On Wednesday, the Senate failed to advance a $500 billion "skinny" coronavirus relief bill put forth by Senate Republicans titled, the “Delivering Immediate Relief to America’s Families, Schools and Small Businesses Act.” The legislation needed 60 votes to move forward but only garnered 51 votes in favor. This bill is identical to the “skinny” relief package the Senate failed to advance on September 10. The legislation contains no additional relief funding for state and local governments; however, the bill does extend the period to utilize Coronavirus Relief Funds from December 30 to September 30, 2021.
Earlier this week, the Senate also failed to advance the “Continuing the Paycheck Protection Program Act,” which would provide $257.64 billion in funds to support the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and PPP Second Draw Loans and makes numerous changes to “improve” the PPP.
Meanwhile, negotiations between the White House and Congressional Democrats continue on a more robust coronavirus relief bill. On Wednesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said she is “optimistic” that a deal will be reached before the November elections. However, she cautioned, “We obviously want to have a deal by November 3. That really is going to be up to whether the President can convince Mitch McConnell to do so.” The White House is also expressing optimism about the status of the negotiations. White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said Wednesday, “I can tell you that the negotiations have entered a new phase, which is more on the technical side of trying to get the language right if we can agree upon the numbers.” He said the White House and Congressional Democrats “share one goal and that is hopefully to get some kind of deal in the next 48 hours or so.” Speaker Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin plan to continue their talks today with the goal of reaching an agreement by the weekend.
The second and final presidential debate between President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden will take place tonight from 9:00-10:30 pm Eastern at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. Kristen Welker, NBC News’ White House correspondent, will be the sole moderator of the debate. The six major topics chosen by Welker include: Fighting COVID-19; American Families; Race in America; Climate Change; National Security; and Leadership.
Capitol Hill. The bipartisan Congressional Oversight Commission published a report focused on the economic stabilization efforts of the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve. The four members of the Commission were divided along partisan lines over extending the Federal Reserve’s Municipal Liquidity Facility (MLF), offering loans to state and local governments. The two Democratic appointees on the Commission, Rep. Donna Shalala (D-FL) and Bharat Ramamurti, a former aide to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), say that shuttering the MLF as scheduled on December 31 would pose risks to economic recovery. The Republican members, Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) and Rep. French Hill (R-AR), said the program has served its purpose to restore liquidity to the municipal bond market. The two sides separately both recommended that, through a different facility, the Fed should stop purchasing corporate bonds in the secondary market.
The Fed’s $500 billion MLF serves as a bridge-loan type program to help cities, municipalities and public agencies weather the coronavirus pandemic, which has slashed tax revenues. But it has made just two loans since it was unveiled in April, totaling about $1.65 billion to the state of Illinois and New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The little-used program, which carries interest-rate penalties on borrowers that use it, has been scrutinized given that states and cities are contending with massive budget shortfalls. But borrowers can raise money in the municipal-bond market, with yields on one-year AAA municipal debt standing at 0.12% on Oct. 16.
Administration. HHS issued guidance authorizing qualified pharmacy technicians and state-authorized pharmacy interns to administer COVID-19 tests and vaccines when made available.
CDC has expanded the definition of “close contact” with someone infected with the coronavirus, now stating that multiple brief encounters can also lead to transmission of the virus. The previous definition of close contact was being within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes. The updated standard now defines close contact as being within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes over a 24-hour period, clarifying that multiple separate encounters that add up to more than 15 minutes can also count.
CDC also issued guidance strongly recommending that passengers on and operators of public transportation conveyances wear masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
As a new surge in cases is seen across the US, the CDC’s Deputy Director for infectious diseases Jay Butler is encouraging the public to continue to take coronavirus precautions with social distancing and PPE as we move into the fall season. “I recognize that we are all getting tired of the impact that COVID-19 has had on our lives. We get tired of wearing masks, but it continues to be as important as it's ever been, and I would say it's more important than ever as we move into the fall season,” Butler said in a statement, noting that people will likely be gathering over the holidays.
In response to questioning about the role of the federal government to boost confidence regarding in-person schooling, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos stated “Well I’m not sure there’s a role for the Department of Education to compile and conduct that research.” DeVos pointed to the research that is being done by state and local governments and encouraged the utilization of that information before turning to the federal government.
As noted in the TFG Transportation Notes, DOD released a study finding 99.99 percent of particles released into the air from a COVID-19 infected person wearing a mask were removed from the aircraft within six minutes of being released.
TSA screened over 1 million passengers last Sunday – the highest number of passengers screened at TSA checkpoints since March 17.
|
Pfizer Chairman and CEO Albert Bourla wrote an open letter regarding the status of the company’s vaccine research and development. The letter notes Pfizer may by ready to apply for Emergency Authorization Use in the US in the third week of November.
A coalition of government, business and travel interests launched a digital campaign aimed at getting Congress to pass relief legislation. The Hill reports the Covid Relief Now Coalition, made up of organizations representing the public and private sector, will spend $100,000 on ads over the next several months. The coalition includes the NLC, ICMA, NACo, and the National Governors Association, along with entities such as the American Hotel & Lodging Association, Airlines for America, National Retail Federation, and the National Restaurant Association.
A letter from NLC, NACo, ICMA, and four other local government advocacy groups to Secretary Mnuchin and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell outlines actions they can take to ease restrictions on the Municipal Liquidity Facility. More on the MLF is in the Capitol Hill section above.
Federal Reserve Board member Lael Brainard told the Society of Professional Economists that a lack of continued income support could reverse recovery and allow a recession to become “entrenched.” Brainerd said, “Apart from the course of the virus itself, the most significant downside risk to my outlook would be the failure of additional fiscal support to materialize. Too little support would lead to a slower and weaker recovery. Premature withdrawal of fiscal support would risk allowing recessionary dynamics to become entrenched, holding back employment and spending, increasing scarring from extended unemployment spells, leading more businesses to shutter, and ultimately harming productive capacity.”
A group of lodging industry executives wrote a letter to President Trump calling for immediate modifications to the Main Street Lending Program (MSLP) to allow the underutilized fund to be tapped by business. “Unfortunately, there is broad recognition that the MSLP continues to be underutilized and prevents the hardest hit businesses it was intended to support from accessing the program due to overly restrictive terms.”
|
Webinars, Events and Resources |
USCM Webinar: Maximizing COVID-19 Funding Six Months into the Pandemic
TODAY, October 22, 1:00 PM ET
NACo Virtual Federal Policy Summit Session: The Implications of COVID-19 on Mental Health and Substance Abuse
TODAY, October 22, 12:30 PM – 1:25 PM ET
NACo Virtual Federal Policy Summit Session: Armchair Discussion with Dr. Deborah Birx
TODAY, October 22, 1:30 PM – 2:00 PM ET
NACo Virtual Federal Policy Summit Session: Counties Responding to Disasters During COVID-19
TODAY, October 22, 3:20 PM – 4:00 PM ET
NACo Webinar: Improving Children and Families’ Access to Services during COVID-19
October 26, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM ET
ICMA Webinar: Effective HR Policies and Procedures for the 'New Normal'
October 27, 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM ET
NACo Webinar: COVID-19 Testing Solution Available through NACo/ CVS Health Partnership
October 28, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM ET
|
|
|
