The Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA) and our joint coalition of partners are urging Congress to reauthorize funding for the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) Program. Please take a moment to add your name to our Sign-On Letter.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal reaffirmed Wednesday his support for reinstating Build America Bonds and the use of private activity bonds as part of a larger package of aid to state and local governments.

President Trump signed a nearly $500 billion interim coronavirus bill on Friday that includes additional money for the small-business loan program, as well as more funding for hospitals and testing. The bill includes over $320 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program, $60 billion in loans and grants for the SBA's disaster relief fund, $75 billion for hospitals, and $25 billion for testing.

A group of 16 democratic senators wrote a letter to congressional leadership urging them to relax regulations that prevent two federal innovation hubs from quickly partnering with state and local governments. The senators called for $50 million for the USDS for new technologists to help state and local governments and a reduction in restrictions on working with state and local governments.

Representative Denver Riggleman (R-VA) and five cosponsors have introduced a bill dubbed The Opportunity Zone Extension Act (H.R. 6513) that would extend the opportunity zone program from 2026 to 2030, allowing investors additional time to invest in qualifying communities.

The original Senate authors of the opportunity zone tax incentives plan to introduce a bill to reinstate requirements for the Treasury Department to collect data on and disclose the tax breaks' progress—a provision lawmakers took out of the 2017 tax law before its passage. Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.) will file a bill the week of May 6 that both includes and builds upon the data reporting requirements in their earlier bill.

House Health Subcommittee Chairwoman Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA) and Representative Don Young (R-AK) introduced H.R. 6474 "Healthcare Broadband Expansion During COVID-19 Act" which seeks to provide $2 billion for expanding telehealth and high-quality internet connectivity at public and nonprofit healthcare facilities, including mobile clinics and temporary health facilities deployed to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.

Hospitals would receive another $100 billion in federal emergency grants and an additional $150 billion would go to state and local governments under a fast-evolving plan by congressional leaders to supplement the CARES Act even before they tackle the CARES Act 2.

A question debated since the passage of the CARES Act has been whether an employer can claim a tax deduction for the corresponding qualifying expenditures. On April 30 the IRS addressed this question in Notice 2020-32, which concludes that where an employer obtains forgiveness of an amount of a PPP loan, the employer may not claim a tax deduction for the eligible expenditures resulting in such forgiveness.

HUD Secretary Ben Carson today announced his Department will allocate $685 million in COVID-19 relief funding to help low-income Americans residing in public housing. The funding, made available by the CARES Act legislation President Trump signed into law on March 27, 2020, will be awarded to Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) across the Nation.

The Federal Reserve is expanding its emergency Main Street lending program, now giving larger companies and ones with more debt the opportunity to tap into funds meant to limit the damage from the coronavirus crisis. The Main Street program, which has yet to launch, will now be open to companies with up to 15,000 employees, or up to $5 billion in annual revenue. Previously, the program was limited to companies with up to 10,000 employees and $2.5 billion in revenue.

On April 29, 2020, the IRS provided guidance on the employee retention credit (ERC), by significantly expanding upon a list of "frequently asked questions" (FAQ) posted on its website. The FAQ now includes 94 questions covering an array of topics, including the determination of eligible employers and qualified wages, and how the credit interacts with other relief provisions provided by the CARES Act and FFCRA.

The FCC has announced a third group of healthcare providers to receive funding from the COVID-19 Telehealth Program. The FFC also announced plans to distribute as much as $9B through the Universal Service Fund to establish 5G wireless broadband connectivity in rural parts of the country, giving healthcare providers and consumers a better foundation for telehealth and mobile health.

The U.S. Secretary of Education announced today $65M in new grant awards that will fund the creation and expansion of more than 100 high-quality public charter schools in Opportunity Zones across America. Through the Expanding Opportunity through Quality Charter Schools Program (Charter Schools Program, or CSP), more students will have the opportunity to move off waitlists into schools of their choice.

The CARES Act provides CDBG grantees with flexibilities that make it easier to use CDBG-CV grants and fiscal years 2019 and 2020 CDBG Grants for coronavirus response and authorizes HUD to grant waivers and alternative requirements.

USDA is expanding upon the deferral flexibilities it announced on March 31, 2020. The expanded notice provides that guaranteed lenders may also approve and make covered loans under the provisions of Section 1102 of the CARES Act. Section 1102 pertains to the Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program.