Senate scrutiny of the CARES Act virus response legislation continues today (June 10) with a Small Business & Entrepreneurship hearing on the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) led by Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) and featuring testimony from Treasury Secretary Mnuchin and SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza, amid a push to expand the program for small businesses. The PPP was the subject of the latest congressional virus-related bill and more changes are sought.

The Washington Post reported Senator Rubio as saying the hearing would include scrutiny of some early regulatory actions taken regarding the program, and today's paper includes a lengthy story on the PPP's success.

A separate story discusses the esteem for Senator Rubio's role in crafting the program.

There weren't many new developments during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on unemployment benefits yesterday. Republicans argued the $600 per-week unemployment benefits expansion provides an incentive for people to stay out of work and should end and discussed Senator Rob Portman's (R-OH) proposal for a temporary $450 per week return-to-work bonus as an alternative going forward. Democrats said they didn't understand how Republicans can both celebrate Friday's employment numbers while also arguing that there is a UI disincentive for people returning to work and argued that worker benefits are necessary given the money spent to support businesses and uncertainty about the economic recovery.

Republican Senators are signaling a next response bill won't be negotiated until July, possibly with the expanded UI benefits July 31 expiration as an action-forcing deadline. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) opined during the hearing, with some members appearing remotely and others in the room, that the public doesn't want the Senate to spend another month voting on nominations instead of legislation related to COVID-19 and the jobs crisis. (The Senate is currently debating the Great America Outdoors Act, which addresses issues like land and water conservation and national park and forest maintenance.)

House Ways and Means Committee member Tom Reed (R-NY) said on MSNBC yesterday that he doesn't believe last Friday's jobs report will slow momentum for future coronavirus-related relief, but that it has "impacted the size of the package that we were originally looking at and that's good for America because the numbers came in much better than we anticipated, but it's not going to slow the need. The need is coming together, and I still think we're going to get this done here in the next 30 days." Senate GOP leaders and the White House are eyeing a package in the $1 trillion range, as opposed to the $3 trillion House bill.

White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett was quoted in today's Wall Street Journal as saying the odds of a 'phase 4' stimulus package before the August recess "are very, very high."

The OECD today released a report focused "on two equally probable scenarios — one in which a second wave of infections, with renewed lock-downs, hits before the end of 2020, and one in which another major outbreak is avoided," saying economic consequences will be severe and long-lasting either way and a return to late 2019 GDP is at least two years away.

Police reform

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and adviser Jared Kushner were on Capitol Hill discussing police reform issues with Republicans yesterday, and Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) is assembling, as a GOP alternative to a Democratic bill, a measure that could call for improvements to police violence database requirements, increased body camera use, and new training requirements, including on de-escalation. Senator Scott briefed GOP members during yesterday's party lunch and House leaders are mounting a parallel effort.

"I think the best way for the Senate Republicans to go forward on this is to listen to one of our own whose had these experiences … we're going to come together with a proposal that we think makes the most sense for the federal government in the wake of what we've seen and experienced over the last couple weeks," Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said following the lunch.

House leaders announced yesterday that action on the Democratic Justice in Policing Act of 2020 is expected to reconvene the chamber for votes sooner than previously reflected on the calendar. The House will now meet on Thursday, June 25, and Friday, June 26.

Health care

Yesterday, Senate HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) released "Preparing for the Next Pandemic," a white paper with five recommendations to address future pandemics based on lessons learned from COVID-19 and the past 20 years of pandemic planning.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced additional distributions from the Provider Relief Fund of $15 billion to eligible providers that participate in state Medicaid and CHIP programs and $10 billion to safety net hospitals that serve the most vulnerable citizens. There had been concerns about how federal health funds were being distributed.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a guide for patients and beneficiaries as they consider their in-person care options.

EY Alerts and other resources are here.

The global EY Tax COVID-19 Response Tracker has been updated through June 8.

EY tax COVID-19 Webcasts include, on Friday, June 12 at 12:00 p.m. ET, Tax in the time of COVID-19. This week's panelists will explore: (i) what's happening in Congress and with the economy; (ii) what's new with the states; (iii) IRS developments — what's open(ing); and (iv) any breaking developments. Register

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