House Passes HEROES Act as Next COVID-19 Relief Bill

Last week, the House of Representative passed the HEROES Act as its latest effort to provide relief in response to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. The legislation aims to help essential workers, renters and homeowners, consumers, students, and small businesses to maintain security during the pandemic.

“As COVID-19 is putting enormous stress on the physical, mental, and financial health of consumers who are taking care of loved ones, while dealing with job loss and housing insecurity, the HEROES Act rightly suspends debt collection for consumers, small businesses, and nonprofits, and modifies their obligations so that they and the economy can recover,” according to a House Financial Services fact sheet.

The wide-ranging legislation includes a number of provisions proposed by members of the Financial Services Committee. For example, under the legislation borrowers would be provided with feasible debt repayment options for open end credit and fixed payment loans, including the extension of loan maturity.

Additionally, the HEROES Act suspends negative credit reporting for four months after the pandemic ends and prohibits new scoring models that could ruin credit scores. It also bans COVID-19 medical debt reporting, specifically debt relating to treatment or procedures for the virus. “Consumers impacted by the staggering costs of medical care should not face diminished credit options due to getting sick in a global pandemic,” reads another fact sheet.

For a complete overview of financial services provisions included in the HEROES Act, click here.