Good Wednesday morning.
Here is what is on the president’s agenda today:
- President Trump and the First Lady participate in a tree planting ceremony in recognition of Earth Day and Arbor Day
- The president has lunch with the Secretary of State
- President Trump receives his intelligence briefing
- 5:00PM Members of the Coronavirus Task Force hold a press briefing
After Democrat grandstanding, Senate passes aid package
On Tuesday, the Senate passed a $500 billion aid bill for coronavirus relief that was held up as the Democrats pushed for all sorts of unrelated garbage for the federal teat. So what’s in the bill?
The measure injects another $310 billion into a key loan program designed to keep employees on small company payrolls. The initial $350 billion in the so-called Paycheck Protection Program, created as part of the $2 trillion rescue package passed last month, dried up last week. It is unclear how many firms have actually received the money.
The bill passed Tuesday allocates $60 billion for small lenders as part of the small business aid program. It puts another $60 billion toward Small Business Administration disaster assistance loans and grants. It includes $75 billion in hospital relief and $25 billion for coronavirus testing.
The bill piles more money into an unprecedented government effort to relieve an economy and health-care system devastated by the coronavirus outbreak. More than 22 million people filed for unemployment benefits over the latest four-week period as businesses in most of the country remain closed to slow Covid-19′s spread.
The bill will now head to the House where it should get a vote on Thursday.
“I am just sorry that it took my colleagues in Democratic leadership 12 days to accept the inevitable, and that they shut down emergency support for Main Street in a search for partisan ‘leverage’ that never materialized,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday before the Senate passed the legislation.
McConnell and Senate Democrats initially tried to pass their own dueling proposals nearly two weeks ago, but both were blocked. McConnell was offering an additional $250 billion for the small-business aid program, while Democrats wanted to add an additional $100 billion for hospitals, $150 billion for state and local governments, and a boost in food stamp assistance.
“Democratic leaders blocked the money and spent days trying to negotiate extraneous issues that were never on the table. I am grateful our colleagues have walked away from those demands and will finally let Congress act,” McConnell said in a statement.
Related:
Rand Paul Explains Why He Is Opposed To Next Coronavirus Funding Bill
Coronavirus news:
OH HELLO. California county may have found earliest US deaths from coronavirus
WTF is going on here. Delaware medical supplier says FEMA seized 400,000 N95 masks, now he’s out millions of dollars
NIH panel issues first guidance on coronavirus drugs
Amazon and Target workers plan ‘sickouts’ over coronavirus safety concerns
Oh hell no. Ivy League Universities Flush With Cash Set To Receive Millions In Federal Coronavirus Funding
Trump says he’ll ask Harvard to return coronavirus relief money
CDC chief says there could be second, possibly worse coronavirus outbreak this winter
Big banks accused of favoring more lucrative small business loans in coronavirus program
WUT. Coronavirus economic updates: Personal info of nearly 8,000 small business loans applicants exposed on SBA website
Pew Research: More than 9-in-10 Americans Call China’s Power a ‘Threat’ to U.S.
Important: ‘Circumstantial’ Evidence ‘All Points Toward The Wuhan Labs’ As Coronavirus Source, Tom Cotton Says
Useless. Pelosi: Trump ‘engaged in distractions’ amid ‘total failure’ on testing
COVID-19 treatment hydroxychloroquine showed no benefit, more deaths in VA virus study
Democratic senator wants watchdog to probe Paycheck Protection Program
USNS Comfort to return to Virginia after Trump, Cuomo agree it’s no longer needed in NY
22 AGs demand USDA reject rule that would cut SNAP benefits
38 percent of Arkansas COVID-19 cases concentrated in state prison
DC surpasses 3K coronavirus cases
Missouri becomes first state to sue China over coronavirus response
Wisconsin Republicans file lawsuit challenging coronavirus shutdown order
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp faces resistance over move to reopen economy
There’s not evidence connecting their infection to the voting. Seven confirmed COVID-19 cases linked to Wisconsin’s April elections
Tell me about it. Coronavirus news fatigue is real and it could become a big problem
Sad! New York area’s Earth Day upended by coronavirus
McConnell slams brakes on next round of coronavirus aid
Coronavirus has mutated into at least 30 different strains, study finds
California hospital reinstates suspended nurses who demanded masks
NOPE. Connecticut cops deploy ‘pandemic drone’ to combat coronavirus
I love her. STEP OFF. MSNBC anchor Katy Tur tells Las Vegas mayor she’s calling for ‘modern-day survival of the fittest’
Newsom implies communities not allowed to lift stay-at-home orders yet
‘Squad’ member Ayanna Pressley says Trump coronavirus response ‘akin to war crimes’
National Spelling Bee canceled for the first time since WWII
You all wanted a lockdown, right? 90% of the world’s students are in lockdown. It’s going to hit poor kids much harder than rich ones
Gretchen Whitmer Cancels Coronavirus Contract Awarded to Democrat Political Consultant
William Barr: DOJ Could Side with Citizens’ Lockdown Lawsuits if Governors Go Too Far
Other morsels:
Iran’s Guard says it launched satellite amid US tensions
California Extends Ex Parte “Red Flag” Gun Confiscation Orders
Former UCLA soccer coach to plead guilty in ‘Varsity Blues’ college admissions scandal
FISA Docs Show John Kerry’s State Dept. Was Key Player in Russia Collusion Hoax
And that’s all I’ve got, now go put use some hand sanitizer!