The following federal government’s activity in response to COVID-19 has occured since our last update on May 15th. Of note, late Friday, the Treasury Department released its Paycheck Protection Program loan forgiveness application (links below).

Congress

Late Friday evening, the House passed its $3 trillion Heroes Act by a largely party-line vote of 208-199. See Speaker Pelosi’s Saturday Dear Colleague here.

• The bill remains a nonstarter in the Republican-controlled Senate, which isn’t expected to move forward on another relief bill for at least a few more weeks.

Today, the bipartisan Congressional Oversight Commission published its initial report, as mandated by the CARES Act.

The Senate is in session this week, focused on clearing additional nominations. The House is not in session this week, but will return for a few days next week to consider the Senate-passed FISA reauthorization.

See our Friday update for a listing of COVID-related hearings in both chambers this week. One of the biggest newsmakers is likely to be tomorrow morning’s Senate Banking Committee remote hearing on the Quarterly CARES Act Report to Congress, with Treasury Secretary Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chairman Powell scheduled to testify. See Secretary Mnuchin’s prepared statement here.

Recent Congressional Statements / Letters

• Senators Cassidy, Menendez Introduce Bipartisan SMART Fund to Help Frontline States, Communities in COVID-19 Fight, May 18, 2020
• In Letter to Secretary Chao, Cantwell Calls for Uniform National Social Distancing Guidelines for Aviation Sector, May 18, 2020
• Rosen, Harris Lead Colleagues in Call for Funding for State Unemployment Agencies in Future Coronavirus-Related Legislation, May 15, 2020
• Senate Democrats Introduce Bill to Boost Nonprofit Workforce as Coronavirus Crushes Resources, May 15, 2020

Other Stakeholder Letters / Statements

• AFL-CIO Sues OSHA for Emergency Temporary Standard to Protect Workers, May 18, 2020
  
  Related: Petition filed with U.S. Court of Appeals, May 18, 2020
• AICPA Says Treasury and SBA PPP Loan Forgiveness Application Leaves Many Questions, May 16, 2020

White House / Agency Activity

White House

• Remarks by President Trump in a Meeting on Opportunity Zones, May 18, 2020

Department of the Treasury

• Paycheck Protection Program Interim Final Rule on Treatment of Entities with Foreign Affiliates, May 18, 2020
• SBA and Treasury Release Paycheck Protection Program Loan Forgiveness Application, May 15, 2020
  
  Related: SBA Loan Forgiveness Application (downloadable)
• Treasury is Delivering Millions of Economic Impact Payments by Prepaid Debit Card, May 18, 2020

Internal Revenue Service

• IRS adds phone operators to answer Economic Impact Payment questions, May 18, 2020

Department of Labor

• ICYMI: U.S. Department of Labor Acts to Help American Workers And Employers During the Coronavirus Pandemic, May 17, 2020
• U.S. Department of Labor to Offer Families First Coronavirus Response Act Webinars to Educate Employees, Employers, State and Local Governments, May 15, 2020
• U.S. Department of Labor Awards Over $26 Million in Dislocated Worker Grants in Response to Coronavirus Public Health Emergency, May 15, 2020

Food and Drug Administration

• FDA Authorizes First Standalone At-Home Sample Collection Kit That Can Be Used With Certain Authorized Tests, May 16, 2020
  
  Related: Emergency Use Authorization Issued to Everlywell, Inc.

National Institutes of Health

• NIH Director: Defeating COVID-19 requires unprecedented action and collaboration, May 18, 2020

Housing and Urban Development

• HUD Allocates More Than $75 Million In Fourth Wave Of Cares Act Funding To Assist People Living With Disabilities, May 18, 2020

Environmental Protection Agency

• EPA Proposes Relief for Small Businesses by Restoring Wood Heater Sales Opportunities Lost to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, May 15, 2020

Federal Emergency Management Agency

• FEMA Releases State-by-State PPE Data, May 15, 2020

Federal Trade Commission

• FTC and SBA Warn Operator of SBA.com and Lead Generator Lendio to Stop Potentially Misleading Coronavirus Relief Loan Marketing, May 18, 2020

Federal Reserve

Periodic Report: Update on Outstanding Lending Facilities Authorized by the Board under Section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve Act, May 15, 2020

Regulators temporarily change the supplementary leverage ratio to increase banking organizations' ability to support credit to households and businesses in light of the coronavirus response, May 15, 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 response.