In the News

House creates new coronavirus oversight panel over GOP objections Yahoo News 04/24/2020 The House voted 388-5 on Thursday to send a nearly $500 billion coronavirus relief bill to President Trump's desk, the third major pot of money Congress has dumped on the COVID-19 pandemic. But with socially distanced lawmakers gathered in face masks, the House also created a new 12-member… Read more »

House Passes Relief for Small Businesses and Aid for Hospitals and Testing The New York Times 04/23/2020 WASHINGTON — The House gave resounding approval on Thursday to a $484 billion coronavirus relief package to restart a depleted loan program for distressed small businesses and to provide funds for hospitals and coronavirus testing, and it moved to ramp up oversight of the… Read more »

US Dept. of Health and Human Services awards $10.6 million to Arkansas in COVID-19 relief KATV 04/23/2020 LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — U.S. Senators John Boozman and Tom Cotton along with Congressmen Rick Crawford, French Hill, Steve Womack and Bruce Westerman praise the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for awarding $10.6 million in federal funds to support rural communities… Read more »

Fed to Disclose Loan Amounts, Borrowers on Business Lending Programs -- Update InvestorsHub 04/23/2020 The Federal Reserve said Thursday it plans to disclose monthly the borrowers, loan amounts and interest rates on funding from several new lending programs the central bank is in the process of establishing. The loan-level disclosures will be made for business loan programs that… Read more »

Cornell to launch new bipartisan publication led by former Rep. Steve Israel The Hill 04/22/2020 Cornell University on Thursday will launch the first edition of a new publication focused exclusively on bipartisan proposals from Democrats and Republicans at all levels of government. The Bipartisan Policy Review will require that all articles be co-authored by at least one… Read more »

What to Know in Washington: House Readies Vote on Stimulus Bloomberg Government 04/22/2020 The Senate sent a $484 billion package of new pandemic relief funds to the House for likely approval tomorrow, as lawmakers and the Trump administration began turning their attention to the next round of stimulus for a stalled U.S. economy. The legislation passed by the Senate yesterday —… Read more »

HEALTH CARE BRIEFING: Senate Passes $484 Billion in Interim Aid Bloomberg Government 04/22/2020 The Senate passed $484 billion in new pandemic relief funds yesterday to bolster a tapped-out small business aid program, pay for coronavirus testing and help hospitals deluged by sick patients. The legislation, which the House could take up as early as tomorrow, includes $320 billion… Read more »

Watchdogs scramble to keep tabs on billions in stimulus spending CNN Politics 04/22/2020 Hundreds of billions of dollars are flowing every day from the largest emergency economic package in US history. The watchdogs, if they're even in place, are now just trying to keep up. The oversight work is starting, but there are already questions about whether the commissions and panels… Read more »

Virus Aid Watchdog Will Have Subpoena Clout, Member Says BNN Bloomberg 04/21/2020 The congressional watchdog overseeing a half-trillion dollars in virus-related spending can rely on the subpoena powers of other parts of Congress if it needs to fight for documents from the Trump administration to conduct its work, according to a Republican member of the commission. Representative… Read more »

Virus Aid Watchdog Will Have Subpoena Clout, Member Says Bloomberg 04/21/2020 The congressional watchdog overseeing a half-trillion dollars in virus-related spending can rely on the subpoena powers of other parts of Congress if it needs to fight for documents from the Trump administration to conduct its work, according to a Republican member of the commission. Representative… Read more »