In Washington

• The threat of a partial government shutdown and the 30 Sept budget deadline might force negotiations on the next coronavirus relief bill back on track. Congress must pass a continuing resolution to keep federal agencies operating at least through the November elections. Senate Republicans are discussing a scaled back “skinny” coronavirus relief proposal that could include US$300 weekly federal unemployment benefits through December, more small business rescue aid, $10 billion for the Postal Service and liability protections, among other things. Combining stopgap funds and pandemic relief into one bill could be a less painful vote for Republicans than separate votes on each.
• Postmaster General Louis Dejoy said today that post office cuts previously proposed would be suspended until after the election. Dejoy said that retail hours would not change, that no mail processing facilities would be closed, and that overtime would continue to be approved. The Postmaster’s announcement comes amid increasing pressure from lawmakers, state attorneys generals, and civil rights groups warning that the cuts could disenfranchise Americans voting by mail during the pandemic. Dejoy is also scheduled to testify Friday before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and the House Oversight Committee on Monday, 24 Aug. The House is scheduled to vote Saturday on a US$25 billion proposal to rescue the Postal Service, but it’s still unclear whether the GOP-controlled Senate will take up the measure.
• Doctors and government policy officials are becoming more concerned at the fate of the U.S. Postal Service’s ability to deliver prescription drugs to those in need. Approximately 4.9 percent of all medications are distributed through the mail in 2019, and with COVID-19, orders have significantly increased. In the month of March, mail-order prescriptions shot up by 21 percent. Veteran’s Affairs fulfills approximately 80 percent of medicines for veterans—125.2 million prescriptions in 2019—through the mail. House and Senate lawmakers overseeing veterans’ affairs have written USPS and VA Secretary Robert Wilkie questioning the impact that postal delays will have on veterans’ prescriptions.
• A new Hill-HarrisX poll finds 78 percent of registered voters support, including funding for the U.S. Postal Service in a possible next coronavirus relief bill. That figure includes 88 percent of Democratic voters, 75 percent of independents, and 70 percent of Republicans. The Hill-HarrisX poll was conducted online among 2,828 registered voters between 8 and 11 August.
• The Democratic National Convention opened last night with speakers criticizing President Trump’s handling of the pandemic, memoralizing the loss of 167,000 Americans to COVID-19, and promoting the country coming together to fight the virus. The night showcased testimonials including stinging remarks from Kristin Urquiza of California, whose father died of COVID-19. She said her father’s “only preexisting condition was trusting Donald Trump, and for that he paid with his life.” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and New York gov. Andrew Cuomo both spoke to how Trump has neglected to stop the coronavirus spread and failed to fulfill his leadership role while highlighting how a Biden administration would be different. The night ended with former First Lady Michelle Obama casting Trump as incapable of meeting America’s needs as a president and providing a powerful argument as to why Americans should stand behind Joe Biden.
• Reps. Lauren Underwood (D-IL) and Kim Schrier (WA-D) introduced a bill to provide US$650 million to state and local health departments to expand outreach and education on vaccinations. The bill is meant to increase public confidence in vaccines and counter the anti-vaxxer movement that is working to sow doubt about COVID-19 vaccines.
• Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA), Don Beyer (D-VA), and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) wrote a letter to Democratic leadership calling for a vote on unemployment insurance while the House is in session on Saturday. The “Worker Relief and Security Act” would automatically extend and adjust the enhanced unemployment insurance based on health and economic triggers during the COVID emergency without further congressional action.
• President Donald Trump and MyPillow Creator and Trump ally, Mike Lindell, met in July about the use of oleandrin as a possible therapeutic for COVID-19. Raw Oleandrin is a dangerous, highly toxic plant extract, and its consumption can be fatal. Lindell has a financial stake in the company and a director on the board of Phoenix Biotechnology. He and company are promoting and producing the product despite it ot having not been properly tested yet. Lindell says the President is very “enthusiastic” over the use of the oleander.

In the News

• People “in their 20s, 30s and 40s are increasingly driving” the coronavirus’s spread, the World Health Organization’s top official for the Western Pacific region, Takeshi Kasai, said Tuesday. “Many are unaware they are infected,” he added. This comes as schools and universities are opening.
• The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill has immediately halted all in-person classes and moved to online classes after several clusters of outbreaks have been reported in student living spaces after just little more than a week of classes. As of Wednesday, 177 students are in isolation and 349 are in quarantine, with 13.6 percent of the students on campus tested positive last week.
• UNC is not alone among campuses seeing COVID-19 spikes. The University of Notre Dame reported 58 coronavirus cases as of Sunday, a sudden uptick since students returned to campus for the fall semester. The university reported its first positive case on 6 Aug. with more than 11.5% of the roughly 500 tests conducted so far returning positive.
• In an effort to enforce self-quarantine rules, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) on Tuesday ordered hotels and short-term rentals to deny rooms to travelers from a list of 31 states plus U.S. territories unless they fill out a questionnaire.
• Large box stores like Walmart, Target, and Home Depot and Amazon reported increased sales amid the pandemic as airlines and aerospace giant Boeing continue to suffer as they grapple with having to plan additional job cuts. Despite seeing a second-quarter sales rise of 9.3 percent, Walmart is warning that it is starting to see sales go down as stimulus checks have run out and unemployment ended.
• Workers in a handful of states may soon see a US$300-a-week bump in their unemployment benefits. The federal government has approved funding for seven states — Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico and Utah — to offer the US$300 supplement to jobless benefits, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is overseeing the assistance. Many other states haven’t committed to offering the US$300 federal subsidy due to legal and administrative concerns.
• The S&P 500 rose to an all-time high on Tuesday, capping off its recovery from the coronavirus-induced sell-off that knocked it off its previous record. The index climbed 0.3%, trading above a closing record of 3,386.15.
• According to quarterly figures released by the U.S. Department of Commerce on Tuesday, U.S. e-commerce sales grew more than 30% between the first and second quarter of 2020, illustrating how the pandemic has pushed more spending online. Consumers spent US$211.5 billion online during the second quarter, up 31.8% from the previous quarter. July Census data also shows that online shopping has continued to grow among consumers even as many businesses have reopened their doors.

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