Wednesday, June 24, 2020
Please see below for a political and legislative update along with additional information of federal and state governments’ response to COVID-19 and feel free to reach out with any questions.
ABC Opposes House Democrats’ $1.5 Trillion Infrastructure Bill with Anti-Merit Shop Provisions:
In response to the release of H.R. 2 the Moving Forward Act, House Democrats’ $1.5 Trillion sweeping infrastructure bill, ABC sent a letter opposing the anti-competitive mandates in the bill, urging Congress to consider several changes to the legislation - including reducing costly and ineffective regulations, increasing competition and addressing the construction industry’s skilled worker shortage. The bill includes several harmful provisions that would expand government-mandated project labor agreements to a section, apply Davis-Bacon prevailing wage requirements, and fail to recognize the widespread success of industry-recognized apprenticeship programs.
House Democrats plan on bringing the bill to the floor early July. Yesterday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer quelled pay-for questions by acknowledging that Democrats plan to pass their $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill with considerable deficit spending, something that Republicans are reportedly opposed to. Also, yesterday, Treasury Sec. Mnuchin, threw some doubt on any deal getting done anytime soon - saying that infrastructure is probably not going to make its way into the next coronavirus package, which he thinks will come together in July. Reminder that surface transportation reauthorization runs out in less than 100 days on September 30th.
Senate Police Reform Legislation Fails in Procedural Vote:
Earlier today, the JUSTICE Act, the Senate police reform bill, spearheaded by Republicans failed to advance the measure in a procedural vote by a vote of 55-45. Needing 60 votes, Republicans only peeled off three from outside of their caucus - Sens. Joe Manchin (W. Va.), Doug Jones (Ala), and Sen. Angus King (I-Maine). The Republican bill would have encouraged departments to ban chokeholds through the use of federal grants and require officers to report uses of force and no-knock warrants. House Democrats' more sweeping legislation, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, would ban chokeholds and no-knock warrants outright. It also would seek to restrict "qualified immunity" for officers over actions in the field — which is reported to be a red line for Republicans. The House is still scheduled to meet Thursday and Friday to consider their police reform bill, is expected to pass the bill when it is on the floor for final consideration.
New Loan Forgiveness & SBA Loan Review Procedures IFR Revisions Clarifies PPP Loan Forgiveness and Other Provisions:
As detailed in yesterday’s update - the new interim final rule (IFR) makes revisions to previous SBA and Treasury guidance to reflect the PPP Flexibility Act of 2020, which became law on June 5 and made significant changes to the PPP, most notably: Giving borrowers the ability to file for forgiveness during
440 First St., N.W., Suite 200 | Washington, D.C. 20001 | (202) 595-1505 | abc.org the 24-week period immediately after they have spent sufficient amounts; codifying forgiveness for owners (including S or C Corporation shareholders) will be limited to 15.385% for the 8-week period or 20.833% for the 24-week period of their 2019 compensation, and in certain other ways; and Interpreting state required closings, and the inability to rehire or find qualified replacement employees in a more borrower friendly way.
Tuesday’s Primary Results – Some Surprises, Many Undecided:
The Kentucky Senate Democratic primary, as closing polling predicted, is tight in early counting. Retired Marine Corps pilot Amy McGrath leads state Rep. Charles Booker, but with only a 5,104 vote margin (45- 37%) among the just under 62,000 votes tabulated. No numbers are reported from the state’s two largest counties, Jefferson and Fayette, the homes of both Mr. Booker and Ms. McGrath, respectively. At this point, Ms. McGrath appears headed toward a close victory but, with so many votes outstanding, many of which are in the Louisville area that are familiar territory for Rep. Booker, it will likely be a full week before we see an official winner declared. On the Republican side, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s 87% total assures him of re-nomination.
In New York, state Sen. Chris Jacobs (R) has been projected as the special election winner in the vacant 27th District. Of the totals counted, he topped former Grand Island Town Supervisor Nate McMurray (D), 69-29%. In the concurrent Republican primary for the regular term, Mr. Jacobs is capturing 71% of the vote to easily win the party nomination for the full term. National republicans will be encouraged by the result, as this was a relatively higher-than-expected margin of victory for Jacobs. The bigger news comes from the Bronx, where it appears that 16-term Rep. Eliot Engel (D-Bronx) has gone down to defeat. He trails former middle school principal Jamaal Bowman, 61-34% district-wide, and even lags far behind in Westchester County (58-35%), the area of the district that was supposed to be Engel’s stronghold. If the absentee ballots don’t change this outcome, which is absolutely possible, Mr. Engel will be the fourth House incumbent to be denied re-nomination. He will join Reps. Dan Lipinski (D-IL), Steve King (R-IA), and Denver Riggleman (D-VA) in the 2020 defeated incumbent category. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan) is not out of the woods, and absentee ballots could decide this race. She leads her principle challenger, hotel executive Suraj Patel, by just 648 votes, a 40-39 percentage split with just over 40,000 votes reported.
Turning to North Carolina, a somewhat surprising upset win was recorded in the 11th District Republican runoff to replace former Representative and current White House chief of staff Mark Meadows (R). Despite Mr. Meadows’ and President Trump’s endorsement of former Haywood County Republican Party chair Lynda Bennett, real estate investment company owner Madison Cawthorn (R), just over the minimum 25 year age requirement and who is confined to a wheelchair because of a near fatal car crash eight years ago, scored a landslide 66-34% victory to win the party nomination. He becomes a big favorite to defeat Democratic nominee Moe Davis, a retired US Air Force colonel, in the general election.
In Virginia, the 5th District Democratic voters easily nominated local physician Cameron Webb to compete in what is now an open seat. Assuming the Virginia Board of Elections grants Republican Bob Good is a waiver after missing the candidate filing deadline despite winning the Republican district convention, the two will square off in what could now become a competitive general election campaign.
440 First St., N.W., Suite 200 | Washington, D.C. 20001 | (202) 595-1505 | abc.org Registration is Now Open for the ABC Election Series:
The ABC Election Series, which is made possible by the Free Enterprise Alliance, will kick off a webinar series this summer featuring political experts who will provide updates on the political environment, highlight key races, dive into regional focus areas, and much more. The ABC Election Briefing Series is free of charge and reserved for ABC members only. Sponsorship opportunities are available. Contact the Free Enterprise Alliance at [email protected] for more information.
Register today: https://legislative.abc.org/Election-Briefing-Series
Tuesday, June 23, 2020
Please see below for a political and legislative update along with additional information of federal and state governments’ response to COVID-19 and feel free to reach out with any questions.
Revisions to PPP Loan Forgiveness IFR and SBA Loan Review Procedures IFR:
Earlier this morning, a new Interim Final Rule, published by the SBA and the Department of the Treasury, offered revisions to the loan forgiveness Interim Final Rule and SBA Loan Review Procedures following the enactment of the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act (PPPFA) on June 5. This IFR revises previous interim final rules posted by the Treasury and SBA by making changes to conform to the PPPFA on provisions that relate to the maturity of PPP loans, the deferral of PPP loan payments, and the forgiveness of PPP loans.
The IFR revises the change made by the PPPFA amendment of the CARES Act regarding forgiveness of PPP loans to reduce the portion of PPP loan proceeds that must be used for payroll costs for the full amount of the PPP loan to be eligible for forgiveness, from 75% to 60%. The IFR also provides guidance on the PPPFA’s minimum maturity of five years for all PPP loans made on or after the date of enactment of the Flexibility Act. In short, an earlier IFR stated loans made before June 5, 2020, had a maturity of two years; however, this IFR states borrowers and lenders may mutually agree to extend the maturity of such loans to five years. For loans made on or after June 5, the maturity is five years. The IFR also revises that a borrower may submit a loan forgiveness application any time on or before the maturity date of the loan – including before the end of the covered period – if the borrower has used all of the loan proceeds for which the borrower is requesting forgiveness.
U.S. Department of Labor COVID-19 Resources:
New Online Tool to Determine FFCRA Eligibility:
Today, the DOL announced an interactive online tool to help workers determine eligibility for paid sick leave or extended family and medical leave to cover time away from work due to coronavirus.
440 First St., N.W., Suite 200 | Washington, D.C. 20001 | (202) 595-1505 | abc.org According to the press release, “The tool guides workers through a series of questions to help them determine if the paid leave provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act apply to their employer. If the provisions do apply, the tool helps them learn whether they qualify for either paid sick leave or extended family and medical leave under that law.”
New OSHA Guidance on Returning to Work (non-essential businesses):
On June 18, OSHA issued Guidance on Returning to Work, which assists reopening non-essential businesses as well as their returning employees.
According to the press release, “The guidance supplements the U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' previously developed Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19 and the White House's Guidelines for Opening Up America Again. The guidelines provide general principles for updating restrictions originally put in place to slow the spread of the coronavirus. During each phase of the reopening process, employers should continue to focus on strategies for basic hygiene, social distancing, identification and isolation of sick employees, workplace controls and flexibilities, and employee training.”
Congressional Democrats Introduce Legislation To Allow Businesses to Apply for PPP Loans a Second Time:
New legislation introduced by a Democratic lawmakers in both chambers, would permit small businesses with 100 employees or fewer to tap into the PPP for a second time. The Prioritized Paycheck Protection Program Act, introduced late last week by Sens. Ben Cardin, D-Md., Chris Coons, D-Del., and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H. in the Senate and Democratic Reps. Angie Craig (Minn.-02) and Antonio Delgado (N.Y.-19) in the House would allow eligible businesses that are “self-employed or have 100 or fewer employees, and have suffered more than a 50 percent loss in revenues compared to a quarter in the previous year or another relevant period” and that “have exhausted, or be on pace to exhaust, their first PPP loan and certify they need the funding to support ongoing operations for payroll and eligible non-payroll costs” to qualify for the loan a second time.
The bill would also extend the loan application deadline for businesses from June 30 to Dec. 30 or later. This legislation is not certain to be included in any subsequent phase of congressional relief, as additional measures will have a lot to compete with and will have to wait for full consideration until at least the beginning or mid to late July.
State Liability Legislative Tracking:
As states continue to convene and schedule state legislative sessions, lawmakers are increasingly grappling with legislation that protects employers from liability lawsuits stemming from businesses reopening. We wanted to send a reminder that in an effort to share the resources available and various bills related to liability protections, ABC has access to this database from the National Conference of State Legislatures, which tracks all COVID-related legislative responses across the states, including liability protections. To access the list of liability legislation, scroll down to the graphic titled “COVID-19
440 First St., N.W., Suite 200 | Washington, D.C. 20001 | (202) 595-1505 | abc.org State Legislation Database.” From there, scroll down in the left hand column and select “Fiscal: Liability” to access the full list of legislation. ABC’s state affairs team also has liability legislation that has been supported by ABC Chapters in other states. Please reach out to Ben, Brandon or Nick for a copy of those bills.
President Trump Issues Proclamation on Work Visas:
Yesterday, President Trump issued a presidential proclamation establishing temporary entry bans for new H-1B, H-2B, L-1, and certain J-1 nonimmigrants, as well as their spouses and dependents. The ban goes into effect on June 24 and expires on December 31, 2020. Additionally, the proclamation extends the president’s April 22 proclamation banning entry for certain immigrants through December 31, 2020.
The bans apply to foreign nationals who are not present in the U.S. when the proclamation takes effect and do not hold valid U.S. visas or travel documents. The proclamation does not apply to “any lawful permanent resident of the United States; any alien who is the spouse or child…of a United States citizen; any individual seeking to enter the United States to provide temporary labor or services essential to the United States food supply chain; and any individual whose entry would be in the national interest as determined by the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or their respective designees.”
The proclamation also instructs the Secretaries of Labor and Homeland Security to consider regulatory or other actions to ensure that the admission of an EB-2 or EB-3 immigrant visa or an H- 1B nonimmigrant visa does not put American workers at a disadvantage.
These actions are intended to prioritize U.S. workers during the nation’s recovery from the COVID-19 economic fallout. According to the administration’s statement on the order, these upcoming reforms “will prioritize those workers who are offered the highest wage, ensuring that the highest-skilled applicants are admitted.”
Key Primaries in Congressional Elections Today:
In Kentucky, eyes will be on the Senate Democratic primary to see if Amy McGrath can halt her downward slide against Democratic state Representative Charles Booker (D) who is making a late run for the nomination. McGrath, a retired Marine Corps helicopter pilot who ran unsuccessfully for the House in 2018, had raised over $41 million for a race ostensibly against Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). She has now spent more than half her receipts in the party primary, the result of which is now in unpredictable territory despite the low number of physical polling places.
The New York elections are headlined by the special election in the vacant Buffalo-centered 27th District discussed in Monday’s update; however, perhaps the more interesting race is the Democratic primary election in New York’s 16 district. The 16th District, has true upset potential, as 16-term Congressman Eliot Engel (D), Chairman on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is in a very competitive race against former middle school principal Jamaal Bowman (D). Rep. Engel is hoping to avoid the same fate of Joe Crowley, the former high-ranking House Democrat who was defeated by now-Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-
440 First St., N.W., Suite 200 | Washington, D.C. 20001 | (202) 595-1505 | abc.org Cortez (D), who faces former a relatively competitive challenge of her own today from CNBC anchor Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, in the 2018 primary.
Monday, June 22, 2020
Please see below for a political and legislative update along with additional information of federal and state governments’ response to COVID-19 and feel free to reach out with any questions.
SBA and Treasury Department Agree Disclose Some Data on Larger PPP Loan Recipients:
Late Friday evening, the SBA and the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced via press release that the names and other data of borrowers who received PPP loans of $150,000 or more, which account for about 75 percent of funds lent through the program, will be released.
The SBA and Treasury will disclose business names, addresses, demographic data, number of jobs supported and other details, but not specific loan amounts. Instead, they will divide the recipients into five groups based on the size of the loans received – saying whether the loans fit into a category of between $150,000 and $350,000; $350,000 to $1 million; $1 million to $2 million; $2 million to $5 million; and $5 million to $10 million. For loans below the $150,000 threshold, business names will be redacted, while Zip code, industry, business type and other demographic categories will be released in some detail, the SBA said.
The disclosure of PPP borrower data has been an evolving issue, as this development is seen as a compromise between the two agencies involved and bipartisan congressional leaders. The SBA said in response to open records requests throughout April and May that it would release “individual loan data” in accordance with its past practice for subsidized loans; however, Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin said in a June 11 hearing before the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship that the business names and loan amounts were considered confidential and therefore would not be disclosed. “We are striking the appropriate balance of providing public transparency, while protecting the payroll and personal income information of small businesses, sole proprietors, and independent contractors,” Mnuchin said in the release.
PPP Update:
Over the weekend, SBA posted a summary of PPP lending as of Friday, June 20, which provides a summary of the loans approved through the program. Of note, there have been 4,666,560 loans approved totaling $514,939,789,916.00. The Construction sector accounts for 12.41% of the loans, with only two sectors procuring a larger percentage of loans - Health Care and Social Assistance and Professional, Scientific and Technical Services.
440 First St., N.W., Suite 200 | Washington, D.C. 20001 | (202) 595-1505 | abc.org Sens. Rubio, Cruz, Scott Introduce Bill to Expand PPP Eligibility to Chambers of Commerce and Destination Marketing Organizations:
Late last week, Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.) announced their plans to introduce a bill to expand Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) eligibility to local chambers of commerce and Destination Marketing Organizations. The proposed expansion would not cover 501(c)(6) organizations, which ABC continues to advocate for in future PPP expansion efforts.
SBA Releases Lender Match Tool:
On Friday, U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Jovita Carranza announced the launch of a dedicated online tool for small businesses and non-profits to be matched with Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs), Certified Development Companies (CDCs), Farm Credit System lenders, Microlenders, as well as traditional smaller asset size lenders in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). SBA’s Lender Match is an additional resource for pandemic- affected small businesses who have not applied for or received an approved PPP loan to connect with lenders.
“The SBA is focused on assisting eligible borrowers in underserved and disadvantaged communities and connecting them with forgivable PPP loans, especially before the June 30, 2020, application deadline,” said SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza.
House Democrats Release Text of $1.5 Trillion Infrastructure Bill - H.R. 2 the Moving Forward Act:
This morning, Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter A. DeFazio (D- Ore.) was joined by six other Democratic House committee chairs in a press conference releasing the legislative text of the Democratic Infrastructure Bill – H.R. 2, the Moving Forward Act. Text of H.R. 2, the Moving Forward Act is here. A Section by Section is here. A Fact Sheet is here.
ABC is still reviewing the House Democrats’ bill, but is disappointed that the bill text, as it stands now, includes Davis Bacon and Project Labor Agreement mandates as well as legislative language encouraging registered apprenticeships. These harmful provisions are anti-competition and anti-merit-shop that ABC will continue to oppose in any infrastructure investment.
This release comes just days after the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved the INVEST in America Act, a 5-year, nearly $500 billion surface transportation reauthorization, after a two day long markup. The INVEST in America Act will serve as the surface transportation sections of H.R. 2. It remains to be seen if the partisan House process will turn into productive negotiations with the Republican Senate, which has passed a highway portion of its own surface transportation reauthorization bill out of committee on a bipartisan basis last year. Further, the Trump administration, led by the Department of Transportation is set to release its own surface transportation proposal or priorities, which could complicate the congressional process. Politico is reporting that the administration’s proposal will call for more than double the House's bill in spending.
440 First St., N.W., Suite 200 | Washington, D.C. 20001 | (202) 595-1505 | abc.org During ABC’s virtual legislative day, ABC members were asked to take action on an action alert to ask your representatives in Washington to ensure that all workers have a fair chance at competing to rebuild America through infrastructure investments by cosponsoring the Fair and Open Competition Act (H.R. 1858 / S. 907).
Police Reform Bills Making Their Way Through Both Chambers:
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) will file cloture on a motion to proceed to the JUSTICE Act, setting up a procedural vote on the bill as early as Wednesday. The Senate bill, championed by Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.), has gained traction as the leading legislation to address police reform. The full text of the JUSTICE Act is here, and a section by section analysis is here.
The House is scheduled to meet Thursday and Friday to consider their police reform bill, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which was approved by the House Judiciary Committee last week by a vote of 24 to 14. Full text of the legislation is available here. A section-by-section summary is available here. A fact sheet is available here.
Trump Expected to Extend Limits on Foreign Workers, Including H-2B Visas:
President Trump is expected to sign an executive order to extend and expand restrictions on foreign workers coming into the United States. The limits, which were initially set during the beginning months of the pandemic, are expected to be extended through the end of the year. Although the order is expected to come with some exceptions, it is reported to include H-2B visas.
Six States Voting Tomorrow: Congressional and Presidential Primaries, One Special Election:
Tomorrow – Tuesday, June 23, six states will go to the polls: Kentucky, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. Kentucky, New York will host both state and presidential primaries that were originally scheduled for May 19, April 28, respectively. Mississippi and North Carolina will host state run-off elections originally scheduled for March 31, May 12, respectively, while Virginia will hold their State Primary originally scheduled for June 9. Additionally, South Carolina will hold regularly scheduled state run-off elections.
Voters in the Buffalo-area NY-27 congressional district will vote in the congressional special election to replace former Rep. Chris Collins who resigned the seat after pleading guilty to an insider trading charge. State Sen. Chris Jacobs (R) is in a unique electoral situation to replace Collins as tomorrow, he faces Democratic former Grand Island Town Supervisor Nate McMurray who held Rep. Collins to a 48- 47% victory in 2018, in the special general, and two strong Republican challengers in the regular 2020 primary. This special election wasn’t designed to have such an interesting, and largely confusing format, but a quirk in New York election procedure has led to this unusual format caused by Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) scheduling the replacement election on the same day as the regular primary. This is a historically strong republican seat, but the unique electoral situation makes the result almost unpredictable.
440 First St., N.W., Suite 200 | Washington, D.C. 20001 | (202) 595-1505 | abc.org