Today’s federal government actions in response to COVID-19, includes enactment of the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act.

Congress

This afternoon, President Trump signed into law the bipartisan $484 billion “interim emergency” relief package known as the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act

• The bill contains $310 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program (with $60 billion in set-asides for smaller lenders), $60 billion for the SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) / grant program, $75 billion for hospital and healthcare providers, and $25 billion for testing.

• The administration plans to resume accepting PPP applications on Monday morning.

Timing for a subsequent relief / recovery package is uncertain.

• Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats want to move quickly when the House returns May 4 – their “CARES 2” approach is largely driven by the need for additional funding for state and local governments, as well as additional protections for front line workers and more assistance for individuals and families.

• Congressional Republicans, however, want to move more slowly to assess the efficacy of relief bills enacted to date.

• The White House is also working on policy proposals, including tax cuts, domestic manufacturing incentives, and infrastructure.

Recent Congressional Statements / Letters

• Senate Small Business Committee Chairman Rubio Sends Letters to Large Banks Participating in the Paycheck Protection Program, April 24, 2020

• Cardin, Schumer & Brown Call on SBA IG to Investigate Reports that Some PPP Lenders Prioritized Larger, Wealthier Clients Over Hard-Hit Small Businesses in Urgent Need, April 24, 2020

• Rubio, Cardin, Velázquez Send Letter to SBA on EIDL Data Breach, April 23, 2020

• Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Brown Urges Financial Regulators to Ensure that Temporary Suspensions of Important Financial Protections Do Not Turn Into Permanent Rollbacks, April 23, 2020

• Senate HELP Committee Ranking Member Murray Urges EEOC to Keep Collecting Data to Combat Wage Discrimination in Light of COVID-19 Pay Inequities, April 24, 2020

• Feinstein to HUD Secretary Carson: Base Homelessness Coronavirus Relief on Need, April 24, 2020

• Feinstein, Peters, Menendez, Colleagues Push to Waive Cost-Sharing Requirements for States Battling Coronavirus, April 23, 2020

• Durbin, Schakowsky Announce Bill To Expand Health Care Workforce To Meet Nationwide Challenges, April 24, 2020

• House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Neal, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman DeFazio Urge Trump Administration to Support Motorcoach Industry Amid COVID-19 Crisis, April 24, 2020

• New Democrat Coalition Urges House Leadership to Implement a National Recovery Strategy, April 24, 2020

• CBO’s Current Projections of Output, Employment, and Interest Rates and a Preliminary Look at Federal Deficits for 2020 and 2021, April 24, 2020

Agency Activity
Department of the Treasury

• Joint Statement by Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin and SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza on the Resumption of the Paycheck Protection Program, April 24, 2020

SBA will resume accepting PPP loan applications on Monday, April 27 at 10:30AM EDT

• NEW Interim Final Rule on PPP Requirements for Promissory Notes, Authorizations, Affiliation, and Eligibility, April 24, 2020

• Last night, Treasury posted its loan application form for “Businesses Critical to Maintaining National Security” (as part of $17 billion fund established in CARES Act)

Internal Revenue Service

• Treasury, IRS deliver 88 million Economic Impact Payments in first three weeks, release state-by-state Economic Impact Payment figures, April 24, 2020

• FAQs about carrybacks of NOLs for taxpayers who have had Section 965 inclusions, April 23, 2020

Department of Labor

• U.S. Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia Joins Special G20 Meeting on Covid-19, April 24, 2020

Department of Health and Human Services

• The Administration for Children and Families to Release Funding to Support Child Welfare Services, April 24, 2020

• HHS Announces More Time for Hospitals to Apply for COVID-19 High-Impact Payments, April 24, 2020

Food and Drug Administration

• Enforcement Policy for Remote Digital Pathology Devices During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Public Health Emergency, April 24, 2020

• Update: FDA Reiterates Importance of Close Patient Supervision for ‘Off-Label’ Use of Antimalarial Drugs to Mitigate Known Risks, Including Heart Rhythm Problems, April 24, 2020

Department of Homeland Security

• Fact Sheet: DHS is Taking on COVID-19 Related Fraud, April 24, 2020

• FEMA Publishes Documents to Preserve Scarce Medical Supplies, April 23, 2020

Department of Defense

• DOD Plans for Resumption of Normal Operations After Pandemic, April 24, 2020

Securities and Exchange Commission

• SEC Forms Cross-Divisional COVID-19 Market Monitoring Group, April 24, 2020

• COVID-19 Quick Reference Guide for Investors and Market Participants

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

• CFTC Provides Additional Relief to Market Participants in Response to COVID-19, April 24, 2020

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Federal Trade Commission

• FTC Sends Warning Letters to Multi-Level Marketers Regarding Health and Earnings Claims They or Their Participants are Making Related to Coronavirus, April 24, 2020

Federal Reserve

• Federal Reserve Board announces interim final rule to delete the six-per-month limit on convenient transfers from the "savings deposit" definition in Regulation D, April 24, 2020

• Federal Reserve announces it is working to expand access to its Paycheck Protection Program Liquidity Facility (PPPLF) for additional SBA-qualified lenders as soon as possible, April 23, 2020

• Federal Reserve Board announces temporary actions aimed at increasing the availability of intraday credit extended by Federal Reserve Banks, April 23, 2020

State / Local Activity
Given the plethora of state and local actions, we recommend MultiState’s COVID-19 Policy Tracker as a comprehensive tool to monitor the respons

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