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
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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.
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The administration plans to resume accepting PPP applications on Monday morning.
Timing for a subsequent relief / recovery package is uncertain.
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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.
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Congressional Republicans, however, want to move more slowly to assess the efficacy of relief bills enacted to date.
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The White House is also working on policy proposals, including tax cuts, domestic manufacturing incentives, and infrastructure.
Recent Congressional Statements / Letters
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Senate Small Business Committee Chairman Rubio Sends Letters to Large Banks Participating in the Paycheck Protection Program, April 24, 2020
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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
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Rubio, Cardin, Velázquez Send Letter to SBA on EIDL Data Breach, April 23, 2020
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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
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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
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Feinstein to HUD Secretary Carson: Base Homelessness Coronavirus Relief on Need, April 24, 2020
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Feinstein, Peters, Menendez, Colleagues Push to Waive Cost-Sharing Requirements for States Battling Coronavirus, April 23, 2020
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Durbin, Schakowsky Announce Bill To Expand Health Care Workforce To Meet Nationwide Challenges, April 24, 2020
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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
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New Democrat Coalition Urges House Leadership to Implement a National Recovery Strategy, April 24, 2020
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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
SBA will resume accepting PPP loan applications on Monday, April 27 at 10:30AM EDT
Internal Revenue Service
Department of Labor
Department of Health and Human Services
Food and Drug Administration
Department of Homeland Security
Department of Defense
Securities and Exchange Commission
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Federal Trade Commission
Federal Reserve
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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