What's New in Washington - June 2020
The post-Memorial Day summer session has begun in Washington with the House and Senate facing a similar todo list but with different approaches and philosophies. The main items on the summer agenda include the Phase 4 COVID19 response package, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), appropriations, the federal highway bill (the FAST Act), water infrastructure legislation (WRDA) and flood insurance.
The negotiations over Phase 4 are expected to gear up in June as the Senate prepares its response to the $3 trillion Housepassed HEROES Act. While the two parties have different views on the scope of Phase 4, there is bipartisan agreement that adjustments need to be made to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to ensure businesses can optimally use the program. Last week, the House passed legislation by a 4171 vote to extend the loan forgiveness period to 24 weeks. The measure, sponsored by Rep. Dean Phillips (DMN) and Rep. Chip Roy (RTX), would also modify the 75percent payroll requirement of the program to provide greater flexibility at a new ratio of 60 percent on payroll costs and 40 percent on other costs. The bipartisan leadership of the Senate Small Business Committee reached agreement on a similar but slightly different package of technical modifications to
the PPP just prior to the Memorial Day recess and is expected to resume negotiations this week in an attempt to secure Senate passage as a standalone package in June.
The Senate will be in session for the entire month of June, with the next recess scheduled over the July 4 holiday. Leader McConnell has indicated that the Senate will vote on S. 3422, the Great American Outdoors Act, which would permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund at its authorized $900 million annual level. The Senate continues to process President Trump’s nominations to the executive and judicial branches and also plans to take up the NDAA, with the Senate Armed Services Committee recently announcing a revised schedule for marking up the measure in June. The chamber also may take up WRDA this summer, and the Senate Appropriations Committee is likely to
begin the process of approving and reporting out appropriations bills in June.
The House will continue their work via proxy voting and remote hearings, and will focus on NDAA, the highway bill, the water resources bill, as well as the appropriations bills. Ongoing COVID19 business in the House has delayed the chamber’s initial plans to pass all 12 of its appropriations bills by June, but subcommittees are working to draft and remotely approve appropriations bills for fiscal year (FY) 2021 with the goal of House passage before the August recess.
