In Washington

• Congress returns from recess sprinting to get several must-pass bills, including another coronavirus relief package, passed before they head out for the August recess and don’t return until 8 September. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is expected to reveal the Republican’s Phase Four coronavirus package this week to begin negotiations.
  • McConnell and House Minority Leaders Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) briefed President Trump and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on their proposals today. Republicans have said they view US$1 trillion as their starting point for the upcoming negotiations on coronavirus relief legislation but the Democratic leadership has dismissed that amount as not nearly enough to deal with the resurging coronavirus while criticizing time lost on writing a proposal without Democratic input. Mnuchin said they want to tweak the enhanced unemployment insurance so they “don’t pay people more money to stay home than go to work,” and the new package will have “tax credits that incentivize business to bring people back to work.
  • Republicans continue to push that liability protection is a must, as the president pushes for payroll tax provision. While the liability protection proposal has some bipartisan support, the payroll tax provision is not widely accepted by both Republicans and Democrats. To see the two-page draft of their liability protection proposal, click here. The biggest hurdles in negotiations seem to be state and local aid and unemployment benefits. With several Republicans facing upcoming tight elections, there will most likely be members willing to cross over and support more aid to states and limited continuation of federal unemployment assistance, as well as limited second direct stimulus payments and back-to-work bonuses.
  • Other big-ticket items will include what will happen with the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), an expansion of the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC), COVID-19 mitigation funding, and school and childcare assistance.
• In an extraordinary interview with Fox News’ Chris Wallace that aired 19 July, President Trump defended his handling of the coronavirus and called Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, “an alarmist.” When asked about the country’s daily coronavirus death toll of around 1,000, replied, “It is what it is.” The president also continues to push that the increase in testing in many states was behind the surge in new cases, ignoring that many people are asymptomatic carriers and unknowingly spread the virus without taking a test or being reported. During the interview, Wallace pushed back and fact-checked several of the President’s alleged misstatements.
• Five companies working to develop a coronavirus vaccine are set to appear before a House subcommittee to discuss their work in creating inoculations. Officials from Merck, Moderna, Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson are set to testify Tuesday before the House Committee of Energy and Commerce. “This hearing will provide an opportunity for both Congress and the American people to hear directly from some of the manufacturers currently developing potential COVID-19 vaccines,” the committee said in a statement earlier this month.
• President Trump says he'll resume regular coronavirus briefings starting Tuesday as the country experiences a resurgence of cases. "We have had this big flare up in Florida, Texas, a couple of other places," Trump said from the Oval Office on Monday. "I’ll get involved and we’ll start doing briefings. Trump said the revival of briefings would allow him to tout advancements on therapeutics and vaccines and explain the "positive things" his administration is doing to combat the virus.
• Secretary Steven Mnuchin said "we're going to make sure we have a vaccine by the end of the year for emergency use" at a White House meeting today. The Food and Drug Administration has the authority to make a vaccine available before approval through an emergency use authorization.
• The Congressional Oversight Commission reports that lending facilities set up by the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department to avoid a coronavirus-related credit crunch have only distributed about US$14 billion out of US$500 billion Congress approved in a March aid bill. Most lending so far has been the Fed's purchase of US$11.4 billion worth of corporate bonds and exchange-traded funds that invest in baskets of corporate bonds. Another US$1.2 billion was spent on short-term debt issued by the state of Illinois, and US$937 million has gone to loans to companies secured by assets such as consumer and business loans. Some Senate Democrats are proposing using US$200 billion of the dormant leftover funds to pay for school repairs, broadband infrastructure, tax credits and more to help make "immediate and long-term investments in communities of color."

In the News

• According to data from Johns Hopkins University, COVID-19 has infected 3.7 million and killed more than 140,000 people in the U.S. Meanwhile, coronavirus hospitalizations are skyrocketing, even beyond the hotspots of Arizona, Florida and Texas.
• A British vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca produced a promising immune response that lasted for nearly two months in an early trial involving more than one thousand healthy adults. The response was even stronger in 10 participants who received a second dose, the scientists said. The U.S. government has funded more than US$1 billion in the experimental coronavirus vaccine.
• Florida’s largest teacher’s union has filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the state's emergency order that forces schools to open for in-person instruction next month. President of the Florida Education Association Fedrick Ingram announced the suit against Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Giménez, the Florida Department of Education and the Florida State Board of Education. The suit was filed in the 11th circuit court in Miami.
• The Wall Street Journal reports that some government contractors took out loans from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) even as they were paid for government work during the pandemic. “Many contractors judged themselves eligible even though they were working on active government projects, according to an analysis of recently released data on PPP borrowers and other records,” according to the paper.
• Companies accounting for roughly 25 percent of the S&P 500 will report earnings this week. A few to watch are United Airlines which reports Tuesday, Discover Financial on Wednesday, which could give investors a better sense of the financial system’s plumbing. Microsoft also releases its earnings Wednesday.
• The American Bankers Association issued a press release Monday urging banks across the nation to adopt a policy requiring anyone who enters a branch to wear a mask or face covering to protect the health of bank employees and customers.

[View source.]