Stimulus Deal Gives Agencies $340B, Helping to Boost Telework, Office Cleaning and Hiring

Stimulus Deal Gives Agencies $340B, Helping to Boost Telework, Office Cleaning and Hiring

Federal agencies will see a $340 billion boost for operations and response efforts in the face of the novel coronavirus under a more than $2 trillion stimulus package Congress is expected to pass this week, portions of which the Senate released on Wednesday after painstaking bipartisan negotiations with the White House.


Lawmakers and their aides were still ironing out the legislative text of the bill Wednesday evening, meaning some of the final details were still unclear. House Democrats had pushed for a suite of new benefits for federal employees to be included in the package, but the Senate has not yet released any of those relevant provisions. Instead, the Senate Appropriations Committee put forward the emergency supplemental funds agencies will receive as part of the plan. 


The departments of Agriculture, Interior, and Health and Human Services would receive funding to hire new staff. The Housing and Urban Development Department, Securities and Exchange Commission, and Commodity Futures Trading Commission would have hiring flexibilities to expedite the recruiting process for the duration of the coronavirus emergency. USDA, Interior and HHS, as well as the departments of Justice, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs are in line for appropriations to support overtime for employees working on coronavirus response. The Transportation Security Administration and Bureau of Prisons would each see $100 million for those costs as well as for new personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies for workers. 


 VA, FBI, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Marshals Service, Defense Department, Forest Service, HHS and others would also receive tens of millions of dollars to purchase personal protective equipment.


Dozens of agencies across government would see millions of dollars to improve their telework capacities, through network expansions and software license purchases.The Office of Personnel Management would receive $12 million to expand tele ..

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