The Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by Facebook – Lawmakers haggle over $450 billion-plus small business loan package

by Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver - 04/21/20 6:30 AM ET

Presented by Facebook

Welcome to The Hill’s Morning Report. It’s Tuesday. We get you up to speed on the most important developments in politics and policy, plus trends to watch. Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver are the daily co-creators, so find us @asimendinger and @alweaver22 on Twitter and recommend the Morning Report to your friends. CLICK HERE to subscribe!

Total U.S. coronavirus deaths reported each morning this week: Monday, 40,683. Tuesday, 42,364.

Lawmakers are struggling to strike a deal on a fourth coronavirus package that would refill the small-business lending program that ran out of funding last week, with concerns centering on testing and access to loans.

The legislation is expected to approach $500 billion to deal with the economic fallout from the pandemic, but potential roadblocks have cropped up and have delayed striking a deal after days of negotiations. Democratic lawmakers are demanding $30 billion for a national coronavirus testing program and $150 billion to fund state and local governments that have seen costs soar and revenues drop over the past month and a half.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told CNN late Monday night that she remains optimistic that the two sides will reach an accord later today, confirming that the two sides are haggling over the small details.

“We have I believe come to terms on the principles of the legislation, which is a good thing,” Pelosi said. “Now we’re down to the fine print.”

As of Monday night, The $470 billion package is expected to include $370 billion to replenish the small-business loan program, with $75 billion going to hospitals, and $25 billion set aside for testing (The Washington Post).

Pelosi told her colleagues on a conference call Monday evening that she expected an accord to be reached in the coming hours. However, the state and local government issue remains a problem as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told the Senate GOP on a weekend conference call the deal would not include new money for those entities.

While the Senate GOP leader accused Democrats of “holding up” a deal, he expressed optimism the two sides would come together on a deal before the Senate convenes for a special pro forma session at 4 p.m. today. President Trump told reporters at Monday’s coronavirus task force briefing that “hopefully” the Senate will be able to pass the bill today.

The House is expected to vote on the package on Thursday if a deal is reached later today.

The potential deal comes amid pressure for the two sides to reach an agreement as the economy continues to falter. However, concerns have become heightened after reports that the initial funding for small businesses went to hotel and restaurant chains that many do not consider small businesses.

“Some people will have to return it if it’s inappropriate,” Trump said at the briefing.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), a McConnell ally, said in a statement on Monday that larger companies are qualifying for small business loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and wasting millions of taxpayer dollars that were not meant for them. He recommended changes in the program (The Hill).

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) also expressed concern about reports of misuse by applicants of the PPP, announcing the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, which he chairs, will conduct oversight many months from now to determine “whether companies made false certifications to the federal government to receive PPP loans.”

The Hill: Lawmakers struggle to reach agreement on a new COVID-19 relief package.

The Associated Press: Talks drag on $450 billion in virus relief for small businesses, hospitals.

The Hill: Confusion reigns as IRS starts issuing coronavirus payments.

The Associated Press: At least 75 publicly traded firms got $300 million in small business loans.

The Washington Post: As loans ran dry, big firms got cash. Ruth’s Chris Steak House, valued at $250 million, reportedly received $20 million in federal funding.

NBC News: Shake Shack, a New York-based burger chain, said it is returning a $10 million federal loan meant for small businesses.

On the Democratic side, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) announced her opposition to the bill in its current form during a call with progressive groups. She noted that the bill has yet to be finalized, but argued that the amount included in the current package is “such a small amount of money” considering no one knows when Congress will reconvene once again because of the virus.

“It is insulting to think we can pass such a small amount of money in the context of not knowing when Congress is even going to reconvene and pass such a small amount of money, pat ourselves on the back and then leave town again,” Ocasio-Cortez said (The Hill).

The potential lack of funding for state and local governments could prove to be a problem in particular for New York Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer and Ocasio-Cortez, after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) lamented the lack of funding in the $2 trillion package passed last month. Trump announced that he will meet with Cuomo in the Oval Office today, with the New York governor expected to lobby the administration heavily for those funds (The Hill).

“The federal government has said from day one, ‘Don’t worry. We’re going to provide funding to the states.’ Yeah. ‘Don’t worry.’ But I’m worried because I heard this over and over again,” Cuomo said on Monday. “I’m telling you, New Yorkers need funding for this budget because we can’t do it otherwise” (NBC New York).

Petroleum jaw-dropper: Less than a penny a barrel described a crash in oil prices on Monday as U.S. crude futures turned negative for the first time. The causes: weak demand, oversupply and scant storage (Reuters and The Hill). “It’s largely a financial squeeze,” Trump said. “They got caught.”

U.S. immigration suspension: Trump late Monday tweeted his intention to sign an executive order to temporarily suspend all immigration into the United States. The president said the coronavirus and economic downturn are his reasons. Such action will be challenged in court (The Hill).

SPONSORED CONTENT — FACEBOOK

Facebook’s data tools are helping researchers better understand COVID-19

New results from a symptom survey run by Carnegie Mellon University Delphi Research Center show how data tools can support a stronger response to COVID-19.

See how Facebook is doing it, while protecting privacy.

LEADING THE DAY

STATE WATCH: “Each of the governors can decide for themselves,” Deborah Birx, an immunologist and coordinator with the White House coronavirus task force said on Monday when asked about decisions in some states to sidestep the president’s guidance about how they can safely return to commercial activity. “This is a highly contagious virus,” she repeated.

The United States has 787,960 confirmed cases of coronavirus infection. Worldwide cases are approaching 2.5 million with more than 170,000 fatalities, according to the latest information.

> South Carolina: Two weeks after stores closed because of public health risks, South Carolinians are invited again to shop in-person at some of the state’s retail stores, Gov. Henry McMaster (R) announced on Monday. He removed restrictions he placed on some retail stores, including clothing, furniture and jewelry shops (The State).

> Georgia: Gov. Brian Kemp (R) outlined plans Monday to allow some businesses that were shuttered amid the coronavirus pandemic to reopen by the end of the week. The order will allow gyms, bowling alleys, salons and some other indoor facilities to resume operations by Friday as long as they comply with social distancing requirements and meet other safety standards (Atlanta Journal-Constitution).

With a burst of pent-up announcements, Southern states have raced in all different directions to restart their economies. Trump has sent conflicting signals, praising the precautions and social distancing that prevented more U.S. fatalities while agitating to revive commerce as Americans grow fearful about their health and financial jeopardy.

The president hails demonstrators who are organizing to protest coronavirus stay-at-home orders in their states, commending them as his political supporters while critics say he is in essence inciting the public to risk infection, illness and possibly death (The Hill).

During a White House briefing on Monday and on Twitter, the president fought back against accusations he made a mistake by rejecting calls for a national strategy for mass coronavirus testing.

“‘Testing, Testing, Testing,’ again playing a very dangerous political game,” Trump tweeted. “States, not the Federal Government, should be doing the Testing – But we will work with the Governors and get it done. This is easy compared to the fast production of thousands of complex Ventilators!”

The Hill: Trump and governors continue to face off over the number of tests needed to curtail coronavirus shutdown orders.

> Maryland: Gov. Larry Hogan (R) turned to LabGenomics in South Korea to obtain 500,000 COVID-19 tests after Trump advised governors they were on their own to conduct sufficient testing to determine when to reopen businesses, schools and travel (CBS Baltimore). The New York Times reported the purchases came after Hogan and his wife, “a Korean immigrant who speaks fluent Korean,” helped secure the final deal with two labs.

The president bristled at Hogan’s decision, saying the Maryland governor “could have saved a lot of money” without buying from South Korea. “I think he needed to get a little knowledge — would have been helpful,” the president said following an extensive presentation at the White House asserting the United States has sufficient COVID-19 testing “capacity” in every state to determine who has been infected, with 5,000 pieces of private, university and public laboratory processing equipment sprinkled around the country.

Hogan thanked Trump in a tweet late on Monday for sharing a list of labs, which he said will help Maryland as it deploys half a million tests for the coronavirus.

> Texas: The Lone Star State reopened some state parks on Monday, keeping some restrictions. El Paso’s mayor wants to keep two parks closed for now (5NBC).

> Michigan: Residents in the state say they prefer Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s (D) coronavirus leadership to Trump’s, according to a new poll (The Detroit News). On Monday, Whitmer, who is among the Democratic vice presidential possibilities, announced she will cut her own pay by 10 percent in response to the state’s financial strain during the pandemic (The Hill).

The Associated Press: Boeing in Washington and a U.S. heavy-equipment manufacturer in North Dakota resumed production.

The Hill: Niall Stanage writes that Americans’ trust in Trump to handle the coronavirus emergency has dropped below his job approval rating, a high-risk proposition for any president dealing with public health and economic crises in an election year.

***

POLITICS: Former Vice President Joe Biden raised $46.7 million in March, by far the highest total in any month of his presidential campaign, and reported $26.4 million in the bank, but he is at a major financial disadvantage on the financial front heading into the general election against the president.

While Biden and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) reported $57.2 million in cash on hand after March, the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee (RNC) have a whopping $244 million. As The New York Times’s Shane Goldmacher points out, Biden and the DNC could raise nearly $1 million every before Nov. 3, and he would still barely catch up to what the president and the RNC have already raised, not including the money they will rake in over the coming six months before Election Day.

> Convention: The RNC said Monday it is moving “full steam ahead” with preparations for the party’s national convention in Charlotte, N.C., later this summer despite the concerns presented by the ongoing pandemic.

RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel told reporters that the GOP will reassess its options in late June or early July to see if adjustments need to be made because of the virus. However, she noted that the convention is required by bylaws to be held in person.

“We are full steam ahead planning a traditional convention, working with our team on the ground … to conduct a traditional convention,” the chairwoman said. “We do not think at this time we have to switch to an alternative plan, but of course, we will monitor circumstances and adjust accordingly.

The GOP convention is slated to be held from Aug. 24-27. The Democratic National Convention was already pushed back more than a full month until the week before the RNC’s quadrennial confab and is scheduled to take place from Aug, 17-20 in Milwaukee (The Hill).

“We think by the end of August, we’ll be in good shape,” Trump told reporters on Monday. “I haven’t left the White House in months,” he said later. (The president traveled to India, California, Nevada, Arizona and Colorado in February and was in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Georgia and South Carolina in March.)

The Hill: Republican National Committee raised a record $24 million in March.

> Campaign trail return?: The president wants Americans to return to work and it is inevitable he will try to make his way back to the campaign trail for his trademark rallies.

Trump’s reappearance on the trail will force Biden to make a tough decision: Does he follow suit and venture out, too? For now, Democrats are urging that he stay the course.

“In essence, Joe Biden is modeling a shadow government and a shadow response to the coronavirus crisis,” said Democratic strategist Joel Payne. “With that in mind, I think it’s more important he be guided by science and medical expertise as opposed to a game of chicken with the president” (The Hill).

The Hill: Trump trails Biden by 8 points despite record high approval: poll.

The Hill: New Biden ad hits Trump for feuding with governors over coronavirus.

IN FOCUS/SHARP TAKES

INTERNATIONAL: North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, 36, reported overnight to be gravely ill, appeared to be handling affairs in his country as usual, Seoul says today. A spokesman for South Korea said Kim appeared to be routinely engaged with state affairs and there weren’t unusual movements or emergency reactions from the North’s ruling party, military or cabinet (The Associated Press).

> World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had a warning on Monday about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“Trust us. The worst is yet ahead of us,” the WHO chief told reporters, without explanation or data. “Let’s prevent this tragedy. It’s a virus that many people still don’t understand” (The Associated Press).

The Hill: Maria Van Kerkhove, the senior American on WHO’s COVID-19 team, says during an interview with reporter Reid Wilson that she’s “disappointed” in the politicization surrounding the pandemic.

> North America: The United States, Mexico and Canada are extending nonessential travel between borders for another 30 days (The Hill). Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said in a statement, “As President Trump stated last week, border control, travel restrictions and other limitations remain critical to slowing the spread and allowing the phased opening of the country.”

> Europe: Italy sees its first-ever decline in the number of currently infected patients and a precipitous drop in confirmed cases from Sunday (3,047) to Monday (2,256) and announces it will begin reopening this week through May 4 in phases (The Guardian). Fatalities in France surpassed 20,000. Spain is moving carefully toward restoring economic activity, while Britain and France have signaled that they will not relax restrictions until next month. The restrictions on Spain’s children are set to be loosened starting April 27, though the government has not given details on the changes. Responses in Europe are not coordinated (BBC).

> Israel government: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz agreed on Monday to form a unity government, breaking a year-long impasse that threatened to force a fourth election after three elections in the past year yielded a bitter battle between the two sides.

According to the agreement, Netanyahu holds onto power until October 2021 and will extend his reign as the longest tenured-Israeli prime minister. Gantz will take on the roll as deputy prime minister and take over for Netanyahu as prime minister in 18 months, with Netanyahu switching roles.

While some remain skeptical that Netanyahu will give up power, Gantz, a former army chief, did win one safeguard. According to the deal, 75 of 120 members of the Israeli parliament would have to vote to overturn the original deal between the two political leaders, and Gantz would immediately become prime minister if the government is disbanded (The New York Times).

The Hill: Trump peace plan set to advance after Netanyahu-Gantz governing alliance.

> Brazil: President Jair Bolsonaro indicated on Monday that he is hopeful that the national stay-at-home order will be finished by the end of the week as he continues to downplay what he has called a “little flu” and railed against the economic effects.

The comments come only days after Rio de Janeiro’s state Health Secretary Edmar Santos predicted that the virus will peak in the region next month (Reuters).

The Morning Report is created by journalists Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver. We want to hear from you! Email: asimendinger@digital-release.digital-release.thehill.com and aweaver@digital-release.digital-release.thehill.com. We invite you to share The Hill’s reporting and newsletters, and encourage others to SUBSCRIBE!

OPINION

We are living in a failed state, by George Packer, staff writer, The Atlantic. https://bit.ly/2ytZ4Pu

Stop dancing on the graves of Trump supporters who die of the virus, by Dan McLaughlin, staff writer, National Review Online. https://bit.ly/2KhWf6L