THERE HAS BEEN SOME MOVEMENT ON A DEAL to refill the PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM, the main federal vehicle for loans to small businesses walloped by the coronavirus crisis. Capitol Hill sources stress that it is the TRUMP ADMINISTRATION doing the heavy lifting talking to Democrats at the moment, and it will be incumbent upon the WHITE HOUSE and the administration to sell this deal to every lawmaker in both chambers, since this will probably require unanimous consent.
HERE ARE SOME INITIAL ITEMS IN THE MIX … NOTHING IS FINAL! This is an update about a few points that are under discussion:
THE PPP will be refilled. Republicans are now aiming for more than $251 billion. DEMOCRATS ARE MOVING TOWARD GETTING MONEY for community banks … THE DEAL IS ALMOST CERTAIN TO INCLUDE a refresh of the EIDL, another disaster loan program.
THE DEAL LOOKS LIKE IT WILL HAVE $75 BILLION for hospitals. … REPUBLICANS are holding firm against any money for state and local governments in this package. But this could be revisited.
— MELANIE ZANONA: “McCarthy signals progress being made on small business relief”: “[House Minority Leader Kevin] McCarthy signaled Friday that the GOP has softened its position, with the California Republican saying he would be open to a deal that includes funding for hospitals, but not money for state and local governments, though Republicans have said those can be addressed at a later date. …
“But efforts to fast-track a vote will take cooperation from all members — and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) has already signaled he wants a recorded vote, which would require a quorum — at least 216 members –to be present in the Capitol.” POLITICO
PPP AT WORK? … WSJ: “Ruth’s Chris Steak House Gets $20 Million From Coronavirus Aid Program,” by Charity Scott
Happy Friday afternoon.
REMINDER: We’re talking to celebrity chef DAVID CHANG, founder of Momofuku, and MARGUERITE MARISCAL, CEO of Momofuku, at 9 a.m. Monday about the impact the coronavirus has had on the restaurant industry and what Washington needs to do. Register
WHAT’S ON THE PRESIDENT’S MIND — @realDonaldTrump at 11:21 a.m.: “LIBERATE MINNESOTA!” … at 11:22 a.m.: “LIBERATE MICHIGAN!” … at 11:25 a.m.: “LIBERATE VIRGINIA, and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege!”
— THIS IS PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP now openly backing anti-lockdown protesters in several Democratic-led states, just after a Fox News segment on them.
NEWS YOU SHOULD USE — “Which Mask Should You Wear?” by NYT’s Tara Parker-Pope, Rachel Abrams, Eden Weingart and Tony Cenicola
CLOSED DOORS, REOPENED COUNTRY? … JOSH GERSTEIN: “How Trump can skirt transparency rules as he talks to business leaders”: “By contending that the 200-plus business leaders [the White House] is talking to are not developing any consensus recommendations — just offering their opinions — the effort might not have to comply with a core transparency statute, the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The law requires formal outside advisory committees to hold open meetings and issue public reports. Notably, the White House also avoided the term ‘committee’ in its announcement.
“Ultimately, the loose effort, cobbled haphazardly with little notice to the participants, may amount to little more than a glorified CEO suggestion box. … Still, transparency advocates argue that the business initiative sounds like the kind of panel Congress was trying to regulate when it passed FACA in 1972 to standardize and open up the way the federal government seeks official advice from industry and outside experts.” POLITICO
IMMIGRATION FILES — “White House Seeks to Cut Wages, Smooth Migrant Labor Hiring for Farms Squeezed by Coronavirus,” by WSJ’s Michelle Hackman and Jesse Newman: “The push is driven by newly installed White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, these people said, and many agricultural employers support lower wages. Mr. Perdue has long championed easing requirements on seasonal agricultural guest-worker visas, known as H-2A, and the administration’s pandemic response has accelerated some of these changes.
“The wage change, which the administration hasn’t yet formally proposed, would effectively cut the minimum wage for migrant farmworkers to $8.34 an hour, 15% above the federal minimum wage. That would amount to a cut of around $2 to $5 per hour from current wage rates, which vary by state. States with higher minimum wages wouldn’t be subject to the new rate.” WSJ
WORSE NUMBERS IN CHINA — “China’s virus death toll revised up sharply after review,” by AP’s Ken Moritsugu in Beijing: “The new figures resulted from an in-depth review of deaths during a response that was chaotic in the early days. They raised the official toll in Wuhan by 50% to 3,869 deaths. … The higher numbers are not a surprise — it is virtually impossible to get an accurate count when health systems are overwhelmed at the height of a crisis — and they confirm suspicions that many more people died than the official figures had showed.” AP
— WSJ: “Coronavirus Ravages China’s Economy—and It’s Just Getting Started,” by Jonathan Cheng in Beijing: “China on Friday reported a 6.8% year-over-year contraction in its economy for the first three months of the year—the first quarterly decline in gross domestic product since official record-keeping began in 1992 and likely the first since Mao Zedong’s death in 1976, economists said. The fall was even steeper compared with the previous quarter: a 9.8% pullback.”
CATASTROPHIC — “Africa could see 300,000 coronavirus deaths this year,” by AP’s Cara Anna in Johannesburg: “Under the worst-case scenario with no interventions against the virus, Africa could see 3.3 million deaths and 1.2 billion infections, the report by the U.N. Economic Commission for Africa said. Even with ‘intense social distancing,’ under the best-case scenario the continent could see more than 122 million infections, the report said.
“Any of the scenarios would overwhelm Africa’s largely fragile and underfunded health systems, experts have warned. Under the best-case scenario, $44 billion would be needed for testing, personal protective equipment and treatment, the report said, citing UNECA estimates. The worst-case scenario would cost $446 billion.” AP
— SIMON MARKS, POLITICO’s man in Addis Ababa: “Coronavirus ends China’s honeymoon in Africa”
THE LATEST FAR-RIGHT SHENANIGANS … “Bill Gates, at Odds With Trump on Virus, Becomes a Right-Wing Target,” by NYT’s Daisuke Wakabayashi, Davey Alba and Marc Tracy: “In a 2015 speech, Bill Gates warned that the greatest risk to humanity was not nuclear war but an infectious virus … That speech has resurfaced in recent weeks with 25 million new views on YouTube — but not in the way that Mr. Gates probably intended. Anti-vaccinators, members of the conspiracy group QAnon and right-wing pundits have instead seized on the video as evidence that one of the world’s richest men planned to use a pandemic to wrest control of the global health system. …
“In posts on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, he is being falsely portrayed as the creator of Covid-19, as a profiteer from a virus vaccine, and as part of a dastardly plot to use the illness to cull or surveil the global population. The wild claims have gained traction with conservative pundits like Laura Ingraham and anti-vaccinators such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. … Misinformation about Mr. Gates is now the most widespread of all coronavirus falsehoods tracked by Zignal Labs … Mr. Gates, who is worth more than $100 billion, has effectively assumed the role occupied by George Soros.” NYT
— MEANWHILE … “‘It’s overwhelming’: On the frontline to combat coronavirus ‘fake news,’” by Mark Scott: “In the battle to stop rumors, half-truths and lies about the coronavirus pandemic spreading online, social media giants are relying heavily on a global network of independent fact-checkers. The results have not been great.
“From the Balkans to Brazil, these journalists and researchers — mostly working in isolation at home — have been given access to the companies’ inner workings, including data about how possible fake posts are performing on the platforms. Scrolling through piles of misinformation, the fact-checkers’ goal is to debunk as many falsehoods as they can to keep people safe from content that, in the most severe cases, puts lives in jeopardy. … Many feel they don’t have the tools to do their job, while others worry about colleagues breaking under the strain.” POLITICO
PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION — D.C. schools won’t reopen in person for the rest of the school year, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced.
NYC DISPATCH — “Scores of NYC workers have died on the front lines of the coronavirus fight,” by Sally Goldenberg and Danielle Muoio: “At least 138 municipal workers have succumbed to the highly-contagious virus, according to a POLITICO survey this week of the city’s uniformed agencies and some of its largest unions. The tally, which rose by the hour, provides a glimpse into the toll the illness has taken on some of the lowest-paid employees whose jobs demand their presence at a time when most New Yorkers have retreated to their homes.
“They are safety agents who protected students before schools closed on March 16, maintenance crews who tidy up public housing apartments and social service workers who provide food stamps to the neediest residents.” POLITICO New York
CASH DASH … SCOTT BLAND: “Trump-backed online donor platform launches at state level ahead of redistricting”: “WinRed, which launched last year, is partnering with the Republican State Leadership Committee to make the platform available to state-level GOP candidates, another step in the group’s drive to get the entire Republican Party using one system for digital fundraising. The platform offers features including one-click donating, the ability to set recurring donations and optimized fundraising pages.” POLITICO
200 DAYS TO NOV. 3 — “Coronavirus could complicate Trump’s path to reelection,” by AP’s Jonathan Lemire, Nicholas Riccardi and Thomas Beaumont: “Trump’s campaign is concerned about losing support in several key swing states, particularly Florida and Wisconsin, according to five current and former campaign staffers who spoke to The Associated Press … There are also growing worries about Arizona and Pennsylvania. There is no better example of the altered map confronting Trump than Michigan.”
MEASURING THE DRAPES — “Biden says he’s already choosing a presidential transition team,” by WaPo’s Sean Sullivan: “Discussions are underway about the prospect of elevating some White House offices to Cabinet-level positions, Biden said. Among those that will be under consideration for the Cabinet: The Office of Science and Technology Policy; the global health security pandemic office; and a separate climate change operation that ‘goes beyond the EPA,’ he said. …
“Pre-election cabinet announcements would be highly [unusual]. But the possibility reflects a campaign trying to project competence and preparedness, qualities it hopes will contrast with Trump.” WaPo
TV TONIGHT — Bob Costa talks with WBUR’s Kimberly Atkins, NYT’s Peter Baker, CBS’ Paula Reid and NBC’s Kristen Welker at 8 p.m. on PBS’ “Washington Week.”
TRANSITION — Mike Kelleher is now director of external affairs at the 2Blades Foundation, an agriculture research organization focused on food security. He most recently spent a decade as an adviser and speechwriter at the World Bank under Jim Yong Kim, and is an Obama White House alum.
- Anna Palmer @apalmerdc
- Jake Sherman @JakeSherman
- Eli Okun @eliokun
- Garrett Ross @garrett_ross
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Signs of progress on money for small business loans
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