Washington, D.C. – Congressman Darin LaHood (IL-18) introduced a resolution recognizing this week, March 28, 2021, through April 3, 2021, as National Cleaning Week. Congressman LaHood also received the “Outstanding Government Service Award” from the Worldwide Cleaning Industry Association (ISSA), which is the leading trade association for the cleaning industry throughout the world.
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, Rep. LaHood has championed legislation, including the Clean Start: Back to Work Tax Credit Act and the Healthy Workplaces Tax Credit Act, which would enable a safe reopening of businesses and return to work for employees.
"The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of sanitation and healthy work and living environments," said Rep. LaHood. "As we continue to navigate the pandemic, it's important that we promote clean and safe environments at work, in schools, and at home. In Congress, I will continue to champion legislation that incentivizes a safe reopening of small businesses and communities throughout Illinois. National Cleaning Week also provides an opportunity to highlight the hard work of so many essential workers over the past year."
“Representative LaHood is being recognized for his unwavering support of the cleaning industry and of a healthy and safe workplace tax credit and being a leader on free trade issues. He was one of the first Congressmen to try and tackle the unplanned financial costs associated with workplace safety costs” said ISSA Director of Government Affairs John Nothdurft.
Full text of the resolution can be read here.
Background:
In February of 2021, Rep. LaHood and Rep. Murphy introduced the Clean Start: Back to Work Tax Credit Act, which will offer businesses a temporary tax credit up to $250,000 to help offset the increased costs of training staff to properly sanitize, hiring specialized cleaning staff, and purchasing cleaning supplies and equipment including personal protection equipment (PPE).
In March of 2021, Rep. LaHood joined a bipartisan group to introduce the Healthy Workplaces Tax Credit Act, which similarly encourages and enables businesses to take the recommended steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in their workplaces. It provides a refundable tax credit against payroll taxes for 50% of the costs incurred by the business for COVID-19 testing, PPE, disinfecting, extra cleaning, and reconfiguring workspaces.
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