The House and Senate are both in recess this week. The Senate will remain in recess until Monday, April 20, while the House does not yet have a fixed return date.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), in a Dear Colleague letter sent out on Saturday, stated that "We must double down on the down-payment we made in the CARES Act by passing a CARES 2 package, which will extend and expand this bipartisan legislation to meet the needs of the American people. CARES 2 must go further in assisting small businesses including farmers, extending and strengthening unemployment benefits and giving families additional direct payments. We must also provide the desperately needed resources for our state and local governments, hospitals, community health centers, health systems and health workers, first responders and other providers on the frontlines of this crisis. [...] It is my hope that we will craft this legislation and bring it to the Floor later this month." This represents a shift away from a broader, infrastructure-focused "Phase 4" package to deal with the coronavirus outbreak which, up until last week, seemed to be the trajectory that Speaker Pelosi was on for the legislation. She will, however, likely pursue this type of infrastructure-heavy legislation in a Phase 5 package later in the year.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) also announced last week that there will be a fourth coronavirus bill and that health care should be a top priority as lawmakers draft the legislation. However, he also stated that he is not in favor of "rushing" a fourth stimulus just yet. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said on Monday that "we are definitely going to need a COVID four and I think it's going to have to be big and bold because the problem is so huge."
NATaT has created a Coronavirus Guidance webpage to store NATaT letters, memos and briefs on the outbreak, as well as critical information and guidance released by Congress and the Administration.
