This report provides a snapshot of the US Executive Branch priorities via daily schedules and the prior day’s press releases. POTUS’ Schedule* 10:30 a.m. EST – The President and The VICE President receive the President’s Daily Brief | Oval Office 2:00 p.m. EST – The President, The VICE President, and the Secretary of Transportation meet … Continue Reading
The US Congress has returned to Washington, DC, and bipartisan negotiations to produce the next significant federal coronavirus response legislation have officially begun. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, representing President Donald Trump, are scheduled to meet this afternoon on Capitol Hill with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and … Continue Reading
Senate Republican leaders have begun to lift the veil on their plans for the next coronavirus response package, acknowledging in a news conference Tuesday that they will support opening the coffers next month to provide another round of aid. The timetable set by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and other Senate GOP leaders means … Continue Reading
With summer officially underway in America and the number of new coronavirus cases in the US continuing to rise, President Donald Trump is doubling down on immigration restrictions imposed during the nation’s COVID-19 lockdown. Proponents of increased federal aid to states, territories and municipalities are gaining an important new ally as policymakers look ahead to … Continue Reading
This report provides a snapshot of the US Executive Branch priorities via daily schedules and the prior day’s press releases. POTUS’ Schedule* 3:00 p.m. EDT – THE PRESIDENT participates in a roundtable with Governors on the reopening of America’s small businesses | State Dining Room VPOTUS’ Schedule* 10:00 a.m. EDT – THE VICE PRESIDENT departs … Continue Reading
With a month having passed since the Democratic-controlled US House of Representatives passed the US$3 trillion HEROES Act as a sequel to the bipartisan US$2.7 trillion CARES Act, calls are being renewed for Republicans in the US Senate to begin negotiations for the purpose of forging the next major federal coronavirus response deal. The White … Continue Reading
White House officials have begun moving publicly to set the table for bipartisan negotiations that will determine the contents of the next major federal COVID-19 response bill. Larry Kudlow, the director of President Donald Trump’s National Economic Council (NEC), says the talks will formally begin after the US Congress’ Independence Day state/district work period. Senior … Continue Reading
This report provides a snapshot of the US Executive Branch priorities via daily schedules and the prior day’s press releases. POTUS’ Schedule* 9:00 a.m. EDT – THE PRESIDENT departs Bedminster, NJ, en route to West Point, NY 10:25 a.m. EDT – THE PRESIDENT delivers remarks at the 2020 United States Military Academy at West Point … Continue Reading
Recent Developments in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Treasury Secretary Mnuchin announces important changes Senate small business committee Democrats ANNOUNCE a new PPP bill On Wednesday, June 10, 2020, in testimony before the Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship yesterday, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin announced two major changes to the PPP that the Trump Administration … Continue Reading
The United States has experienced a sharp increase in the number of new reported cases of coronavirus over the past week, but Beltway media coverage and the policy debate in Washington this week are largely centered on the potential for action in both chambers of the US Congress on police reform legislation. Republicans, emboldened by … Continue Reading
The US Congress is moving urgently to formulate new legislation that goes to the heart of the current policy debate in America, and it has nothing to do with coronavirus. Instead, the focus of Congress’ current short-term agenda is police reform, calls for which have surged across the nation in the wake of the universally … Continue Reading
On June 5, 2020, President Donald Trump signed into law a bill, the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 (H.R. 7010), that will give borrowers of the US$670 billion PPP more time to spend the PPP proceeds and use them on a broader range of expenses while still qualifying to have the loans forgiven. … Continue Reading
As public protests against police brutality and racial disparity continued to dominate the national policy debate, pushing coronavirus-related news from the front pages, the US Senate has given its approval to legislation passed last week by the US House of Representatives making changes to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) created by the March 27 Coronavirus … Continue Reading
The stay-at-home order in the nation’s capital has been lifted, while the debate continues in the United States Congress about the scope, timing and focus of the next major bipartisan federal COVID-19 response legislation. Stymied in their efforts to force quick congressional approval of another massive package, Washington Democrats are keeping busy by passing targeted … Continue Reading
With the country having passed a grim milestone Wednesday with the 100,000th death from coronavirus, the US House of Representatives will vote today on bipartisan legislation to provide additional flexibility under the March 27 CARES Act’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) for businesses reeling from the economic shutdown. For perhaps the first time since the pandemic … Continue Reading
A tacit consensus seems to be emerging in Washington DC that another major federal COVID-19 relief package will be enacted this summer, but not negotiated until some time in mid-to-late June, as deadlines for the expiration of key CARES Act relief programs begin to loom. Republicans are testing the viability of economic measures that could … Continue Reading
Speaking at a pre-Memorial Day event hosted by The Hill, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said it will be “a few weeks” before the Trump Administration moves to negotiate with Congress on another large-scale coronavirus response bill, while conceding there is “a strong likelihood” such legislation will eventually be needed to support the struggling … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Waters Introduces GSE Legislation On Thursday, March 27, House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA) released a proposal to reform the Government-Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs). Ranking Member Waters’ proposal, the HOME Forward Act of 2014, would wind down the GSEs and replace them with a new government agency that would oversee a fund … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Child Care and Development Block Grant Before leaving for recess, the Senate overwhelmingly passed its legislation (S. 1086) to reauthorize the Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG) by a vote of 97-1. The bill will renew the federal funding provision for state support of child care services for low-income families and institute educational, … Continue Reading
Legislative Branch Activity National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) The Senate Armed Services Committee filed its bill, S. 1197, on Thursday, June 20. Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) and Ranking Member James Inhofe (R-OK) would like to bring the bill to the Senate floor in July, but that remains uncertain at this time. Defense Appropriations Last week, … Continue Reading
