Congress Set for Showdown on Coronavirus Relief Legislation
A fight over the next round of coronavirus aid is coming to a head as lawmakers prepare to race the clock to get a deal. Congress faces multiple hurdles to getting an agreement including the growing pull of the November election, a tight schedule, and significant policy differences.
Congress Considers Additional Support for Tax-Exempt Issuers and State and Local Infrastructure Projects
Two bills from the House of Representatives (H.R.2, the Moving Forward Act, and H.R.3967, the Municipal Bond Market Support Act) and two from the Senate (S.4203, the American Infrastructure Bonds Act, and S.4129, the Lifting Our Communities through Advance Liquidity ("LOCAL") for Infrastructure Act) could have significant effects on state and local government bond issuers and developers of infrastructure if enacted.
Bailout Pleas Renewed for Restaurants, Airlines as Cash Runs Out
The airline, defense, and restaurant industry groups escalated their pressure on Congress and the Trump administration to provide additional pandemic relief as lawmakers tackle another round of stimulus for the U.S. economy. Congress is working on additional aid packages as the coronavirus outbreak continues. It's not clear whether the Senate would join such an effort to extend payroll protections for airlines.
Appropriations Committee Releases FY21 Transportation-Housing & Urban Development Funding Bill
For fiscal year 2021, the legislation provides $158.3 billion in base budgetary resources. The bill includes $75.9 billion in discretionary funding. The bill provides a total of $107.2 billion in total budgetary resources for DOT, $50.6 billion for HUD, and an additional $300 million for the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation.
PPP Data Errors Raise Questions About Effectiveness of Stimulus
A Bloomberg News analysis shows that the data for Paycheck Protection Program loans totaling more than $521 billion released on July 6 is riddled with anomalies. Although the maximum PPP loan for a one-person enterprise is $20,833, more than 75,000 loans listing one job retained have higher amounts — including 154 showing $1 million or more.
PPP Loans: Who Got What And How Well Did The Loans Perform?
The Small Business Administration (SBA) released details about Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. The data doesn't cover all PPP loans—just those over $150,000. That still includes more than 660,000 loans valued at more than $429 billion, about 84% of the $510 billion in PPP loans that have been issued. The data begs three questions: 1) Who got what? 2) Where did they get it from? and 3) How well did the loans perform?
Wells Fargo Launches $400M Small Business Recovery Effort
Wells Fargo unveiled details of an approximately $400M effort to help small businesses impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic remain open, retain employees and rebuild. The Open for Business Fund's initial grants will allocate $28M to CDFIs aimed at empowering Black and African American-owned small businesses, which are closing at nearly twice the rate of the industry, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research.
DoorDash Will Match Loans to Black-Owned Businesses
DoorDash's loan program aims to help improve Black-owned businesses' access to capital by matching funds from Kiva, a nonprofit lending company. DoorDash has established a $150,000 revolving loan fund to support the program, the company said.
Four Months In, Still Lots of Questions About the Coronavirus' Impact on the Economy
From the beginning, much uncertainty surrounded the coronavirus pandemic. But almost four months after stay-at-home orders started, economists agree on little about the shape of the recovery, the timing, and where things stand right now.
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