On The Money: Infrastructure bill gains new steam as coronavirus worsens | Trump officials detail new small-business loan program | Outbreak poses threat to mortgage industry

Happy Tuesday and welcome back to On The Money. I’m Sylvan Lane, and here’s your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line.

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THE BIG DEAL–Infrastructure bill gains new steam as coronavirus worsens: The coronavirus and its devastating effect on the economy is giving an old idea new traction with leaders in both parties: trillions of dollars in infrastructure spending.

• President Trump on Tuesday called for $2 trillion in new public works programs as a national economic lifeline, backing an idea promoted by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) just a day earlier. 
• Rank-and-file lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have quickly joined the chorus, framing infrastructure as a commonsense strategy for creating jobs amid mass layoffs sparked by the fast-spreading coronavirus pandemic.
• But the top two GOP congressional leaders — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) — have been pumping the brakes on a phase four relief bill, saying Congress needs to gauge the effect of their most recent $2 trillion rescue package first.

The Hill’s Mike Lillis and Scott Wong tell us about the prospects of a massive stimulus plan here.

LEADING THE DAY

Treasury, SBA provide information on new small-business loan program: The Treasury Department and Small Business Administration (SBA) said Tuesday that they have launched an effort to mobilize banks and other lenders to distribute small-business loans authorized by the coronavirus relief law President Trump signed last week.

Treasury and the SBA both have launched webpages with information about the program. The SBA’s webpage includes a link to the application form for borrowers and fact sheets about the program for both lenders and borrowers.

• The coronavirus relief package created a nearly $350 billion program under which businesses with 500 or fewer employees can receive loans of up to $10 million. 
• The loans will be forgiven if businesses use the funds to cover payroll costs and other operating expenses in the eight weeks following loan origination.

The Hill’s Naomi Jagoda tells us more about the program and the new details here.

Democrats, Trump set to battle over implementing $2T relief bill: The $2 trillion coronavirus relief package is setting up a new battle over implementation between the Trump administration and congressional Democrats likely to reverberate into the election.

President Trump and Democratic leaders are already jockeying over the management of a massive direct lending and credit facility program that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will run with the Federal Reserve. It will have more than $4 trillion at its disposal.

The administration and congressional Democrats are likely to spar over other key elements of implementation, such as how long it takes to send out rebate checks, set up a generous expansion of unemployment benefits and provide forgivable loans to small businesses.

The Hill’s Alexander Bolton explains here.

Coronavirus poses new threat to mortgage industry: A flood of missed home-loan payments caused by the coronavirus outbreak is threatening to bankrupt U.S. mortgage lenders and deepen the economic toll of the pandemic.

Grueling business closures and social restrictions imposed to slow the pandemic have left millions of homeowners jobless and short on their mortgages.

The economic rescue package signed by President Trump on Friday allows any homeowner with a federally backed home loan facing financial hardship because of the pandemic to apply for 180 days of loan forbearance.

That means payments on a substantial portion of the $7 trillion in federally guaranteed mortgages could stop for at least six months, leaving the government and mortgage servicers on the hook for billions in losses.

I explain why an extended downturn could set off a chain of economic and financial crises akin to the 2007-08 panic and recession.

GOOD TO KNOW

• Stocks took losses on the final day of the first quarter of 2020, capping off one of the worst 12-week stretches for financial markets in history as the coronavirus pandemic upends the global economy.
• House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) on Tuesday called on the Trump administration to come up with a way for seniors and other vulnerable groups to get their coronavirus relief checks without having to file a tax return.
• Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Monday suggested that a controversial portion of President Trump’s 2017 tax law could be retroactively rolled back in the next coronavirus relief bill.

ODDS AND ENDS

• New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) called Tuesday for an investigation into the dismissal of an Amazon worker who was fired after organizing a walkout from a Staten Island warehouse.
• President Trump on Tuesday spoke with the CEOs of Comcast, AT&T, Verizon and other network service providers about their response to the coronavirus pandemic.