In Washington

• After receiving backlash for quietly removing public data on COVID-19 hospitalizations from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website last night, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has directed for the CDC data to be restored. The heavily-used data will be made available again, but it will no longer be updated past 15 July due to the Trump administration’s decision to reroute COVID-19 information directly to HHS rather than the CDC where it is publically available. Opposition against the administration's new reporting rule continues to mount as health leaders, hospital officials, and public health experts say that it will increase the burden on already strained medical facilities in the middle of a pandemic.
• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) heavily criticized President Trump’s handling of the coronavirus crisis in her weekly press conference saying he’s like a “man who refuses to ask for directions.” “The president continues to go down the wrong path and refuses to ask for directions from scientists who know better than any of us,” she added. Pelosi called on the president to fully utilize the Defense Production Act to increase testing and PPE, saying the continued shortages amount to a “massive dereliction of duty” by the president. Pelosi also noted that the minimal amount the next coronavirus bill will cost is US$1.3 trillion, but exclaimed it is not enough as the pandemic continues to spread.
• House Republicans held a conference call Wednesday with Vice President Pence and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn to discuss the administration’s efforts to safely reopen schools this fall. Specifically, Pence talked about progress on expanded access to testing and PPE, while Dr. Hahn provided an update on “Operation Warp Speed,” the administration’s initiative to develop and distribute a coronavirus vaccine.
• Today the U.S. Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to President Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) outlining several proposals on what they would like to see in the next coronavirus package. Some of the proposals include: liability protection, several changes to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), extending the deadline and making the loans available to trade groups, to shore up the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, extending the March passed federal unemployment benefits but pare them down from the current amount of US$600 a week, and to provide help to state and local governments.
• Last week, 1.3 million Americans filed for unemployment claims, according to numbers released by the Labor Department Thursday. It was more than the 1.25 million economists had expected to file. Nearly 32 million American workers are now receiving jobless benefits.
• Transportation and Infrastructure Committee ranking member Sam Graves (R-MO) and fellow T&I committee member Brian Babi (R-TX), announced yesterday that they were isolating due to possible exposure to the coronavirus. The lawmakers made the announcement after virtually attending a committee hearing.

• Nearly two-thirds of Americans say they are wearing a face mask when they’re not at home, according to Axios polling. Forty-five percent of Republicans say they’re wearing a mask all the time, up from 35 percent at the end of June. A partisan gap remains as 95 percent of Democrats say they wear a mask some or all of the time outside the house compared with 74 percent of Republicans.
• According to a new study by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, white applicants for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans were treated better than black applicants. The study found differences in the levels of encouragement in applying for a loan, the products offered, and the information provided by the bank representative.
• A majority of voters oppose the Trump administration's push for K-12 schools and day care centers to be fully opened for in-person learning in this upcoming academic year, according to a Politico poll. Sixty-five percent of voters also opposed the administration’s threat to cut federal funding for schools that don’t open.
• Target, CVS and Publix are the latest retailers to announce they will require shoppers to wear masks or face coverings at stores nationwide. The announcements come a day after Walmart, Kroger and Kohl’s announced they would require masks starting next week as COVID-19 cases continue to rise.
• Organizers of the Republican National Convention (RNC) announced a limit to the number of people who can attend the event next month in Jacksonville, Florida as the state continues to deal with recent surges in coronavirus cases. “Admittance to the convention venue for the first three days of the convention celebration in Jacksonville (24, 25, 26 August) will be limited to regular delegates only,” Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in the letter to delegates, meaning that only about 2,500 people would be in attendance those days.
• The first randomized clinical trial on hydroxychloroquine confirmed that the drug is no more effective in the early treatment or mild COVID-19 cases than a placebo.
• Colorado will now require residents to wear masks when they are visiting public indoor spaces and are not able to social distance, Gov. Jared Polis (D) said at an afternoon news conference. Colorado now becomes the 39th state to require face coverings in public.