In the News

Two grants to revive, highlight historic black community sites in Little Rock Breaking U.S. News 04/20/2020 Matthew McCoy (left) and his mother, Kerry McCoy, are seen Friday afternoon inside the Dreamland Ballroom on West Ninth Street in Little Rock. The 100-year-old facility has received a National Park Service grant for accessibility upgrades and other modifications. (Arkansas… Read more »

Watchdog panels slowly take shape over $2T in virus cash Federal Times 04/20/2020 Congressional oversight of about $2 trillion for the coronavirus crisis began to take shape Friday as three members were appointed to a congressional commission that will monitor how the money is spent. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Penn. and Reps. French Hill, R-Ark., and Donna Shalala, D-Fla., were added to… Read more »

Two grants to revive, highlight historic black community sites in Little Rock Arkansas Democrat Gazette 04/20/2020 Matthew McCoy (left) and his mother, Kerry McCoy, are seen Friday afternoon inside the Dreamland Ballroom on West Ninth Street in Little Rock. The 100-year-old facility has received a National Park Service grant for accessibility upgrades and other modifications.… Read more »

What to Know in Washington: $500 Billion Virus Aid Deal Close Bloomberg Government 04/20/2020 Democrats and the Trump administration are near an agreement on a deal as large as $500 billion to fund a tapped-out small business aid program and provide money for coronavirus testing and overwhelmed hospitals. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said… Read more »

Hill expects more money for small businesses, sees geographic approach to reopening through governors Talk Business and Politics 04/19/2020 U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-Little Rock, says he expects more money to support the quickly evaporating COVID-19 subsidy programs for small businesses passed by Congress and he believes that governors should control a targeted approach to reopening… Read more »

Hill named to panel overseeing virus aid Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette 04/18/2020 As a member of a newly created Congressional Oversight Commission, U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., will help monitor up to $500 billion in covid-19-related relief funds that are earmarked for business loans, loan guarantees and other investments. That money, which was part of the $2.2 trillion… Read more »

Lawmakers Demand To Know Where Business Stimulus Funds Are Going The Huffington Post 04/18/2020 Democratic senators have fired off a letter demanding to know basic details about where billions of dollars in business stimulus funds from America’s Treasury have been paid. The Trump administration has so far stonewalled on information about recipients of its massive stimulus… Read more »

Spending Overseers Are Sidelined as Stimulus Checks Roll Out InvestorsHub 04/18/2020 The federal government is spending $2.2 trillion to aid American businesses and households in response to the coronavirus outbreak. But efforts to keep an eye on how the money is being spent are off to a slow start, in part because of the pandemic itself. As the Trump administration distributes… Read more »

U.S. bailout watchdog vows to scrutinize share buybacks, dividends Fox Business 04/17/2020 An official charged with overseeing how the U.S. government handles $500 billion in bailout funds said on Friday he will also monitor how companies use the cash, including for share buybacks, dividends and staff compensation. Bharat Ramamurti, who was named this month as a member of the… Read more »

Trump unveils 3-phase revival plan Arkansas Democrat Gazette 04/17/2020 President Donald Trump gave governors a road map Thursday for recovering from the economic pain of the coronavirus pandemic, laying out "a phased and deliberate approach" to restoring normal activity in places that have strong testing and are seeing a decrease in covid-19 cases. "We're starting our life… Read more »