On Monday afternoon, President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg met in the Oval Office with a bipartisan, bicameral group of 10 Members of Congress who previously served as mayors and governors to discuss his $2.25 trillion American Jobs Plan proposal. According to the White House, “President Biden asked for their feedback and follow-up on proposals discussed in the meeting, while underscoring that inaction is not an option.”
President Biden reportedly asked congressional Republicans in Monday’s private meeting to present a counterproposal to his American Jobs Plan by the middle of May. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), the ranking Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, told reporters she anticipates Republican lawmakers will provide their own infrastructure proposal outline “in the next several days.” According to The Hill, Senator Capito is leading negotiations among a smaller group of Republican moderates to narrow President Biden’s $2.25 trillion plan into something in the range of $600 billion to $800 billion. The entire Senate Republican conference during its weekly lunch meeting this past Tuesday discussed the emerging proposal after receiving a briefing from Senator Capito.
The Republican counteroffer is expected to be limited to traditional infrastructure priorities, such as roads, bridges, ports, and airports, as well as newer priorities such as water infrastructure, expanded broadband, and modernization of the electric grid. The plan will reportedly be paid for with a combination of user fees, repurposing some of the $350 billion provided to state and local governments in the American Rescue Plan, and other revenue-raising measures that are unlikely to gain the support of Democrats.
According to The Washington Post, White House officials are also closing in on finalizing the American Families Plan, the second part of the administration’s Build Back Better agenda. The American Families Plan will focus on childcare, paid family leave, and other domestic priorities. The package could amount to at least $1 trillion of new spending and tax credits, though details remain fluid. The plan is expected to be unveiled ahead of President Biden’s address to a joint session of Congress at 9pm ET on Wednesday, April 28.
Capitol Hill. On April 20, the House Small Business Committee held a hearing titled “Update on SBA’s Pandemic Response Programs”. The hearing focused on numerous reports from the Small Business Administration’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) regarding reports of waste, fraud, and abuse in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program.
On April 20, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee held a hearing on “COVID-19 Recovery: Supporting Workers and Modernizing the Workforce Through Quality Education, Training, and Employment Opportunities”. The hearing focused on strengthening U.S. workforce programs to provide quality education, training, and employment opportunities for working families impacted by the pandemic.
On April 21, the House Appropriations Commerce—Justice—Science Subcommittee held a hearing on “Oversight of the Economic Development Administration’s Role in Pandemic Response.” The Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, Dennis Alvord, stated that “Though EDA is still finalizing its implementation plan for [the $3 billion in American Rescue Plan] funding, the execution will focus on: (1) bringing back the American workforce and industries that have been hardest hit, such as travel and tourism and manufacturing, through programs that support economic growth and diversification, creating talent pipelines to address industry needs, and fostering higher-skill, higher-wage job opportunities for all; (2) capitalizing on American ingenuity to build regions of the future by focusing on innovation-led economic development, including planning, infrastructure, workforce development, and business financing; and (3) pursuing a comprehensive approach to advancing equity by focusing on populations and underserved communities that have been denied a full opportunity to participate in aspects of economic prosperity.”
On April 15, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and nine Democratic senators urged President Joe Biden to support a temporary waiver of COVID-19 vaccine patents at the World Trade Organization’s General Council May 5 meeting, a move they say is needed to ensure access to vaccines in lower-income countries. In addition to Sanders, the letter was signed by Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ed Markey (D-MA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Raphael Warnock (D-GA).
Administration. SBA announced key details on application requirements, eligibility, and a program guide for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF). The American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021 established the $28.6 billion program to help the hardest-hit small restaurants.
The Treasury Department and IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2021-20 for certain businesses that received first-round Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans but did not deduct any of the original eligible expenses because they relied on guidance issued before the enactment of tax relief legislation in December of 2020. Under prior guidance, businesses that received PPP loans to cover payroll costs, interest on covered mortgage obligations, covered rent obligation payments, and covered utility payments could not deduct corresponding expenses. With the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, businesses now may claim these deductions even though they received PPP loans to cover original eligible expenses.
Treasury and IRS outlined details of tax credits available under the ARP to help small businesses, including providing paid leave for employees receiving COVID-19 vaccinations. Eligible employers, such as businesses and tax-exempt organizations with fewer than 500 employees and certain governmental employers, can receive a tax credit for providing paid time off for each employee receiving the vaccine and for any time needed to recover from the vaccine. For example, if an eligible employer offers employees a paid day off in order to get vaccinated, the employer can receive a tax credit equal to the wages paid to employees for that day.
USDA issued a broad range of flexibilities to allow school meal programs and childcare institutions across the country to return to serving healthy meals in fall 2021.
The White House released a factsheet on American Rescue Plan funding designated for the child care industry to assist early childhood educators and family child care providers keep their doors open. A factsheet was also released on the funding available through the Plan for veterans and their families.
HHS announced the availability of nearly $150 million to community-based health care providers to aid their response to COVID-19 as designated by the American Rescue Plan. The funds will support approximately 100 Health Center Program look-alikes to respond to and mitigate the spread of COVID-19, strengthen vaccination efforts, and enhance health care services and infrastructure in communities across the country.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau unveiled a rule ordering debt collectors to inform tenants about their rights under a federal eviction ban if they’ve bene unable to pay rent during the pandemic. The rule would order any third-party debt collector, including attorneys, attempting to collect owed rent on behalf of a landlord to tell tenants that they may be protected from eviction under the CDC eviction moratorium.
The FCC announced the agency opened the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program to participating broadband providers for testing. The program provides funding to pay for internet service and equipment for low-income individuals.
The FCC announced it will open the application process for the second half of COVID-19 Telehealth Program funding later this month. The Telehealth Program supports the efforts of health care providers to continue serving their patients by providing reimbursement for telecommunications services, information services, and connected devices necessary to enable telehealth during the pandemic.
Treasury released information regarding the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Program, stating that those entities that are eligible to receive a direct payment of funds from Treasury under the program should prepare certain information in advance as outlined here.
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NLC has identified the most frequently asked questions about Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund grants and provided answers based on available information to help local government prepare in advance of official guidance expected to be issued in May.
The Western Governors Association sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen expressing concern about provisions of the American Rescue Plan Act, and encouraged the Secretary to ensure states have the maximum flexibility allowed by statute in using funds.
Vaccine News
The World Health Organization came out against any requirements that travelers must show proof of COVID-19 vaccination in order to enter certain countries. This comes as a result of existing vaccine inequities, as the COVID-19 vaccine remains less available in certain areas and nations, especially countries that did not get stockpiles of vaccine doses. The Biden White House announced they would not institute a vaccine passport but rather will leave the decision up to private institutions to implement restrictions.
The Biden Administration announced a $1.7 billion investment to fight COVID-19 variants and mutations. The funding is allocated through the CDC, and will assist the CDC, states, and other jurisdictions more effectively deter and track variants by scaling genomic sequencing efforts.
Beginning April 19, all adults in the United States are now eligible to register for an appointment to receive the Coronavirus vaccine. The CDC estimates more than 131 million people, or about half of all U.S. adults, have received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine, with an average of 3.2 million new doses being given each day.
President Biden expects the United States will share surplus coronavirus vaccine doses with Canada and countries in Central America that have fallen behind in the pace of vaccinations. Biden has been under pressure to do more to help other countries vaccinate their populations, with health experts warning that the coronavirus will not be extinguished until the globe is fully vaccinated.
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Webinars, Events and Resources |
Access to the COVID-19 Vaccine in Disparately Impacted Communities
NLC
April 29, 1:00 PM ET
COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force Meeting
Department of Health and Human Services
April 30, 2:00 PM ET
A recording of NACo’s webinar on “Monitoring the Spread of COVID-19 Through Environmental Scanning” is available here. The webinar discussed how technology can be used to monitor the spread of COVID-19 in communities through wastewater sampling, which can be used to inform planning for mobile test centers and vaccination sites.
CRS Reports of interest:
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