Lawmakers compromise on PPP loan terms as talks continue

Lawmakers compromise on PPP loan terms as talks continue-rollcall: A Republican lawmaker said Wednesday that negotiators agreed to adjust a key ratio in a program to relieve small businesses from the COVID-19 pandemic, lowering to 60 percent the portion of loans that must be used for payroll, from 75 percent currently, and giving borrowers more time to use any loans.

Bad state data hides coronavirus threat as Trump pushes reopening

Bad state data hides coronavirus threat as Trump pushes reopening-politico: Federal and state officials across the country have altered or hidden public health data crucial to tracking the coronavirus' spread, hindering the ability to detect a surge of infections as Trump pushes the nation to reopen rapidly.

US Chamber expects another COVID-19 relief bill before July 4

US Chamber expects another COVID-19 relief bill before July 4-rollcall: One of the nation's most powerful trade groups expects Congress to pass another coronavirus relief bill, one including its legislative priorities, before the Fourth of July recess.

California reopens churches 3 days after Trump threatened to 'override' states

California reopens churches 3 days after Trump threatened to 'override' states-politico: Gov. Gavin Newsom gave California churches the green light Monday to reopen, three days after President Donald Trump threatened to "override" states that continued to block in-person religious services due to the pandemic.

Poll: Stark partisan divide on reopening America

Poll: Stark partisan divide on reopening America-politico: Most Republicans are rallying behind Trump’s calls for a quick reopening of businesses closed by coronavirus shutdowns, while Democrats strongly favor a more cautious approach, according to a new POLITICO-Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health survey.

Social distancing one week earlier could have saved 36,000 US lives: study

Social distancing one week earlier could have saved 36,000 US lives: study-thehill: The U.S. could have avoided nearly 36,000 deaths caused by the coronavirus through early May if stay-at-home orders and other social-distancing restrictions were implemented just one week earlier, a new study from Columbia University researchers shows.

CDC releases detailed reopening guidance

CDC releases detailed reopening guidance-thehill: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has quietly released detailed reopening guidance for schools, child-care facilities, restaurants and mass transit systems as states have already started reopening businesses over the past few weeks.

Texas, North Carolina, Arizona see rising cases as they reopen

Texas, North Carolina, Arizona see rising cases as they reopen-thehill: Texas, North Carolina and Arizona are among the states seeing rising numbers of coronavirus cases, intensifying concerns as they seek to reopen shuttered economies.

House narrowly passes $3 trillion coronavirus aid bill

House narrowly passes $3 trillion coronavirus aid bill-rollcall: Speaker Nancy Pelosi muscled a $3 trillion aid package through the House late Friday, overcoming defections from her party's moderate wing who would have preferred to vote for a bipartisan measure.

Virus aid bill and proxy voting readied for Friday House action

Virus aid bill and proxy voting readied for House action-rollcall: House lawmakers flocked back to Washington ahead of Friday votes on trillions of dollars in coronavirus aid and approval of the most consequential change to the House voting process in more than 40 years. The House Rules Committee voted along party lines Thursday night to send to the floor a rule for consideration of the $3 trillion coronavirus bill and a resolution to change House rules to allow for proxy voting and remote committee proceedings.

Pentagon fires its point person for Defense Production Act

Pentagon fires its point person for Defense Production Act-politico: Jennifer Santos, the Pentagon’s industrial policy chief who oversees efforts to ramp up production of masks and other equipment to help fight Covid-19, was fired from her job this week and will move to a position in the Navy, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Republicans and Democrats barrel toward collision on voting by mail

Republicans and Democrats barrel toward collision on voting by mail-politico: Americans want to be able to vote by mail in November — but Democratic proposals to require it appear to be going nowhere fast in Congress. House Democrats have sought to drastically overhaul the American electoral system in light of the pandemic, arguing dramatic change is needed to allow Americans to vote safely.

'Nothing to celebrate whatsoever': Romney rejects White House testing boasts

'Nothing to celebrate whatsoever': Romney rejects White House testing boasts-politico: Sen. Mitt Romney on Tuesday admonished the Trump administration for touting its coronavirus testing operation in recent days after weeks of missteps, accusing the White House’s testing czar of playing politics.

States see contact tracing with cellphones as key to reopening economies

States see contact tracing with cellphones as key to reopening economies-rollcall: Governors and mayors trying to reopen their economies after nearly eight weeks of lockdown see “contact tracing” done with new technologies as a key to containing the spread of COVID-19.

Pence stays away from White House after aide tests positive for coronavirus

Pence stays away from White House after aide tests positive for coronavirus-politico: Vice President Mike Pence skipped in-person meetings over the weekend and didn’t work out of the White House, according to an administration official — a change in routine that comes days after his top spokesperson tested positive for Covid-19.

Pelosi to lay down multitrillion-dollar marker with new coronavirus package

Pelosi to lay down multitrillion-dollar marker with new coronavirus package-politico: Speaker Nancy Pelosi is speeding to finalize a multitrillion-dollar coronavirus relief package, hoping to put the bill on the House floor next week — a timeline that even some senior Democrats dismiss as unlikely.

McConnell under mounting GOP pressure to boost state aid-

McConnell under mounting GOP pressure to boost state aid-thehill: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is facing growing calls within his own conference to increase financial assistance to state and local governments, something the GOP leader shut down during recent coronavirus-relief talks with Democrats.

Details start to emerge about House Democrats’ coronavirus relief bill

Details start to emerge about House Democrats’ coronavirus relief bill-rollcall: Speaker Nancy Pelosi previewed additional small-business relief that Democrats plan to include in their next coronavirus bill, including an extension of the loan forgiveness period of the so-called Paycheck Protection Program.

Democrats aim to squeeze Republicans on next coronavirus relief package

Democrats aim to squeeze Republicans on next coronavirus relief package-politico: Top House Democrats on Monday signaled they are forging ahead with the next sweeping coronavirus relief package, aiming to increase the pressure on GOP leaders who have rejected Democratic priorities in previous aid bills. On a private call with members Monday afternoon, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her deputies sketched the outline of a trillion-dollar-plus package that would deliver aid to state and local governments — some on the brink of public service cuts — while shoring up safety-net programs for the nation’s most vulnerable.

McConnell and Pelosi ‘respectfully decline’ rapid COVID-19 tests for Congress

McConnell and Pelosi ‘respectfully decline’ rapid COVID-19 tests for Congress-rollcall: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker Nancy Pelosi agreed Saturday to reject an offer from the Trump administration to provide Congress with rapid-results testing for COVID-19, saying those tests should go where there is a greater need.

Pelosi floats almost $1T for states in next relief package

Pelosi floats almost $1T for states in next relief package-thehill: Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday that Democrats will push for including almost $1 trillion in the next coronavirus relief package to help states and local governments hit hard by the pandemic. That figure, Pelosi said, would likely be the single largest line-item of the Democrats' next emergency package, known as CARES 2, which is also expected to include hundreds of billions of dollars more to help workers, businesses and families weather the crisis.