Weekly Update: 7/6/20

California

The rate at which coronavirus tests in California are coming back positive has jumped 42% over the last two weeks...

Police reform activists have called on California’s top law enforcement officer, California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra, to stop use of a problem-plagued database of suspected gang members, frustrated that it continues to function under rules they say disproportionately target Black and Latino men and that were ordered fixed by the state Legislature nearly three years ago...

Coronavirus 

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Stephen Hahn said Sunday, 7/5, declined to make a prediction about when a coronavirus vaccine would be available after President Trump claimed that a vaccine or therapeutic would be ready "long before the end of the year…”

In an interview with The Journal of the American Medical Association, Dr. Anthony Fauci referenced a peer-reviewed article that pointed to a new, prevalent virus strain thought to have first spread in Italy…

The Trump administration is planning to establish a division dedicated to pandemic response at the State Department after facing criticism for shuttering the National Security Council's (NSC) pandemic unit in 2018... 

The economy is expected to shrink by 5.9 percent this year as a result of coronavirus-related shutdowns and isn’t expected to recover to pre-pandemic levels until the middle of 2022, according to a new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report...   

Beauty salons and barber shops are in turmoil amid the coronavirus pandemic… 

President and Administration 

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said today, 7/6, that a national mandate requiring Americans to wear masks was “not in order” as coronavirus cases rise in a number of states... 

Late Tuesday night, 6/30, President Trump tweeted that he would veto the National Defense Authorization Act if it includes an amendment that would change the names of U.S. military bases that honor Confederate generals and soldiers... 

On Saturday, 7/4, President Trump signed legislation that extends the deadline for businesses to apply for aid under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) until August 8...

The Trump administration released details of almost 4.9 million loans to businesses – from sole proprietors to restaurant and hotel chains – under the federal government’s largest coronavirus relief program so far, the $669 billion Paycheck Protection Program...

In response to the Coronavirus pandemic, small business owners in all U.S. states, Washington D.C., and territories are now able to once again apply for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan advance of up to $10,000...

Education

The Trump administration may push to include targeted funding to help schools re-open in the next federal coronavirus relief package, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said at a White House press conference Thursday, 7/2…

On Wednesday, 7/1, the CDC released new federal coronavirus guidance for K-12 students...

On Tuesday, 6/30, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Education Committee, and other Democrats unveiled the $430 billion Coronavirus Child Care and Education Relief Act...

Congress

Congress left town Thursday, 7/2, for a two-week July 4 break and will not return to Washington, D.C., until July 20...

Senators in both parties say they support adding new requirements for businesses who want to apply for a second tranche of funding through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) in the next stimulus legislation, which they are expected to start formally negotiating in late July...

On Wednesday, 7/1, the House passed the $1.5 trillion green infrastructure plan, the Moving Forward Act...

After months of delay because of the coronavirus pandemic, House lawmakers are beginning work in earnest on fiscal 2021 appropriations bills...

Sens. Brian Schatz (D-HI), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Rand Paul (R-KU) offered an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, a mammoth defense policy bill currently being debated by the Senate, on Monday, 6/29, to limit the transfer of military-grade equipment to local law enforcement agencies...

A House Democratic bill would block the Trump administration from limiting food stamp eligibility and would undo line-speed waivers for meat and poultry processing plants, while boosting funding for the Department of Agriculture...

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in a letter sent Monday, 6/29, to Sen. McConnell said that "it is unacceptable that the Senate would recess without addressing” the coronavirus issue...

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), a veteran Purple Heart recipient who is under consideration for vice president by Democratic presumptive nominee Joe Biden, has put a blanket hold on 1,100 military promotions until Defense Secretary Mark Esper assures her in writing that impeachment witness Lt. Col. Alex Vindman will not be punished for his testimony... 

2020 Election 

On Saturday, 7/4, Kanye West tweeted that he was running for president...

On July 3, in an address to delegates of the National Education Association (NEA), Joe Biden promised that if he is elected president, there is going to be "a teacher-oriented Department of Education, and it's not going to come from the top down—it's going to come from the teachers up…”

Weekly Update: 6/29/20

California

The California Legislature on Friday, 6/26, finalized a state spending plan that closes an historic $54.3 billion deficit by temporarily raising taxes on businesses with more than $1 million in annual revenue, cutting funding to courts, colleges and state worker salaries, and delaying billions of dollars in payments to public schools…

Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, California’s top schools official, said Wednesday, 6/24, that his office is working to re-imagine the role of police officers at the state’s 10,000 public schools while maintaining that some schools would still need officers on campus to protect students' safety...

California voters in November will decide whether the 1996 ban on affirmative action policies can be considered by governments and public colleges and universities in hiring and admissions decisions — all against the backdrop of a presidential election and cultural upheaval over racial injustice... 

The board of the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second-largest school district, rejected a proposal Tuesday, 6/23, to defund police in schools...

Coronavirus

The CDC last week updated and expanded the list of who is at risk for getting severely ill from COVID-19…

The White House Coronavirus Task Force renewed calls for vigilance on Friday, 6/26, acknowledging rising cases across Southern states and in parts of California...

House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC), the Chairman of the Select Committee Overseeing the Federal Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic, threatened on Friday, 6/26, to stop holding in-person proceedings if GOP lawmakers won't comply with the Capitol physician's guidance to wear masks... 

The rush to disseminate information about COVID-19 is exposing cracks in the scholarly research system...

President and Administration

President Trump signed an executive order Friday, 6/26, to shift the focus for hiring for federal government jobs from college degrees to skills...

On Saturday, 6/27, President Trump reiterated a vow to protect those with preexisting conditions after his administration asked the Supreme Court on Thursday, 6/25, to strike down ObamaCare...

 The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in California on Friday, 6/26, in a 2-1 ruling found that the Trump administration’s use of Pentagon funding to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border violated the Appropriations Clause of the Constitution, which gives Congress the exclusive power of the purse...

The Supreme Court won’t review an environmental case that could have had significant implications for both the US-Mexico border wall and a major legal doctrine affecting federal agencies...

Education

School boards in St. Paul, Minn.; Oakland, Calif.; Seattle; San Francisco, and two San Jose-area districts all voted in recent days to suspend or dismantle school policing programs following the Minneapolis district’s decision on June 2…

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos issued a new rule Thursday, 6/25, advancing a policy requiring public schools to share more coronavirus relief funds with private schools than federal law currently mandates...

The U.S. Department of Education issued a notice establishing an August 1, 2020 deadline for institutions of higher education (IHEs) that did not initially apply to receive allocations to transmit their applications for funds from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund under sections 18004(a)(1), 18004(a)(2), and 18004(a)(3); Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act...

Congress

The House on Friday, 6/26, failed to override President Trump's veto of bipartisan legislation that would have overturned new regulations from the Education Department that restrict access to federal student loan forgiveness...

The House of Representatives voted on Friday, 6/26, to grant statehood to Washington, D.C., the first time a chamber of Congress has approved establishing the nation’s capital as a state...

Weekly Update: 6/22/20

California

Approximately two out of every five U.S. households have not responded to the Census survey, raising concerns that billions of federal dollars could be left on the table—dollars that fund crucial services including during the pandemic…

In response to Governor Gavin Newsom’s mandate that masks be worn inside public spaces and in situations where staying six feet apart from others is not possible, five sheriff’s departments have said they will not enforce the order, in some cases citing the minor nature of the offense or a lack of resources….

Coronavirus

Coronavirus infections have rapidly increased among Latinos in the last two months, outpacing other racial and ethnic minorities….

A White House adviser said Sunday that the Trump administration is preparing for a possible second wave in the novel coronavirus pandemic this fall, as 29 states and U.S. territories logged an increase in their seven-day average of new reported cases after many lifted restrictions in recent weeks.”

President and Administration

On 6/18 the Supreme Court ruled that DACA would remain in place, citing errors in the Trump administration’s repeal of the policy….

The Trump Administration agreed to disclose details about companies that received loans of $150,000 or more from a coronavirus relief program for small businesses….

A coalition of advocacy groups sued the Trump administration on Monday, 6/22, over its rollback of LGBTQ patient protections, arguing that last week's Supreme Court decision extending workplace legal protections to gay and transgender employees invalidates the new rules….

President Trump has come out in opposition to Democrat’s policing legislation and is urging House and Senate Republicans to vote against it. The House is scheduled to vote on the bill on Thursday. 

Education

College presidents and higher education groups widely celebrated a Supreme Court decision keeping the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in place…

Congress

On Thursday the House is set to vote on the Democrats’ policing reform bill (HR 7120). The Senate is also trying to move its policing measure (S 3985) this week, though it is unclear if the Republican authors of the bill can gain enough traction to advance the bill through Senate procedures. 

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) said Thursday, 6/18, that Senate Democrats will introduce a measure making Juneteenth a national holiday, the same day Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) announced he will advance a similar measure.

A bipartisan group of Senators introduced legislation to strengthen the laws on inspectors general on Thursday 6/18 after President Trump rankled some lawmakers over several recent firings…

On Thursday, 6/18, Representatives Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Debbie Lesko (R-AZ) introduced legislation that would cut lawmakers’ annual office budgets if they vote by proxy during the pandemic rather than in-person…

Weekly Update: 6/15/20

California

California, with its highest credit rating in two decades, was expecting continued growth in jobs and revenue and mulling expanding services and moving even more cash into its reserves before COVID-19 struck…

The Supreme Court today declined to take up California’s “sanctuary” law that forbids local law enforcement in most cases from cooperating with aggressive federal action to identify and deport undocumented immigrants….

The San Jose Police Officers Association, the San Francisco Police Officers Association, and the Los Angeles Police Protective League unveiled plans Sunday, 6/14, for a reform agenda to find racist police officers and ‘root those individuals out of the law enforcement profession.’ 

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti on 6/4 pledged to remove $150 million from the city’s police budget in the coming year.

Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration announced on Friday, 6/12, that counties can allow nail salons and tattoo parlors to reopen based on local conditions and with the approval of county governments…

After public backlash, people living in Orange County will no longer be required to wear masks in public.

Coronavirus

On Friday, 6/12, the CDC released new guidelines for people who are considering venturing out in their communities and warned that attending large gatherings remains a high risk.

The coronavirus’ brutal impact on African Americans and other minorities may never be fully known because of consistent gaps in gathering data on race and ethnicity that persist more than four months into the pandemic…

William Schaffner, a professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, said a second wave of coronavirus has started in the U.S. and people need to remain careful or risk stressing out the health-care system again….

U.S. regulators revoked emergency-use authorization for two malaria drugs touted by President Donald Trump as Covid-19 treatments after determining they were unlikely to work against the virus and could have dangerous side effects….

Congress

On Wednesday, 6/17, the House Judiciary Committee is expected to markup the democratic version of policing overhaul legislation (HR 7120)….

Senate Republicans have kicked off a four-week push to pass a handful of priorities designed to resonate with voters — an agenda Democrats argue ignores the more-urgent issues of policing and the coronavirus pandemic….

Hill sources are stating that the Senate Appropriations Committee will begin marking up their FY21 appropriations bills the week of June 22. Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) said, “Everything's not complete, but we've got our markup schedule, and we'll go from there.” 

Business groups and their allies in Congress have called for liability protections related to potential transmission of COVID-19 as stores, restaurants, offices, and schools continue to reopen and case counts spike in some areas….

Highway, transit, and rail programs would be authorized through fiscal 2025 under H.R. 2, a surface transportation package from House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Democrats…

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee scheduled a June 17 markup for H.R. 2, which Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-OR) previously introduced as H.R. 7095. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said at a June 11 Baker & Hostetler LLP event that the House will begin floor consideration of the bill June 30. 

Today, 6/15, the House Education and Labor Committee virtual hearing on lost learning from COVID-19 pandemic budget cuts.

Tomorrow, 6/16, the Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing on the use of force by police.

On Wednesday, 6/17, the House Small Business Committee will hold a virtual hearing on Paycheck Protection Program

On Thursday, 6/18, the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures virtual hearing on tax relief to support workers and families during the COVID-19 recession. 

President and Administration

On 6/11, President Trump rejected calls to overhaul law enforcement or cut officers’ funding amid protests over police brutality and racism, and instead backed new training programs as well as economic development, school choice and improved health care in minority communities….

White House spokeswoman Alyssa Farah tweeted yesterday that the administration is “working to finalize an executive order that will encourage Police Departments nationwide to meet the highest standards for the use of force by police officers….

“President Trump said on Friday 6/12, that police should avoid using chokeholds, but stopped short of saying he supports a ban on the tactic explaining that he felt it would leave police officers without a measure they might need in certain one-on-one situations…

President Trump said Wednesday, 6/10, that he opposes any effort by the US military to rename the nearly one dozen major bases and installations that bear the names of Confederate military commanders….

The Trump administration on Friday, 6/12, finalized a rule that would remove nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people when it comes to health care and health insurance.

“Federal Reserve officials expect the unemployment rate to remain above 9 percent until the end of 2020, with the economy shrinking by more than 6 percent in that time, according to projections released Wednesday, 6/10….

National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow reiterated Sunday, 6/14, the $600 additional weekly unemployment benefit created to aid those who lost their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic will end in late July….

National Economic Chairman Larry Kudlow said he backs Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin’s decision not to disclose the recipients of more than $500 billion distributed through the Paycheck Protection Program that was created in response to the coronavirus pandemic….

The Supreme Court is expected to rule in the coming weeks on the fate of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program…

Education

The Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice and Believe in Students have released a report covering the results of a survey on the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on current college students. 

2020 Election 

Joe Biden said on a conference call with members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees that Congress should increase aid to state and local governments to preserve the jobs of first responders and other government workers and to make sure Americans can return to work safely.

Kamala Harris is on even stronger footing in Joe Biden ’s search for a running mate as he faces intensifying pressure to choose a black woman in the middle of a national debate over race….

President Donald Trump’s campaign is asking people attending his campaign rally in Oklahoma this week to waive liability if they contract COVID-19…

Weekly Update: 6/8/20

Weekly Update: 6/8/20

California

California is suing Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and the U.S. Department of Education for what the state alleges is a failure to implement its student loan forgiveness program for people who work in public-service jobs…

Gov. Gavin Newsom called for California to prohibit a police head restraint technique and to regulate how law enforcement agencies across the state manage protests as demonstrations continue over the death of George Floyd…

California set a new single-day record for confirmed coronavirus cases on Friday, 6/5, as a surge of new positive tests pushed the number of cases statewide above 125,000.

On Friday, 6/5, the California Department of Public Health released interim guidance for schools and school–based programs. 

Coronavirus

Trump administration officials increasingly expect to spend up to $1 trillion in the next round of economic stimulus, though action on a measure is unlikely until at least next month…

President Trump announced that there was “tremendous progress” on combatting the coronavirus pandemic and said the development of therapeutics and vaccines is going “incredibly well.”

Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn also said the White House Coronavirus Task Force has yet to see a relationship between states reopening and increased cases of COVID-19 (Bloomberg Law).  

The White House’s coronavirus task force has all but vanished from public view as President Trump pushes Americans to put the outbreak behind them and resume normal social and economic life…

The World Health Organization is now recommending that people aged 60 or older and people with underlying health conditions should wear a medical mask, rather than a cloth mask, in areas where there is community transmission of the virus that causes COVID-19 or where they cannot maintain social distance from others…

President and Administration

On Sunday, 6/7, President Trump ordered the National Guard to begin withdrawing from Washington, D.C., now that “everything is under perfect control” after the protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody…

On Friday 6/8, President Trump signed H.R. 7010 into law, giving businesses more leeway on how they spend funds through the Paycheck Protection Program (Politico). 

President Trump and his allies today lashed out at activists and some Democrats for their support of the "defund the police" movement, seeking to draw a contrast with the administration's embrace of law enforcement amid nationwide protests….

Education

 “Eighteen attorneys general filed a lawsuit against U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and the U.S. Department of Education in an effort to block the department’s final rule under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 from taking effect 8/14…

Congress

With the additional $600-a-week unemployment benefits set to expire in July, Congress is concerned over what to do next…

Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) has introduced legislation (S 3612) that would make further changes to the PPP and give borrowers a second tax benefit on COVID-19 small-business loans…

House and Senate Democrats are expected to release a bill today to reform the country's police departments…

Senate Democrats introduced legislation to limit presidential power under the Insurrection Act after President Trump warned that he could deploy active military troops into U.S. cities….

Election 2020 

After the protests calling to defund police nationwide, President Donald Trump is seeking to tie Joe Biden to activists’ calls to “defund the police” in an attempt to paint his 2020 presidential opponent as weak on crime and vilify Democrats pushing for police reform, even though Biden hasn’t embraced the slogan (Bloomberg). 

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee launched a new online hub today, 6/8, aimed at engaging with voters and candidates ahead of November’s general elections. FlipTheSenate.com will help voters register to vote, create a voter protection program, and open field offices in critical states across the country. Additionally, viewers will be able to find out more information about volunteering (The Hill). 

Sen. Kamala Harris’ (D-CA) prospects for becoming Biden’s running mate might be complicated by her own record as a prosecutor, in spite of her strong words in support of those protesting police brutality across the U.S…