THE STATE OF PANDEMIC POLITICS
By Lisa Desjardins, @LisaDNews
Correspondent
 
Some wanted to wait and see how the pandemic evolved. Others disagreed over what and how much to do in response. The result: Congress and the White House have gone four months without passing any new substantial programs aimed at helping families or businesses grapple with COVID-19.
 
Now, there is a calendar problem. Congress hopes to finish its work in the next three weeks. 
 
Here is a look at where the COVID relief debate stands.
 
The Republican-Democrat divide:
 
This afternoon, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced he will hold a vote on a Republican plan later this week. He said this is to be a smaller, targeted plan aimed at essential bottom-line needs.
 
Multiple sources confirm these are the biggest sticking points:

• Unemployment. Republicans would add $300 a week to unemployment benefits through the end of the year. Democrats would like that to be $600 a week.
• Small businesses. The GOP would fund another round of the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, for small businesses. Their version would fund roughly two months of expenses for businesses that can show losses of 35 percent or more. It would apply to firms with 300 or fewer workers. Democrats largely agree on those contours, but would like to limit the assistance to smaller companies with 100 employees max.
• Schools. McConnell’s plan proposes roughly $105 billion to help schools across the country. Democrats’ latest negotiation stance was for $343 billion.
• Child care. Republicans would spend $10 billion to help with child care. House Democrats passed a bill in June to spend $50 billion on stabilizing the child care industry. The Senate has not acted on that bill.
• Testing, tracing. We are waiting to see the text of the GOP plan, but in the past Republican senators discussed $16 billion for COVID-19 testing and tracing and another $29 billion for vaccine production and distribution. House Democrats passed a plan with $75 billion in May. 
• State and local funding. Republicans have not included separate money for states and cities in their bill, but point to school funding as relief for both. Democrats are pushing for more than $900 billion, on top of money for schools.
• Elections. The GOP plan would not spend significant dollars to help with any pandemic-related election needs. House Democrats passed $3.6 billion in funding for election help in May but, again, that has not been acted on by the Senate.

• Small businesses.  This may be the area of greatest concern. A long list of groups, from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to state small business advocates and individual companies, are warning Congress that without another round of aid, another round of bankruptcies could be imminent. 
• Unemployment. There is mixed news on this front. The unemployment rate dropped to 8.4 percent last month, lower than many had forecast as a best-case scenario for any point this year. However, within the figure are troubling signs. The pace of recovery is slowing, quickly. And worse, the number of people who say they’ve permanently lost their job increased, to more than 4 million.  
• Unemployment benefits.  President Donald Trump took action last month to send out some emergency funds — boosting benefits by $300 a week. But states are still processing that money and not all affected workers have received the money yet; many may still have to wait more than a month. In addition, the money is expected to run out quickly, covering a total of roughly five weeks of added benefits.

• Congress is scheduled to recess at the end of September. 
• The House will be in session just 10 to 12 days before then. (Depending on whether you count the two days when they don’t show up until after 6 p.m.) 
• During that time, both chambers must also extend funding for most of the government, which is due to run out Sept. 30. That is now expected to happen with little drama, via a continuing resolution extending current funding. But it is still a major task to be completed.
• Hovering over all of this is the election, now just eight weeks away, which makes tough political decisions and any bipartisan compromise even harder.

 

FIVE OVERLOOKED POLITICAL STORIES FROM THE PAST WEEK
By Ian Couzens, @iancouzenz
Politics production assistant
 
US plans to collect more personal data of noncitizens - Sept. 1. The Department of Homeland Security said it would soon issue a proposal to expand its “authorities and methods” for collecting biometric information such as voice and facial recognition and in some cases DNA to verify people's identities. Why it matters: Lawyers have raised concerns about the rule, saying there is no justification for expanding the use of biometrics and the new policy does not explicitly say how long the information would be retained, how it would be used, or whether it would be shared with foreign governments. -- The Associated Press
 
US farmers in line for record $37 bn in government handouts this year - Sept. 2. Direct government payments will account for 36 percent of farm income this year, resulting in a 24 percent increase in the median income for farm households since 2018, when President Donald Trump’s trade war dramatically reduced the volume of trade with China and other trade partners. Why it matters: Political scientists are calling the significant expansion in farm aid a blatant attempt by the Trump administration to buy the agriculture vote ahead of the November election, which will be decided in key battleground states like Wisconsin where farming is a significant part of GDP. -- The Financial Times
 
Latino journalists group sees glaring omission among presidential debate moderators - Sept. 4 The National Association of Hispanic Journalists called out the Commission on Presidential Debates for its “erasure” of Latinos by failing to represent them in their choice of debate moderators. Why it matters: Amid a pandemic that has disproportionately affected people of color, and given efforts by both major parties to do a better job of courting Latino voters, the CDP’s omission comes across as tone deaf and could negatively impact the ability of both presidential campaigns to reach key voters in battleground states.  -- The Los Angeles Times
 
The Door-to-Door Election Battle to Swing an Arizona County - Sept 4. The Biden campaign stopped door knocking in favor of virtual campaigning during the pandemic, instead conducting digital, text-message and phone outreach seven days a week, focusing efforts on areas with large Latino populations, while Trump and Republicans have continued their on the ground efforts and have held dozens of “Latinos for Trump” events in the state. Why it matters: Winning the key battleground state of Arizona hinges on success in the population-dense Maricopa county, which is home to roughly half of the state’s residents, and whether candidates can bolster turnout among Latino residents, who account for roughly a third of the county’s population. -- The Wall Street Journal

Trump Expected to Nominate a New Ambassador to Afghanistan - Sept 4. President Donald Trump's nominee will most likely be William Ruger, a foreign policy expert who has opposed the U.S. presence in Afghanistan and has called for withdrawal of U.S. forces in the region. Why it matters: Experts believe Trump could be signaling he will attempt to make good on his 2016 campaign promise to fully withdraw troops from Afghanistan, drawing concern from top Pentagon officials, who have argued that President Barack Obama’s similar decision to withdraw troops from Iraq in 2011 gave rise to ISIS. -- The Wall Street Journal


#POLITICSTRIVIA
By Kate Grumke, @KGrumke
Politics producer
 
On this day in 1892, the Pledge of Allegiance was first published. It was written by Francis Bellamy and created as part of a commemoration of the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ arrival in America. The original version did not include the phrase “under God.”
 
Our question: In what year was “under God” officially added to the Pledge of Allegiance?
 
Send your answers to [email protected] or tweet using #PoliticsTrivia. The first correct answers will earn a shout-out next week.
 
Last week, we asked: What is the longest stretch of time there has been no member of the Kennedy family in either house of Congress? And who were the Kennedys on either side of the gap?
 
The answer: Two years, from January 2011 to January 2013. Rep. Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island left office in 2011. Rep. Joe Kennedy III of Massachusetts took office in 2013.
 
There was one other gap, from December 1960 to November 1962, when John F. Kennedy resigned because he won the presidency. That gap ended when Ted Kennedy was elected to the Senate in a special election.
 
Congratulations to our winners: Barry Weinstein and Jim O’Reilly!
 
Thank you all for reading and watching. We’ll drop into your inbox next week.