House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has called on the Trump administration to reconcile remaining disputes on coronavirus stimulus legislation within 48 hours as lawmakers attempt to pass a bill before the 2020 election. Pelosi set the 48-hour deadline on negotiations after speaking with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Saturday night for more than an hour. They agreed to speak again on Monday.

The Economic Innovation Group released the Distressed Communities Index (DCI), a timely research project that maps community well-being across the country down to the zip code scale. The report is accompanied by a digital mapping interactive that allows users to explore all of the data included in the DCI across zip codes, counties, and congressional districts.

The pandemic exposed many fault lines in our society, including our governments' failures to share and use data to help keep people safe. In many cases, this lack of information was due to holes in existing data gathering and sharing infrastructure. The systems that states use to report deaths often rely on hospitals, coroners, or even funeral directors using paper-based reporting.

Two new studies, one by Columbia University's Center on Poverty and Social Policy, the other by researchers at Universities of Chicago and Notre Dame, have found that since that federal aid from the CARES Act has dried up, poverty rates have risen to higher levels than before the pandemic. The latter study found that poverty rates have affected Black families disproportionately.

The U.S. Small Business Administration and the U.S. Treasury Department are trying to simplify the forgiveness application process for Paycheck Protection Program loans of $50,000 or less. Announced this past week, the changes are aimed at streamlining the PPP forgiveness process to provide financial and administrative relief to America's smallest businesses.

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority has launched a free consulting program to help small businesses that have been impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. The Business Consulting for COVID-19 Recovery Program, which is still in a pilot phase, is open to all businesses with five or fewer employees that maintain a physical storefront or office in one of New Jersey's 169 Opportunity Zones.

Governor Mike Parson announced 11 broadband projects will receive $846,407 through round two of the state's Emergency Broadband Investment Program. 465 Missouri households will be connected to broadband as a result of these projects, and nine of the projects will provide households the ability to access gigabyte service.

The U.S. Department of Commerce announced the opening of the EDA new Scaling Pandemic Resilience Through Innovation and Technology (SPRINT) Challenge, which will enable organizations across the country to address the economic, health, and safety risks caused by the coronavirus pandemic through entrepreneurship and innovation. The SPRINT Challenge is a $25 million national competition funded by the CARES Act.

CDFA-PFM Capital Markets Webinar Series: Pricing Private Activity Bonds in Complex Capital Stacks
October 22, 2020 - 2:00 - 3:30 PM Eastern

Reframe, Build, Plan: Restoring America's Local Food Systems
Thursday, October 29, 2020 - 1:00 PM Eastern