in, okay, how did you use it the first time? Were you successful in that strategy or did that strategy have some falls?” he said.

For now, we wait and see what happens in Washington, D.C. with another official coronavirus relief bill.

President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday afternoon (Oct. 6) that he has asked his team to stop negotiating on a second relief bill until after the election. He wants to turn attention to approving a Supreme Court nominee.

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