Today at 5:00 p.m. ET, President Biden will deliver remarks on the COVID-19 pandemic from the State Dining Room. The President is expected to present a six-pronged strategy intended to fight the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant and increase U.S. COVID-19 vaccinations. A White House official said the six points President Biden will discuss are:
- Vaccinating the unvaccinated
- Furthering protection for the vaccinated
- Keeping schools safely open
- Increasing testing and requiring masking
- Protecting our economic recovery
- Improving care for those with COVID-19
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said during Wednesday's press briefing the President is “going to outline the next phase in the fight against the virus and what that looks like, including measures to work with the public and private sector, building on the steps we've already announced, the steps we've taken over the last few months: requiring more vaccinations, boosting important testing measures and more; making it safer for kids to go to school all at a time when the American people are listening," Psaki said. "Again, this will be six steps that we'll work to be implementing over the months ahead."
The Washington Post reports that as part of the six-pronged strategy, President Biden is expected to sign an executive order today requiring all federal employees and contractors to be vaccinated, without any option for regular coronavirus testing to opt out of the mandate.
For an update on the FY 2022 budget reconciliation package and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, please refer to the September 8 edition of TFG’s Transportation Notes.
Capitol Hill
On Friday, September 10, the House Financial Services Committee is holding a virtual hearing titled “Protecting Renters During the Pandemic: Reviewing Reforms to Expedite Emergency Rental Assistance.” The hearing will cover implementation and concerns from stakeholders regarding the $46.6 billion in federal Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) funding directly allocated to states and counties & localities with populations larger than 250,000 in late January and early May 2021. Two bills will also be discussed: the Expediting Assistance to Renters and Landlords Act of 2021 (H.R. 5196), which would expedite the delivery of ERA funding by removing barriers preventing tenants from receiving assistance and allowing landlords to directly apply for rental arrears after meeting certain requirements; and the Renter Protection Act of 2021 (H.R. 3913), which revises the ERA program in several ways.
On September 1, 24 Republican members serving on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, led by Ranking Member Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), sent a letter to CDC Director Rochelle Walensky regarding “the CDC’s reversal of its guidance on mask-wearing for vaccinated individuals.”
On August 31, Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-ID), House Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Kevin Brady (R-TX), and House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Worker and Family Support Ranking Member Jackie Walorski (R-IN) sent a letter to U.S. Comptroller General Gene Dodaro requesting the Government Accountability Office investigate the scope and severity of fraudulent activity in COVID unemployment insurance programs
On August 30, House Oversight Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis Chair James Clyburn (D-SC) sent letters to the governors of five states — Wyoming, Alabama, South Dakota, Arkansas, and North Dakota — urging immediate action to speed up the distribution of ERA funds.
On August 27, 64 House Democrats, led by Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Cori Bush (D-MO), Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) imploring them to swiftly pass legislation to extend the federal eviction moratorium for the duration of the pandemic “in a must-pass legislative vehicle.” The lawmakers’ letter follows the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on August 26 that struck down the CDC’s most recent eviction moratorium extension, which was supposed to remain in effect through October 3. In an August 27 Dear Colleague letter, Speaker Pelosi said that “the House is assessing possible legislative remedies. House Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters is examining the most effective way to expedite the flow of funding of rental assistance by states and localities. Families must be protected during the pandemic, and we will explore every possible solution.”
Administration
DOL announced the availability of $90 million in grants to provide reemployment opportunities for displaced workers, historically marginalized communities or groups and those unemployed for an extended period or who have exhausted unemployment insurance or other pandemic unemployment insurance programs.
DOL also established of the Office of Unemployment Insurance Modernization to provide strategic leadership as the department works with state agencies and federal partners to modernize and reform the unemployment insurance system. The new unit will develop and support implementation of the strategic vision outlined in the UI modernization plans, including unemployment insurance reform, and provide oversight and management of $2 billion in funds in the American Rescue Plan Act to prevent and detect fraud, promote equitable access, ensure timely benefits payments, and reduce backlogs.
The IRS launched a new feature allowing any family receiving monthly Child Tax Credit payments to quickly and easily update their mailing address using the Child Tax Credit Update Portal, found exclusively on IRS.gov. This feature will help any family that chooses to receive their payment by paper check avoid mailing delays or even having a check returned as undeliverable.
Veterans Affairs expanded the Shallow Subsidy initiative and will grant $200 million to 238 nonprofit organizations across the country and territories to provide housing rental assistance to extremely and very low-income Veteran households. The initiative promotes long-term housing stability by providing rental assistance payments directly to landlords on behalf of eligible Veteran households for up to two years.
Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Marcia L. Fudge, Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen, and Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice Merrick B. Garland sent a letter to state and local government leaders addressing the eviction moratorium.
The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) opened investigations in five states exploring whether statewide prohibitions on universal indoor masking discriminate against students with disabilities who are at heightened risk for severe illness from COVID-19 by preventing them from safely accessing in-person education. OCR sent letters today to the chief state school officers of Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Utah.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is awarding grants that will strengthen the structures that serve the mental health needs of our nation's youth. The grants are aimed at raising awareness of mental health issues for youths and provide training for school personnel and coordinating treatment. The first-year awards for the two programs total $74.2 million.
The FCC announced over five million households have enrolled in the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program since its launch in mid-May. The program provides a monthly broadband subsidy for eligible households. Nearly 1,200 broadband providers across the nation are participating in the program.
SBA announced it will begin sending invitations for supplemental awards for the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) program. SVOG supplemental awards will be provided to those who received an initial grant and have illustrated a 70% loss when comparing 2021’s first-quarter revenues to the same in 2019. Thus far, approximately $9 billion has been awarded in initial SVOGs to more than 11,500 venues.
FTA announced a Notice of Funding Opportunity for $2.2 billion in competitive grant funding for transit systems demonstrating additional pandemic-associated needs. Grants may be awarded to transit systems demonstrating additional assistance is needed to cover operating expenses related to maintaining day-to-day operations, cleaning, and sanitization, combating the spread of pathogens on transit systems and maintaining critical staffing levels.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that $700 million in competitive grant funding will be available through the new Farm and Food Workers Relief (FFWR) grant program to help farmworkers and meatpacking workers with pandemic-related health and safety costs.
DOJ announced a Washington state tech executive was sentenced to two years in prison for perpetrating a scheme to fraudulently obtain COVID-19 disaster relief loans.
FEMA updated funeral assistance program state-by-state data. The program has provided over $1.088 billion to more than 165,000 people.
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Honolulu will require proof of vaccination, or a negative COVID-19 test for entry to restaurants, bars, indoor gyms and entertainment settings beginning September 13, as the number of COVID-19 cases on Oahu continues to spike amid a nationwide summer surge. The city’s new mitigation effort, dubbed Safe Access Oahu program, will also require that all employees, contractors, and volunteers at specific businesses – including restaurants, bars, gyms, movie theaters, museums, arcades, and other establishments – show proof of a completed vaccination series or a negative COVID-19 test every week.
General Motors is requiring its salaried employees to provide their vaccination status to inform the company’s safety protocols for the future. GM is also encouraging hourly workers to report their vaccination status as well but doing so is voluntary.
Walt Disney World will also require union employees to be vaccinated against the coronavirus to keep their jobs. Employees with a disability, medical condition, or “sincerely held religious beliefs” can seek an accommodation through a negotiated process. Cast members who do not comply with the vaccine requirement and do not request a legitimate accommodation will be “separated from the Company with a ‘yes’ rehire status.”
Vaccine News
FDA advisers are scheduled to meet on September 17 to consider a possible third shot of the Pfizer BioNTech two-dose vaccine, the only COVID-19 vaccine yet to receive full approval from the agency. Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN Pfizer's third shot appears likely to be rolled out first, with Moderna’s version "close behind." Moderna has sought full FDA approval of its two-dose vaccine.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is calling for a COVID-19 booster shot moratorium until 2022. The WHO says 80 percent of the 5.5 billion vaccine doses that have been administered worldwide have been administered in high and upper-middle income countries. The WHO says wealthier nations should give more vaccine doses to poorer nations.
A study into the immune responses of two mRNA COVID-19 vaccines found that Moderna’s vaccine created twice as many antibodies as the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Researchers analyzed the antibody levels of Belgium health care workers after they received both doses of the vaccines, including 688 vaccinated with Moderna and 959 who received Pfizer shots, in the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Webinars, Events and Resources |
Return to Work Amidst COVID-19
NACo
September 29, 2:00 PM ET
CRS Reports of Interest:
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