Tomorrow, the House Rules Committee will meet to make final changes to the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (H.R. 1319), and to set rules for floor consideration. The House is expected to vote on the package tomorrow.
The House Rules Committee will adopt an amendment by the House Budget Committee that adds previously excluded measures from the committees on Foreign Affairs, Natural Resources, and Science, Space, and Technology. However, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA) said yesterday that lawmakers still need to cut about $42 billion from package in order to meet the topline number set by the budget resolution. As reported by Bloomberg Government, there is discussion among House and Senate lawmakers and White House officials on what to cut, Chairman Neal said. He expects the change to be made with a Senate amendment rather than before the House votes tomorrow.
The Senate will consider the package beginning the week of March 1.
As a reminder, the package includes $350 billion to states, localities, tribes and territories in flexible funding to “replace revenue that was lost, delayed, or decreased” as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic (as of January 27, 2020), as well as other costs related to responding to or mitigating the impacts of the pandemic and addressing negative economic impacts.
On Wednesday, The Washington Post reported some moderate Senate Democrats may propose changes to the $350 billion fund for states, localities, tribes and territories, some suggesting that the total amount of aid should be cut or repurposed for activities that “boost the economy more directly,” like broadband. Local government advocacy groups are ramping up efforts to protect the $350 billion currently included in the package. Today, NACo is calling on counties to join a “Coronavirus Social Media Day of Action” using the hashtag #AmerianRescuePlan to bring attention to the needs of county governments. NACo has also developed an advocacy toolkit. NLC is encouraging members to utilize social media to spread the message about pandemic impacts to local governments and has developed talking points to use when advocating for direct aid to local governments.
On Monday, President Biden issued a proclamation remembering the 500,000 Americans lost to COVID–19.
Capitol Hill. On February 19, the House Oversight Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis held a briefing on “Ensuring Equity In Coronavirus Vaccinations” with four public health experts “to examine the steps that must be taken to ensure coronavirus vaccinations are administered equitably.” The panelists indicated barriers to vaccinations faced by communities of color, low-income communities, and rural communities must be addressed; community health providers need more resources to vaccinate vulnerable communities; more outreach and education are needed to combat vaccine hesitancy and misinformation in communities across the U.S.; and inadequate data on race and ethnicity must be addressed to ensure equitable vaccine access.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testified on the Federal Reserve’s Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to Congress during hearings with the Senate Banking and House Financial Services Committees on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, this week. At the hearings he indicated that rampant inflation is “not a problem” to fear amid the recovery from the coronavirus recession and that, while technical factors and the release of pent-up savings may push prices higher when the pandemic subsides, it will not be enough to reverse decades of downward pressure on inflation. Powell said that the central bank will not start raising interest rates until it believes its goals on maximum employment and inflation have been reached. Additionally, while Chair Powell has not taken a position on the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, he has consistently called for further relief aid and warned against underestimating the stimulus needed to recover from the pandemic-driven recession.
On February 23, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing on “Pathway to Protection: Expanding Availability of COVID-19 Vaccines.” The hearing “examine[d] manufacturers’ ongoing efforts to develop and expand production of COVID-19 vaccines in the United States.” Witnesses included top officials from Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, and Novavax. The COVID-19 vaccine makers told subcommittee members to expect a big jump in the delivery of doses over the coming month and insisted that their companies will be able to provide enough for most Americans to get inoculated by summer.
On February 24, the House Homeland Security Committee held a hearing on “Confronting the Coronavirus: Perspectives on the COVID-19 Pandemic One Year Later.” The hearing examined the failures in the federal responses thus far and how to apply lessons learned to end the pandemic and keep Americans safe. Witnesses included officials from the U.S. Government Accountability Office and public health officials from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Illinois Department of Health, and Onondaga County, New York.
On February 24, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor—HHS—Education held a hearing titled “Ready or Not: U.S. Public Health Infrastructure,” with four witnesses from state-level public health leadership in Virginia, Connecticut, Washington state, and Idaho. House Appropriations Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) said she will push to set aside $5 billion for public health emergencies, giving the government funds to tap into for future disease outbreaks. Her proposal would place $5 billion into the Public Health Emergency Fund in the fiscal year 2022 spending bill, a pool of funds for the Department of Health and Human Services that current stands empty.
President Biden signed an executive order aimed at creating more resilient and secure supply chains for critical and essential goods.
CDC indicated educators might play a central role in in-school transmission networks, and preventing infections through multifaceted school mitigation measures and COVID-19 vaccination of educators is a critical component of preventing in-school transmission.
The US Department of Education (DoEd) also released guidance to states emphasizing the importance of flexibility in administering assessments this year as a result of the pandemic. Flexibility available to states includes extending the testing window and moving assessments to the summer or fall, and giving the assessment remotely, where feasible.
USDA and DoEd issued guidance to postsecondary institutions to inform them about temporarily expanded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility for students in need. The SNAP expansion is intended to ease the economic burden on millions of Americans during the pandemic.
The IRS released a notice to employers regarding new flexibilities for Flexible Spending Arrangements (FSAs), including allowing employees to carry over unused funds in FSAs.
FCC’s Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel circulated a Report and Order that, if adopted, would establish the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, a $3.2 billion federal initiative to provide qualifying households discounts on their internet service bills and an opportunity to receive a discount on a computer or tablet.
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The American Hospital Association released a report estimating that hospital industry revenue in 2021 could decline by $53 billion from pre-pandemic levels, in addition to an estimated loss of $320 billion last year. In response, the Coalition to Protect America’s Health Care has launched a media campaign urging Congress to provide funding relief to hospitals and health systems in the next COVID-19 package.
A group of small business owners and local economic leaders, including 30 Chamber of Commerce Representatives, released a statement expressing their support for the Biden Administration’s American Rescue Plan. The plan provides $15 billion in grants to more than 1 million small businesses, and leverages $35 billion for small businesses financing programs.
Vaccine News
Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose coronavirus vaccine has been deemed effective at preventing moderate and severe cases of COVID-19. The FDA analysis found the vaccine is more than 85 percent effective at preventing severe cases of COVID-19 and completely prevents hospitalizations and deaths. Johnson & Johnson has also announced it plans to have enough doses of the vaccine for more than 20 million Americans by the end of March.
A mass vaccine site in Israel, which has seen more than half a million people and represents a ‘Real World’ test of vaccination, found that Pfizer’s vaccine was 92% effective at preventing severe disease after two shots and 62% after one.
VaccineFinder, an online portal run by Boston Children’s Hospital and backed by the CDC, is trying to connect more people to available vaccination sites. The website allows members of the public to search for nearby vaccination locations with available doses.
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Webinars, Events and Resources |
COVID-19 Cost Recovery: Ways to Maximize Federal Funding
NACo
February 25, 1:00 PM ET
Effectively Distributing Rental Assistance: Evidence for Local Governments
NACo & NLC
March 5, 2:00 PM ET
CRS Reports of interest:
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