On The Hill

Senate EPW Advances Major Water Bills   On Wednesday (May 6), the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved two bipartisan water bills, the “Drinking Water Infrastructure Act of 2020” and “America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2020.”   The water infrastructure bill would provide $17 billion in new authorizations for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)…

Provider Relief Fund Updates   This week, HHS released FAQs on Provider Relief Fund Distributions. To view the FAQs, click here.   Attestation and Terms and Conditions: On Thursday (May 7), HHS increased the number of days healthcare providers have to attest receipt of payments from the Provider Relief Fund and accept the Terms and Conditions…

EU Threatens Retaliation Against U.S. in ‘Large Civil Aircraft’ Case   The European Commission said on Thursday (May 7) that it still has the right to retaliate with tariffs against the U.S. regarding subsidies for Boeing.   The Commission argued the U.S. has not completely removed its subsidies for Boeing. Additionally, it said “the rulings…

April Tax Collection Down 55 Percent   A Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report released Friday (May 8) indicated the federal government incurred a deficit of $737 billion in April, rather than seeing its traditional April surplus. CBO estimates April receipts totaled $239 billion, 55 percent less than April 2019.   CBO estimates changes relative to April last…

Main Street Lending Program Expanded   On Thursday (Apr. 30), the Federal Reserve announced it will expand the loan options and increase the maximum size of businesses that are eligible for support under the Main Street Lending Program. The revisions apply to companies across every sector in the economy, but the change paves the way…

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced that the House will not reconvene until May 11 following consultation with the Capitol physician. The Senate will return on Monday (May 4) as planned.   The Senate HELP Committee will hold a hearing on COVID-19 testing on Thursday, May 7 at 10:00am. The House Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee plans…

No Retaliation in Sight Against China, Kudlow Says   On Friday (May 1), Chief White House Economic Adviser Larry Kudlow said he did not see any rush by the Trump administration to impose more tariffs on China. “With respect to future tariff decisions and other measures, that’s going to be up to the president,” Kudlow…

IRS Guidance on PPP   The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is working to provide clarity on the employee retention credit, specifically whether businesses qualify for the credit if they applied to borrow from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), but have not received a loan. Companies are not able to utilize both the tax credit and PPP,…

U.S. Oil & Gas Industry On Monday (Apr. 20), oil futures plunged below zero to the lowest level in U.S. history, to -$36.63 per barrel. Monday’s price collapse was caused by the expiration of the May futures contract, because speculative traders and companies were rushing to unload contracts for May delivery. Oil production cuts are…

HHS Funding HHS Announces Allocations for CARES Act Provider Relief Fund; Extends Deadline for Hospitals to Apply for Payments On Thursday (Apr. 23), HHS announced additional allocations of the $100 billion Provider Relief Fund for hospitals and other healthcare providers on the front lines of the coronavirus response. $50 billion of the Provider Relief Fund…