CNBC: Voters want Senate to prioritize coronavirus relief over Supreme Court, new poll finds. “About two-thirds of voters nationally and in six electoral swing states believe the Senate should focus on passing more coronavirus aid rather than confirming Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, according to new CNBC/Change Research polls.”
financial assistance
Connecticut State Library: Connecticut Public Libraries will receive $2.6M in Coronavirus Relief Funds
Connecticut State Library: Connecticut Public Libraries will receive $2.6M in Coronavirus Relief Funds. “Governor Ned Lamont announced that his administration is dedicating $2.6 million of Connecticut’s Coronavirus Relief Funds to support the state’s public libraries as they continue to make health and safety improvements and offer more services to residents amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.”
Politico: Millions of workers face jobless benefits cliff with lifeline set to expire
Politico: Millions of workers face jobless benefits cliff with lifeline set to expire. “…the U.S. is inching closer to a Dec. 31 deadline when several key federal jobless aid programs created under the March CARES Act will be cut off entirely. If the government doesn’t pass legislation, more than half of those receiving unemployment benefits — about 13.4 million people — stand to be left with no income.”
New York Times: 8 Million Have Slipped Into Poverty Since May as Federal Aid Has Dried Up
New York Times: 8 Million Have Slipped Into Poverty Since May as Federal Aid Has Dried Up. “The number of poor people has grown by eight million since May, according to researchers at Columbia University, after falling by four million at the pandemic’s start as a result of an $2 trillion emergency package known as the Cares Act.”
Politico: Pelosi signals no relief for airlines without bigger Covid deal
Politico: Pelosi signals no relief for airlines without bigger Covid deal. “Speaker Nancy Pelosi is refusing to move a standalone coronavirus bailout for airlines unless the administration also agrees to a broader stimulus package, sowing further confusion in the already tangled talks that have dragged on since early summer.”
Washington Post: Millions brace for more layoffs, hunger and utility shutoffs as stimulus talks break down
Washington Post: Millions brace for more layoffs, hunger and utility shutoffs as stimulus talks break down. “Americans left in the lurch by President Trump’s sudden decision to abandon negotiations over a long-delayed stimulus package expressed disbelief, disgust and desperation Wednesday about Trump’s abrupt move. In interviews with The Washington Post, more than a dozen unemployed workers and struggling business owners affected by the move said that while they are familiar with Washington dysfunction, they are stunned by the latest decision by Trump and Republicans to break discussions off.”
Data analysis: How the poorest countries are losing out on Covid-19 relief funds (New Statesman)
New Statesman: Data analysis: How the poorest countries are losing out on Covid-19 relief funds. “New Statesman analysis suggests some countries with a higher GDP per capita have been allocated more international funding to fight the virus than poorer nations.”
ABC News: In late-night tweets, Trump changes course on coronavirus relief talks
ABC News: In late-night tweets, Trump changes course on coronavirus relief talks. “In a pair of late-night tweets, President Donald Trump, changed course on negotiating coronavirus relief that he had earlier announced he was calling off until after the election.”
Washington Post: How the Cares Act poured millions into corporate hands with no strings attached
Washington Post: How the Cares Act poured millions into corporate hands with no strings attached. “For pipeline company Antero Midstream, a firm at the forefront of the Appalachian fracking boom, the mammoth stimulus bill known as the Cares Act delivered a quick and happy benefit: a $55 million payment from the Treasury Department. The payment came with no strings attached. And although the legislation was partly tailored to help businesses keep people employed, Antero didn’t need to agree to hire or retain any workers. It didn’t need to promise to invest in its business. And it didn’t need to pledge to meet any new regulatory standards.”
CNN: Trump calls for stimulus negotiations to stop until after Election Day
CNN: Trump calls for stimulus negotiations to stop until after Election Day. “President Donald Trump has ordered his negotiators to halt talks over a new stimulus package, after the two sides have struggled for months to reach a deal. ‘I have instructed my representatives to stop negotiating until after the election when, immediately after I win, we will pass a major Stimulus Bill that focuses on hardworking Americans and Small Business,’ Trump wrote in a series of tweets Tuesday afternoon.”
ACAMS News: FinCEN Director Discusses COVID-19 Fraud Schemes, Suspicious Activity Reports
ACAMS News: FinCEN Director Discusses COVID-19 Fraud Schemes, Suspicious Activity Reports. “U.S. financial institutions have filed more than 91,000 SARs on potentially illicit payments related to the novel coronavirus pandemic since February, Ken Blanco, director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, said Tuesday. The bureau has also received ‘hundreds of inquiries’ related to anti-money laundering compliance issues during the pandemic, including questions about the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, a $669 billion federal relief package designed to help struggling businesses pay their employees, Blanco told attendees of the ACAMS Virtual Las Vegas Conference.”
Introducing: The Groupmuse Foundation (Groupmuse)
Groupmuse: Introducing: The Groupmuse Foundation. “The Groupmuse PBC is a squad of millennial cultural activists — no one on the team is older than 40. We’ve got the energy, the tech-savvy, and the fresh thinking to build something unprecedented. But we don’t need to erase the old to create the new. We need to honor and make space for all the work that has been done by those that came before us. Classical music has always been supported by patrons and communities who understand there are some things that are too important to be buffeted by economic forces, and that is what The Groupmuse Foundation is ultimately about.”
DCist: D.C. Gave Cash Assistance To Undocumented Workers. It Barely Covered Essentials
DCist: D.C. Gave Cash Assistance To Undocumented Workers. It Barely Covered Essentials. “In June, Silvia Cordon heard about a new city program from her youngest son’s teacher. The program, called DC Cares, would provide undocumented workers left unemployed by the pandemic $1,000 in direct cash assistance. Cordon, a 42-year-old single mother who emigrated from Guatemala in 2017, was intrigued: She’d been laid off as a hotel housekeeper after COVID-19 hit and was struggling to pay her bills, including her $600 monthly rent for a room she shares with her 14-year-old son. So, with the teacher’s help, she applied for the program online.”
Politico: Pelosi and Mnuchin make one final attempt at Covid talks before elections
Politico: Pelosi and Mnuchin make one final attempt at Covid talks before elections. “Pelosi and Mnuchin spoke Monday evening, according to Drew Hammill, Pelosi’s spokesman, and they plan to speak again Tuesday morning. If no agreement seems likely — and it hasn’t been despite months of on-and-off negotiations — Pelosi and House Democratic leaders will hold a vote on their own $2.2 trillion bill as soon as Wednesday and then go home, guaranteeing that Congress won’t send more help until after Election Day, said the sources.”
Route Fifty: Local Officials Say They Need More Time to Spend CARES Act Money, as Future Aid Remains in Doubt
Route Fifty: Local Officials Say They Need More Time to Spend CARES Act Money, as Future Aid Remains in Doubt. “Local officials say a looming end-of-year deadline for their governments to use hundreds of millions of dollars in federal coronavirus aid could force them to unnecessarily rush spending over the coming three months and will limit them from spreading the money into next year when the virus is likely to still be a threat. It would be immensely helpful, they say, if the federal government pushed the cutoff date to use the money from Dec. 30, out into 2021.”