Which industries won the coronavirus stimulus lobbying battle?
Powerful companies and trade groups with sway in Washington are asking for more than $2.7 trillion in grants, loans and other assistance amid the coronavirus pandemic. And that’s only those that have put a price tag on the financial aid they need.
Congress is poised to provide far less than that. The Senate unanimously passed a bipartisan $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief bill Wednesday that will establish a $450 billion lending program to support struggling businesses and provide $350 billion in loans to small businesses. The House is expected to pass the bill and President Donald Trump has said he will sign it.
Senate Intel chair unloaded stocks in mid-February before coronavirus rocked markets
As the coronavirus outbreak began to spread across the U.S. in mid-February, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.) unloaded his holdings in dozens of stocks that would lose much of their market value over the coming weeks. Burr and his wife Brooke sold between $628,000 and $1.7 million in publicly traded stocks on Feb. 13 and didn’t buy any new positions, according to a recent financial disclosure filed with the Senate. Read More
ISPs temporarily drop data caps they lobbied Congress to keep legal
Forced into their homes amid the coronavirus outbreak, those lucky enough to be working from home are catching an extra break from some of the biggest internet service provider’s broadband data caps. Internet service providers including AT&T, Comcast and CenturyLink have waived or paused their data usage limits for the next 60 days now that millions of Americans were ordered to stay home and are using more data than usual. Read More
Outside group snubs Sessions in Alabama Senate race, backs Tuberville after Trump endorsement
Contributions for Republican Tommy Tuberville are pouring in after President Donald Trump endorsed him on March 10 in Alabama’s Senate race that pits him against the president’s former Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Outside groups are also backing Tuberville following Trump’s endorsement. Tuberville has received over twice the amount in contributions over 10 days than he did between mid-February and Trump’s endorsement. Read More
Amid coronavirus outbreak, not all congressional stock trades are created equal
While the nation is immobilized by the coronavirus pandemic, a handful of lawmakers are defending their stock trades made more than a month before the virus took hold of the U.S. Some of those trades are drawing more scrutiny than others.
While Sens. Richard Burr and Kelly Loeffler dumped up to seven figures in publicly traded stock — much of which appeared to be directly related to the coronavirus outbreak — other senators' transactions appear less questionable when scrutinized.
How Gun Control Groups Are Closing the Spending Gap with the NRA (PBS) “Gun rights groups had an edge for so long, especially on federal spending. To see gun control groups actually come close to them and actually surpass them like they did in the 2018 midterms is unprecedented.”
