What's in the relief bill, what we kept out, and what we need to keep fighting for:

I wanted to send you an update on the relief bill we just passed in the Senate.

Let me say upfront: This legislation is far from perfect, but families, workers, and small businesses are desperate for help right now and the resources in this package will support countless Americans.

My Democratic colleagues and I fought tooth and nail for the working people of this country — securing worker retention protections, larger direct payments to families, expanded small business relief, support for our beleaguered hospitals, more resources for our cities and states, and much-needed transparency for the $500 billion corporate fund.

Here are just a few things I fought for that made it into the bill:

My call for special protections for gig workers and independent contractors was heard. They will have a new Unemployment Insurance program to provide benefits.

This bill keeps millions of airline workers on the job while also prohibiting stock buy backs and puts limits on executive pay.

This legislation also includes $10 billion for airports, such as Logan International and Nantucket Memorial, so that these essential hubs of travel can continue to keep their facilities operational, safe, and secure. I also helped work to secure $25 billion for public transit agencies such as the MBTA, to help allow families and workers return to work and school after the crisis, while also preserving good-paying jobs on the system.

For our seniors, the bill includes my legislation to suspend unfair penalties on retirement accounts so that they don’t face unfair tax burdens due to this emergency.

The package provides $300 million to help fishermen in Massachusetts and around the country. I called on Senate leadership to support our fishing and seafood industries, and now they will be eligible for disaster assistance.

For the more than 669,000 Massachusetts small businesses fighting for their economic survival, this bill will provide some much-needed relief with more than $350 billion in loan forgiveness grants to small businesses and non-profits, so they can maintain their payroll and pay expenses.

This package includes more than $150 billion — $55 billion more than the Republican proposal — to stabilize our health care system during this crisis.

I joined Senator Warren to urge immediate stopgap funding to prevent colleges and universities in Massachusetts from raising tuition costs or laying off workers. This bill provides some funding for these educational institutions, but we must continue fighting for financial support for our institutions of higher education.

What’s not in this bill:

A bailout I’m glad to see missing from this package? It does not include a $3 billion direct bailout for the oil industry, which I have led the fight against.

Unfortunately, this bill does not do enough for our students, the climate, and it is woefully insufficient on providing paid sick time to workers. Republicans continue to block meaningful action to provide this critical benefit to America’s workers, but I will not stop until all workers have the paid sick time they have earned and deserve.

And despite fighting for the immediate cancellation of student loan payments, this package does little for the millions of Americans saddled with student debt.

This bill also does not include my push for a nationwide moratorium on gas and electric utility shut-offs, fees, and cost hikes.

We did not address dangerous carbon emissions from our airline industry, nor the need to provide cash to consumers for unused tickets despite its bailout.

This package is massive, it is historic, but it will still need to be followed by additional relief and legislation to ensure that our economy and our families survive.

I will continue to fight so that future relief efforts protect our workers, our families, and our planet.

- Ed Markey

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