In Washington

• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (R-CA) has rejected calls by caucus members for a separate vote to automatically extend unemployment insurance benefits when the House returns for a vote on Saturday. In a "Dear Colleague" letter on Thursday night, Pelosi said members' proposals could be taken up at a later date. "We must consider their timing and strategic value," Pelosi wrote, pointing to the US$3.4 trillion HEROS Act the House passed in May. "They cannot come at the expense of addressing the priorities of the Heroes Act."
• The Blue Dog Coalition of moderate House Democrats is circulating a 21 August letter they plan to send to congressional leaders urging a restart to negotiations on Phase Four COVID-19 relief legislation. The Coalition includes several lawmakers in difficult reelection races. Meanwhile, a separate bipartisan group of eighteen House lawmakers also wrote a letter on 20 August to Speaker Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy asking them to resume negotiations and find a compromise immediately.
• Postmaster General Louis DeJoy told senators Friday that there are no plans to reinstall mail-sorting machines that have recently been removed from service. "There's no intention to do that, they're not needed, sir," DeJoy told Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI). DeJoy testified at a virtual hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, where he faced a grilling from Democrats who questioned operational changes and slowdowns at the USPS. DeJoy maintained that the USPS will be able to handle the COVID-19 pandemic-prompted influx of mail-in ballots this fall. He defended changes as financially necessary and contended that many of the changes under the most intense scrutiny predated his tenure.
• A top FDA official vowed to resign if the Trump administration approves a COVID-19 vaccine that is not proven to be safe and effective. Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, told Reuters that if political pressures intruded onto the approval process, "You have to decide where your red line is, and that’s my red line." He added, "I would feel obligated [to resign] because in doing so, I would indicate to the American public that there’s something wrong."
• Former Vice President Joe Biden accepted his party's nomination for president Thursday night, laying blame for the scale of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. squarely at President Trump's feet. "Our current president failed in his most basic duty to the nation," Biden said. "He’s failed to protect us." Biden vowed that "on Day One we'll implement the national strategy I've been laying out since March." He said his plan includes a nationwide mask mandate, dramatically ramping up the production of coronavirus tests, ensuring ample amounts of personal protective gear and medical equipment, and securing medical supply chains.
• The Trump Administration refuses to extend waivers to the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) free meal program through the fall. The exemptions allowed families greater access to free school meals without any income verification during the pandemic. The agency argues that it doesn't have the authority to implement a "universal" school meals program despite lawmakers and supporters strongly rejecting the argument.
• A new CDC report says child care centers may reopen safely in areas where the virus is at low levels. The report documents just 52 coronavirus infections in child care centers in Rhode Island over a two-month period in which hundreds of centers were authorized to reopen.

In the News

• Sales of existing homes skyrocketed in July according to data released Friday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Sales of single-family homes, condominiums, and co-ops rose 24.7 percent across the U.S. from June to July and 8.7 percent since July 2019.
• Seven retailers, including The Paper Store, Brooks Brothers, and Lucky Brand, filed for bankruptcy protection over a two-week span in July. According to tracking by S&P Global Market Intelligence, some 44 retailers have already landed in bankruptcy court in 2020.
• Four hospital workers and their union sued the largest hospital chain in the country Thursday. The suit alleges that HCA Healthcare and southern California’s Riverside Community Hospital, owned by HCA, failed to provide workers with adequate protective equipment, ignored safety precautions, failed to alert staff to possible COVID-19 exposures, and pressured staff with coronavirus symptoms to work. Service Employees International Union filed the suit on behalf of its 97,000 members in California Superior Court. Riverside Community Hospital said in a statement to CNBC that it disputes the claims in the suit, adding that "we will defend it vigorously."

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