FEDERAL COVID-19 UPDATES – May 21, 2020 Total U.S. coronavirus deaths reported: (last Friday, 85,906); Monday 90,980; Tuesday 91,985; Wednesday 95,358; Thursday 94,948

Happening on the Hill

White House

11:00 am – In-House Pool Call Time 12:00 pm – Trump departs White House en route to Joint Base Andrews 12:30 pm – Trump departs Washington, DC en route to Detroit, MI 1:40 pm – Trump arrives at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport 1:50 pm – Trump departs Detroit, MI en route to Ypsilanti, MI 2:10 pm – Trump arrives at Ford Rawsonville Components Plant 2:15 pm – Trump participates in a listening session with African-American Leaders 3:00 pm – Trump tours Ford Rawsonville Components Plant 3:20 pm – Trump delivers remarks 4:10 pm – Trump departs Ypsilanti, MI en route to Detroit, MI 4:40 pm – Trump departs Detroit, MI en route to Washington, DC 5:55 pm – Trump arrives at Joint Base Andrews 6:15 pm – Trump arrives at the White House

House

• The House is not in session today, and will next meet for a pro forma session tomorrow at 11 a.m.

• 12:00 pm - House Coronavirus Panel Brief: The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis will hold a briefing on protecting frontline workers during the pandemic.

Senate

• 9:30 am - Seniors, Virus Care: The Senate Special Committee on Aging holds a hearing oncaring for seniors during the Covid-19 pandemic.

• 10:00 am - The Senate meets. • 12:00 pm - Nominations: The Senate will vote at noon on the confirmation of Rep. John

Ratcliffe(R-Texas) to be director of national intelligence. The Senate Intelligence Committee advanced Ratcliffe’s nomination on a party-line 8-7 vote Tuesday. Trump’s

nomination of Ratcliffe was criticized by Democrats, who said he had less experience in intelligence matters than previous directors and that they see him as a Trump loyalist.

• 1:30 p.m., the Senate will vote on a motion to invoke cloture, or limit debate, on the nomination of John Badalamenti to be a judge for the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. If cloture is invoked, the chamber would vote on confirmation of Badalamenti on June 1 at 5:30 p.m.

• Foreign Relations Markup: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is scheduled to mark up20 measures including: S. 2953, to provide congressional oversight of U.S. talks with Taliban officials and Afghanistan’s comprehensive peace process; S. 2743, to establish the China Censorship Monitor and Action Group, S. 712, to provide assistance for U.S. citizens and nationals taken hostage or unlawfully or wrongfully detained abroad; S. 238, to monitor and combat anti-Semitism globally; and S. 3176, to make improvements to certain defense and security assistance provisions and to authorize the appropriations of funds to Israel.

o The committee is also scheduled to vote on the nomination of Michael Pack to be CEO of the Broadcasting Board of Governors. Pack is the subject of an investigation by the Washington, D.C. attorney general’s office over whether he had misused funds from a nonprofit organization -- the Public Media Lab -- for his personal benefit, Daniel Flatley reports.

• Judiciary Markup: The Senate Judiciary Committee is also scheduled to vote on S. 685, legislation to transfer some misconduct investigatory responsibility from the Justice Department Office of Professional Responsibility to the DOJ Office of Inspector General

o The committee also could vote on the nomination of Justin Walker to be a judge for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Senate Weighs Probes of Bidens, Obama Aides Republicans on Capitol Hill are are ramping up investigations aimed at Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and some of his former Obama administration colleagues.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) today is set to ask the panel for authority to subpoena numerous former Obama-era officials, including former CIA Director John Brennan, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and former Attorney General Loretta Lynch as well as ex-FBI director James Comey as part of his panel’s review of the origins of the investigation into Russian election interference and the Trump campaign’s role.

Graham’s request for the subpoenas likely won’t get a vote until after the Senate returns from a Memorial Day recess in June, but the line of inquiry is fully embraced by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who is in the middle of a battle to save his Republican majority in the November election, Bloomberg News’ Steven T. Dennis reports.

“An American citizen’s campaign for the American presidency was treated like a hostile foreign power by our own law enforcement — in part because a Democrat-led executive branch manipulated documents, hid contrary evidence, and made a DNC-funded dossier a launchpad for an investigation,” McConnell said on the floor of the Senate Tuesday. “The American people deserve answers about how such abuses could happen. And we intend to get those answers.”

The stepped-up GOP investigations are a flipped script from earlier in the year, when Republicans and the White House accused Democrats of being obsessed with impeaching the president and distracting the country from the growing coronavirus pandemic.

Portman Proposes Back-to-Work Bonus: Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) is proposing a back-to-work bonus of $450 a week for those who return to their jobs before the expiration of a temporary increase in unemployment insurance. The boost in unemployment insurance was granted under a relief package in March. Portman, a negotiator of that bill, said on the Senate floor that he’s drafting a measure to redirect federal subsidies for unemployment insurance toward a temporary work incentive for employees who can return to their jobs before the end of July. Read more from Colin Wilhelm.

Labor Nominees to Get Committee Vote: Nominees for the National Labor Relations Board and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission will be voted on by a Senate panel early next month, a move that could end a delay in efforts to advance the nominations. The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee on June 3 will consider the two NLRB nominees—former Commissioner Lauren McFerran (D) and current member Marvin Kaplan (R)—and three EEOC picks, Jocelyn Samuels, Andrea Lucas and Keith Sonderling. Read more from Jaclyn Diaz.

Peters Asks Trump Not to Deny National Guard Benefits: Former Navy Reserve Lt. Commander and Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs ranking member Gary Peters (D-Mich.) asked the Trump administration not to end deployments of National Guard members one day before they’d become eligible for several federal benefits. The National Guard has been called on to assist in the coronavirus pandemic response, but yesterday the administration announced an end to deployment on June 24, one day before the 90 day threshold for benefits for active duty service to kick in, Peters said. Read the letter here.

SBA Program

Trump administration said firms that took loans of more than $2 million that they didn’t need from a small business aid program would be allowed to repay the money without legal consequences ahead of a deadline today

If you're looking for a real-time list of public companies who have received SBA Cares Act loans, AI Margaret rom Factsquared has been reading SEC 8-Ks as they're filed.

https://factba.se/sba-loans

Reopening the States

CDC Publishes Detailed Reopening Guidance: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a 60-page document providing detailed suggestions for different phases of reopening workplaces, schools and restaurants, after an earlier draft was rejected by the White House for

being “too prescriptive.” The document, which expands on several tools that the agency released last week to guide specific types of organizations, was posted on the CDC’s website over the weekend without fanfare. They’re similar to ones included in the draft, although they pertain to fewer types of businesses and are less restrictive.

Much of the new guidance provides an overview of public-health measures like testing aimed at tracking the coronavirus’s spread and guiding the government’s response. The final 20 pages lay out stages of opening up child-care programs; schools and day camps; companies with high-risk employees; restaurants and bars; and mass transit. The document also gives detailed suggestions for social distancing, hygienic practices and symptom-checking. Emma Court has more.

The new guidance advised that masks should be worn by staff and encouraged for students at reopening K-12 schools, and it said schools should cancel extracurricular activities in areas still most affected by the virus, Andrew Kreighbaum reports.

Reopen Push Repels Some GOP Supporters: Trump has acknowledged his push to reopen the U.S. economy before the coronavirus outbreak abates may cost more American lives. It may also cost him votes. Republicans are split almost down the middle on reopening, according to recent polls. About three-quarters of Americans want the government to aggressively seek to slow the virus even if it means keeping businesses closed, according to a Washington Post-Ipsos poll released last week.

Only 25% of voters surveyed -- and half of Republicans -- supported reopening businesses to “get the economy going again, even if that means more people would get the coronavirus,” the approach backed by the president. Read more from Mario Parker and Vincent Del Giudice.

Minnesota Governor Calls Pence on Diverted Diagnostic Machines: The federal government took Hologic Inc. diagnostic machines that were scheduled to be shipped to Minnesota, leading to a 20-minute telephone call between Gov. Tim Walz and Vice President Mike Pence. Walz, a Democrat who has been reluctant to criticize the Trump administration’s response to the pandemic, told reporters at a press conference yesterday that the federal government has no national strategy regarding medical supplies that states need to combat the coronavirus. Read more from Stephen Joyce.

Apple, Google Release Covid-19 Tool: Apple and Google released their Covid-19 exposure-notification tools yesterday, along with changes that will help public health authorities gather more information on who has the virus. The system—called Exposure Notification—helps authorities develop apps that notify users if they have come into contact with a person who has tested positive. Users who’ve downloaded the app for their region will be able to update their status if they test positive. The system will then anonymously notify other u sers who have come into contact with that person. Read more from Mark Gurman and Gerrit De Vynck.

Employment Income Expectations Improve in 35 States: Americans’ views about whether the Covid-19 outbreak is expected to zap employment income are diverging among states. The Census Bureau yesterday released the first results of its experimental weekly Household Pulse

Survey, which compared responses made May 7 through May 12 against those in the April 23-May 5 period. The poll is intended to shed light on a wide range of topics including employment, spending, housing and health.

An analysis of state data showed the biggest one-week increase in the share expecting a loss of employment income occurred in Virginia. Just over 38% of respondents in the state expected a loss of wages, up 6.1 percentage points from the first week of the poll. But in the nation’s capital, wage expectations improved 10 percentage points, the biggest gain in the country, with 22.7% anticipating lost employment income over the next month. Read more from Alex Tanzi.

Disney, Universal to Submit Their Florida Reopening Plans: Disney, Comcast’s Universal Studios and SeaWorld are taking another step toward reopening their massive theme parks in Orlando, Florida. The operators will begin submitting their plans to a reopening task force today, a spokesperson for Florida’s Orange County said in an email. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said

last week that theme-park operators could begin reopening once they submit plans and win approval from local authorities. Read more from Christopher Palmeri.

N.Y. Sees New Infections in Low-Income Areas: New York City is seeing the coronavirus continue to spread in lower-income and predominately minority communities as the state’s overall numbers get better, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said yesterday. The majority of new cases are originating in those parts of the city, he said. A review of 8,000 antibody tests conducted in those areas found an infection rate of 34% in the Bronx, 29% in Brooklyn and 25% in Queens, higher than the city’s 19.9% average, he said.Keshia Clukey has more.

• Cuomo yesterday also said he stood by his handling of coronavirus patients in nursing homes as calls mounted for an independent investigation. State Senate Republicans along with five New York Republicans in Congress, are demanding a federal probe into the state’s guidance for nursing homes and long-term care facilities, which required the facilities to admit coronavirus-positive patients. Read more from Clukey.

• A government watchdog report found infection control deficiencies were widespread in nursing homes even prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. A Government Accountability Office report released yesterday found 82% of nursing homes surveyed from 2013 to 2017 were cited for deficiencies, and half of the homes had persistent problems cited over multiple years. Read the report here.

Healthcare

New Covid Treatment Owed to Carter-Era Law The most promising Covid-19 treatments and vaccines being explored right now were made possible by a little-known law that encourages licensing agreements between private pharmaceutical companies and government-funded researchers. Treatments such as Gilead’s remdesivir, Ridgeback Biotherapeutics’ EIDD-2801 drug, and Moderna’s vaccine candidate were all achieved through public-private partnerships that didn’t exist before the Bayh-Dole Act in 1980. The law, best known for giving the government the never-used authority to seize licensing rights for any product funded by taxpayer dollars, changed the pharmaceutical industry dramatically. It made it possible for drug companies to profit when they license new inventions from universities, nonprofits, or any government-funded entities or partner with them for early stage research and testing.

“Before Bayh-Dole, if the government funded an invention, even a small percentage of funding, the government would take the invention away and try to license it non-exclusively,” said Joseph Allen, a former Senate staffer who was instrumental in passing the act. “It sounds noble, but it completely failed because there was no incentive if a university made an invention for a company to license it,” added Allen, who is also founder of consulting firm Allen & Associates. For companies developing potential Covid-19 treatments and vaccines, being able to profit by building on university research has been critical.

Gilead partnered with various universities, led by the University of Alabama, for remdesivir research in 2014. Moderna collaborated with Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania on its vaccine. Ridgeback licensed its Covid-19 technology from Emory University.

Without the flexibility of Bayh-Dole “you kill innovation,” Wendy Holman, CEO and founder of Ridgeback, said during an April webinar on Bayh-Dole. “I say that having licensed 2801 from Emory,” she added. “It would have been irresponsible of me to have licensed it if I didn’t think I could raise money around it.” Read more from Valerie Bauman.

Scott, Murray Push to Keep Students Insured: House Education and Labor Chairman Bobby Scott(D-Va.) and Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions ranking member Patty Murray (D-Wash.) urged HHS Secretary Alex Azar in a letter “to take proactive steps to help more than 14 million displaced college students maintain access to health care coverage,” according to a statement. They argue that many students who rely on health insurance plans sponsored by their universities “may face a break in coverage as these institutions remain closed” due to lockdowns. Read the letter here.

DeGette Outlines Oversight Plan: The House Energy and Commerce Committee plans to hold its first oversight hearing on Covid-19 testing in the coming weeks, Oversight and Investigations subcommittee Chairwoman Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) said yesterday.

Her comments at a virtual community forum come one day after she and Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) unveiled an oversight agenda. DeGette, who heads the oversight subcommittee, said they’ve been “paralyzed for a couple of months” in their ability to oversee the Trump administration’s response to the pandemic until House rules changed last week that allowed for remote hearings. Testing will be the first issue in a series of hearing to be held “throughout the summer designed to hold the administration’s feet to the fire on this,” DeGette said in response to a question about President Trump’s decision to fire inspectors gen eral, Jeannie Baumann reports.

Durbin Wants Remdesivir Transparency: Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) yesterday hosted a briefing call with HHS Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Dr. Robert Kadlec, and pressed him concerns from states, hospitals and patients on the opaque manner the federal government is distributing Gilead’s coronavirus drug remdesivir, according to a statement. The administration committed to a public dashboard with information on shipments, the release said. Durbin had led a dozen Senators in a letter on the issue last week.

1980 Law Helps Develop Virus Treatments: The most promising coronavirus treatments and vaccines being explored right now were made possible due to a little-known law that encourages licensing agreements between pharmaceutical companies and government-funded researchers. Treatments including Gilead’s remdesivir, Ridgeback Biotherapeutics’ EIDD-2801 drug, and Moderna’s vaccine candidate were all achieved through public-private partnerships that didn’t exist before the Bayh-Dole Act in 1980. Valerie Bauman explains.

HHS Awards $225 Million for Rural Testing: Rural health clinics will get $225 million to expand Covid-19 testing, the Health and Human Services Department announced yesterday. The

funds will be divided among 4,500 clinics and can be used to implement testing programs, buy testing supplies, train staff, find and build new facilities, and report data to the HHS, Health Resources and Services Administration head Tom Engels said in a statement, Shira Stein reports.

Hospitals Urged to Cut Ties With Anti-Single Payer Coalition: Advocates for shifting the U.S. to a single-payer health-care system will start a campaign today aimed at getting the American Hospital Association to cut ties with an industry coalition that opposes “Medicare for All” efforts. Physicians for a National Health Program, a group of doctors backing Medicare for All, will kick off a letter-writing and educational campaign to urge the AHA to separate from the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future, a consortium of hospitals, doctors, and insur ance groups working through a D.C.-based lobby shop to oppose single-payer efforts, PNHP President Adam Gaffney said.

The effort was supposed to start with a rally outside of AHA’s annual meeting in Washington last month, which was called off due to the pandemic, Gaffney said. Still, the spread of the disease and the shutdown of many of America’s hospitals could be making a case for shifting to a system in which the government would pay health-care bills, Gaffney said. “The fact that hospitals aren’t resilient in the face of a major health crisis makes you see it might be time to rethink the way we pay doctors and hospitals,” he said.

The AHA was among the earliest members of the Partnership, and the hospital industry would stand to lose billions of dollars each year if forced to accept only Medicare or Medicaid rates for their services. Gaffney’s group was encouraged last year when the American Medical Association, the country’s largest doctors’ lobby, pulled out of the Partnership after his group started a similar campaign that included protesting at the AMA’s annual meeting, Alex Ruoff reports.

Transportation

Ford Restarts Bumpy as Trump Visits Ford temporarily closed two critical factories three separate times during a two-day period due to suspected Covid-19 cases, a practice that could become the normal course of business as manufacturers try to carry on through the pandemic.

Ford halted production at its Chicago Explorer SUV plant yesterday when a worker at a nearby supplier facility tested positive for the virus, causing a parts shortage. That came after the auto manufacturer was forced to suspend operations at the factory for several hours on Tuesday after two of its own workers tested positive, according to a company spokeswoman. Ford also stopped building F-150 pickup trucks, its biggest money maker, at its Rouge factory in Dearborn, Mich., when a worker tested positive.

The company is working through the kinks of resuming output at its North American factories this week after idling them for two months to slow the spread of the virus. In each case, Ford said it conducted a deep cleansing of the afflicted employees’ work areas and sent anyone who

came in close contact with them home to quarantine for two weeks. The hiccups haven’t led so far to a multi-day closure, as both the SUV and truck factories were set to resume output.

Ford has publicly released a 64-page return-to-work playbook filled with safety measures it is enacting to protect workers’ health.

It also asked President Donald Trump to wear a mask when he tours a Ford factory in Michigan today. The president has not committed to following that safety protocol when he visits the Rawsonville plant in Ypsilanti, Mich. today. Read more from Keith Naughton.

Delta Boosts Flights on Rising Demand: Delta Air Lines boosted the number of flights it will restore to service in June and July to allow for spacing among passengers as demand increases. “Once we get close to 60% on an individual route, that’ll be the trigger for us to add more planes into the system,” CEO Ed Bastian said yesterday on Fox Business News.

The carrier will add 200 flights in June and may add as many as 300 in July, he said. Just two days earlier, the airline said it planned to add 100 flights next month.

The airline’s plan to beef up its schedule bolsters reports from other carriers seeing moderate growth in demand that had been nearly wiped out by the coronavirus pandemic. Those encouraging signals have been tempered by warnings that the outlook remains uncertain and that a full recovery could be lengthy, especially on international routes. Read more from Mary Schlangenstein.

• Meanwhile, 73% of airline flights remain less than 50% full of passengers, and only 8.5% are more than 70% full, according to new data released from Airlines for America, which outlined steps carriers are taking to prevent virus spread.

United Air’s New CEO Eases Tone on Job Cuts: United Airlines’s new CEO vowed to work with the carrier’s labor unions on “creative” ways to slash labor spending and potentially avoid furloughs if travel demand doesn’t recover by October.

Reduced work hours would be one possible approach, Scott Kirby said yesterday in an interview with CNBC and again at United’s annual meeting. His comments contrasted with the airline’s dire tone on jobs in recent weeks and an earlier attempt to move 15,000 employees to part-time status—a plan that was reversed after it prompted a lawsuit by the workers’ union.

“We hope we can work with unions to avoid furloughs and actually just use fewer hours,” Kirby said in the interview. “We’re going to need to work with our union partners—and we already are—to accomplish that. By far, that is in the best long-term interest of all our people. It preserves jobs in the long-term and our ability to snap back” when demand returns. Read more from Mary Schlangenstein.

A Vision of Safe-Flying: Honeywell International has been thinking about what it will take to coax people back onto airplanes. A virus-killing robot that can patrol empty aisles between

flights, zapping out ultra-violet light, makes a good start. The company has more in mind: temperature-taking cameras that can also flag airport officials when people aren’t wearing a face mask properly, a system that spots overcrowded areas, and air-quality sensors that constantly monitor for pathogens. Read more from Thomas Black.

Virus Sidelines A380 Superjet: Airbus’s A380 superjumbo is proving to be too big to survive in many airline fleets after the coronavirus. The pandemic has already grounded planes and brought air-travel almost to a standstill. Now airlines are making strategic decisions which could hasten the demise of the world’s largest commercial jetliner.

Air France-KLM said yesterday it will book a 500 million-euro ($550 million) writedown from the early phasing-out of its A380 fleet, while Emirates, the world’s largest operator of the type, is said to be considering retiring as many as 65 of the double-decker aircraft. Read more from Siddharth Philip and Charlotte Ryan.

House Plans Vote on Small Business Aid: The House will vote next week on a bipartisan proposal to make a popular small business loan program more flexible and extend the time limit for using the aid, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said yesterday. Moving ahead on the plan with Republican support would allow Congress to get around a current impasse on whether to approve a new round of coronavirus relief. Read more from Erik Wasson and Daniel Flatley.

Infrastructure Bill Coming Soon: An infrastructure bill “will be coming soon,” Pelosi told reporters yesterday. It will include funds for post office modernization, she said.

Infrastructure Loans: President Donald Trump said yesterday Tulsa, Okla. had been approved for a transportation loan from the Department of Transportation of up to $120 million to help expand highway on the Gilcrease Expressway West Project.

Virgin Trains USA Says Florida Railroad to Stay Shut: Virgin Trains USA said yesterday that it won’t restart its fledgling railroad service in Florida for months, even as the state begins reopening and mass transit reemerges from the coronavirus shutdown in other parts of the country. The company, which is backed by private-equity firm Fortress Investment Group and billionaire Richard Branson, suspended its Miami-to-West Palm Beach service in March, shortly before Florida’s stay-home order. “We do not anticipate resuming operating in the coming mon ths,” the company said in a statement. Read more from Jonathan Levin.

Peak Combustion Already Achieved as EV Sales Keep Growing: The pandemic-ravaged economy is expected to give electric vehicles a boost in China, Europe and countries committed to boosting battery power through financial stimulus and infrastructure spending, according to a forecast released Tuesday by BloombergNEF.

In the U.S., however, EV sales will slow drastically in the coming months—and comprise just 1.7% of the personal auto market in 2021—as policy support weakens and cash-strapped car makers refocus on their most profitable products, namely fuel-burning trucks and SUVs. Even so, while the market for internal-combustion engine vehicles will still make up more than half of global auto sales for years to come, the peak was already achieved in 2017, the report showed.

Campaign Trail

Supreme Court Keeps Mueller Info From House for Now: The Supreme Court blocked House Democrats for now from getting access to confidential materials from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe, granting a request from Trump’s administration. The decision, which came yesterday without noted dissent, raises new doubts over whether Democrats will see the information anytime soon, if at all. The order applies until justices act on an appeal the administration has promised to file.

The high court gave the Trump administration until June 1 to file the appeal, putting the case on a fast track that will let justices say by July whether they will take up the case. The earliest arguments would likely occur in October, so any ruling would come too late to help Democrats in the November election.Greg Stohr has more.

Groups Pressure Biden on Fossil Fuel Stimulus: A coalition of left-leaning groups is pressuring Joe Biden to undo tax breaks for oil and gas companies in the coronavirus stimulus bill. In a letter to Biden released yesterday, 21 environmental and social justice groups called on Biden to develop a plan to block or reverse loans and grants in the Paycheck Protection Program to fossil fuel companies and other direct relief. Ryan Teague Beckwith reports.

Biden Focuses on Wisconsin: Joe Biden wants to win Wisconsin to get to the White House. And to do so, he needs to campaign there. So yesterday, he did—from Delaware. The former vice president spent yesterday campaigning from afar in the key battleground that Hillary Clinton lost by under 23,000 of the nearly 3 million votes cast for president there. Jennifer Epstein has more.

Biden, DNC Raise $58.9 Million in April: Biden and the Democratic National Committee combined to raise $58.9 million in April as they stockpiled cash during the pandemic-induced virtual campaign, their latest filings with the Federal Election Commission show. The haul was only slightly smaller than the $61.7 million raised by President Donald Trump’s combined re-election effort in April. Read more from Bill Allison.

Other Stories

U.S. Rebukes China Over Trade, Military The White House issued a broad critique of China’s economic and military policies in a report to Congress as the two nations face off over issues ranging from trade to the coronavirus pandemic. The document, which was obtained by Bloomberg News ahead of its release, outlines a range of familiar criticisms of Beijing, including intellectual property theft and economic protectionism, but it doesn’t detail specific actions the U.S. will take in response. Read more from Jennifer Jacobs and Tony Capaccio.

Meanwhile, China denounced a rare message from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Taiwan’s president as “wrong and very dangerous,” as tensions between the two nations flared anew over U.S. overtures toward the democratically ruled island. Beijing’s Ministry of National Defense said in a statement that the military would “take all necessary measures to firmly safeguard” China’s sovereignty, while the country’s foreign ministry separately threatened retaliation.

The warnings came after Pompeo broke with past U.S. practice on Tuesday and issued a statement congratulating Tsai Ing-wen ahead of her inauguration to a second term as Taiwan’s president. Read more from Lucille Liu and Dandan Li.

Also last night, Trump escalated his rhetoric against China, suggesting that the country’s leader, Xi Jinping, is behind a “disinformation and propaganda attack on the United States and Europe.”

“It all comes from the top,” Trump said in a series of tweets. He added that China was “desperate” to have former Vice President Joe Biden win the presidential race.

While Trump has often blamed China for failing to prevent a pandemic now ravaging the global economy, he has been careful to maintain that his relationship with Xi remains strong. China’s foreign ministry has regularly fired back with similar charges, saying the Trump administration was looking to obscure the facts around the virus to deflect from its own shortcomings. Read more from Daniel Ten Kate.

The WHO Is Caught in a Dangerous Place Between Trump and China: The World Health Organization is fighting the worst pandemic in a century — and facing an unprecedented political challenge. The Trump administration ramped up its attack on the organization this week, threatening to permanently cut its funding and reconsider U.S. membership if the WHO doesn’t enact a sweeping overhaul. But the White House isn’t alone in raising concerns: Australia and Canada also called for inquiries into the origins of the pandemic and the WHO’s response to it. Read more from Matthew Campbell, Jason Gale, John Lauerman and James Paton.

Pompeo Defends Watchdog Firing: Michael Pompeo is defending the firing of the State Department’s inspector general but refuses to give any details, fueling questions about probes the watchdog was conducting and demonstrating anew the secretary of state’s distaste for explaining controversial decisions publicly. Read more from Nick Wadhams.

Navy Aircraft Carrier Returns to Sea: A U.S. aircraft carrier has set sail from Guam nearly two months after a deadly coronavirus outbreak began spreading through the ship, leading to the replacement of its captain by the acting Navy secretary, who then resigned in the uproar that followed. The Navy said last night the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt headed into the Philippine Sea. Read more from John Harney.

Fannie-Freddie Capital Plan Seeks Buffers: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s regulator is proposing that the mortgage giants be required to hold hundreds of billions of dollars in capital to guard against losses, a step that could have an impact on mortgage interest rates and on the Trump administration’s efforts to free the companies from U.S. control, Joe Light reports.

Trump Appoints Domestic Policy Chief: Trump last night announced the appointment of Brooke Rollins to be assistant to the president and acting director of the Domestic Policy Council. He also announced Derek Lyons will serve as assistant to the president and counselor to the president, reports Chelsea Mes.

Friday’s Legislative Action

1. H.R.6800 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)HEROES ActSponsor: Rep. Lowey, Nita M. [D-NY-17] (Introduced 05/12/2020) Cosponsors: (11)Committees: House - Appropriations; Budget; Ways and MeansLatest Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Received in the Senate. (All Actions)Tracker:

2. H.R.6922 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To require the Corps of Engineers to expedite review of applications for certain flood control projects near military installations, and for other purposes.Sponsor: Rep. Bacon, Don [R-NE-2] (Introduced 05/19/2020) Cosponsors: (1)Committees: House - Transportation and InfrastructureLatest Action: House - 05/20/2020 Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment. (All Actions)Tracker:

3. S.945 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)Holding Foreign Companies Accountable ActSponsor: Sen. Kennedy, John [R-LA] (Introduced 03/28/2019) Cosponsors: (4)Committees: Senate - Banking, Housing, and Urban AffairsLatest Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent. (All Actions)Tracker:

4. S.1130 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)Scarlett's Sunshine on Sudden Unexpected Death ActSponsor: Sen. Casey, Robert P., Jr. [D-PA] (Introduced 04/10/2019) Cosponsors: (10)Committees: Senate - Health, Education, Labor, and PensionsLatest Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Resolution agreed to in Senate with an amendment by Voice Vote. (All Actions)Tracker:

5. S.1380 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)Due Process Protections ActSponsor: Sen. Sullivan, Dan [R-AK] (Introduced 05/08/2019) Cosponsors: (6)Committees: Senate - JudiciaryLatest Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent. (All Actions)Tracker:

6. S.2894 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)Federal Maritime Commission National Shipper Advisory Committee Act of 2019Sponsor: Sen. Wicker, Roger F. [R-MS] (Introduced 11/19/2019) Cosponsors: (0)Committees: Senate - Commerce, Science, and TransportationLatest Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with an amendment favorably. (All Actions)Tracker:

7. S.2904 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)IOGAN ActSponsor: Sen. Cortez Masto, Catherine [D-NV] (Introduced 11/20/2019) Cosponsors: (1)Committees: Senate - Commerce, Science, and TransportationLatest Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably. (All Actions)Tracker:

8. S.2927 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)NIMHD Research Endowment Revitalization Act of 2019Sponsor: Sen. Jones, Doug [D-AL] (Introduced 11/21/2019) Cosponsors: (1)Committees: Senate - Health, Education, Labor, and PensionsLatest Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Passed Senate without amendment by Voice Vote. (All Actions)Tracker:

9. S.3681 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)A bill to require a joint task force on the operation of air travel during and after COVID-19 pandemic, and for other purposes.Sponsor: Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA] (Introduced 05/11/2020) Cosponsors: (1)Committees: Senate - Commerce, Science, and TransportationLatest Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably. (All Actions)Tracker:

10. S.3704 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)A bill to amend the Scientific and Advanced-Technology Act of 1992 to further support advanced technological manufacturing, and for other purposes.Sponsor: Sen. Wicker, Roger F. [R-MS] (Introduced 05/13/2020) Cosponsors: (1)Committees: Senate - Commerce, Science, and TransportationLatest Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably. (All Actions)Tracker:

11. S.3712 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)A bill to require the Secretary of Commerce to establish national cybersecurity grand challenges, and for other purposes.Sponsor: Sen. Wicker, Roger F. [R-MS] (Introduced 05/13/2020) Cosponsors: (2)Committees: Senate - Commerce, Science, and TransportationLatest Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with an amendment favorably. (All Actions)Tracker:

12. S.3717 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)A bill to require the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to submit to Congress a plan for the modernization of the information technology systems of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and for other purposes.Sponsor: Sen. Wicker, Roger F. [R-MS] (Introduced 05/13/2020) Cosponsors: (3)Committees: Senate - Commerce, Science, and TransportationLatest Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably. (All Actions)Tracker:

13. S.3729 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)A bill to provide relief for the recipients of financial assistance awards from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and for other purposes.Sponsor: Sen. Wicker, Roger F. [R-MS] (Introduced 05/13/2020) Cosponsors: (4)Committees: Senate - Commerce, Science, and TransportationLatest Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably. (All Actions)Tracker:

14. S.3734 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)A bill to provide for a coordinated Federal research initiative to ensure continued United States leadership in engineering biology.Sponsor: Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY] (Introduced 05/14/2020) Cosponsors: (3)Committees: Senate - Commerce, Science, and TransportationLatest Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably. (All Actions)Tracker:

15. S.3771 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)A bill to require the Secretary of Commerce to establish the Federal Advisory Committee on the Development and Implementation of Artificial Intelligence, and for other purposes.Sponsor: Sen. Cantwell, Maria [D-WA] (Introduced 05/20/2020) Cosponsors: (2)Committees: Senate - Commerce, Science, and TransportationLatest Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. (All Actions)Tracker:

16. S.3772 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)A bill to direct the Department of Health and Human Services to develop, submit, and allocate funding to advance a plan for efficiently building testing capacity for facilities serving significant populations of individuals aged 65 and older.Sponsor: Sen. Scott, Tim [R-SC] (Introduced 05/20/2020) Cosponsors: (0)Committees: Senate - Health, Education, Labor, and PensionsLatest Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (All Actions)Tracker:

17. S.3773 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)A bill to promote the general health and well-being of individuals accessing work through digital marketplace companies, and for other purposes.Sponsor: Sen. Braun, Mike [R-IN] (Introduced 05/20/2020) Cosponsors: (3)Committees: Senate - Health, Education, Labor, and PensionsLatest Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (All Actions)Tracker:

18. S.3774 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)A bill to amend the CARES Act to establish a Community Capital Investment Program, and for other purposes.Sponsor: Sen. Peters, Gary C. [D-MI] (Introduced 05/20/2020) Cosponsors: (0)Committees: Senate - Banking, Housing, and Urban AffairsLatest Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. (All Actions)Tracker:

19. S.3775 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)A bill to establish a United States-Israel Operations-Technology Working Group, and for other purposes.Sponsor: Sen. Peters, Gary C. [D-MI] (Introduced 05/20/2020) Cosponsors: (1)Committees: Senate - Foreign RelationsLatest Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. (All Actions)Tracker:

20. S.3776 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)A bill to provide for the continuation of paid parental leave for members of the Armed Services in the event of the death of the child.Sponsor: Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX] (Introduced 05/20/2020) Cosponsors: (1)Committees: Senate - Armed ServicesLatest Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services. (All Actions)Tracker:

21. S.3777 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)A bill to prohibit payment of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation to millionaires.Sponsor: Sen. Ernst, Joni [R-IA] (Introduced 05/20/2020) Cosponsors: (0)Committees: Senate - FinanceLatest Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (All Actions)Tracker:

22. S.3778 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)A bill to permit the Election Assistance Commission to waive the matching requirement for payments made to States for election security grants under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.Sponsor: Sen. Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO] (Introduced 05/20/2020) Cosponsors: (1)Committees: Senate - Rules and AdministrationLatest Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration. (All Actions)Tracker:

23. S.3779 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish a tax credit for training services received by individuals who are unemployed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.Sponsor: Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN] (Introduced 05/20/2020) Cosponsors: (3)Committees: Senate - FinanceLatest Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (All Actions)Tracker:

24. S.3780 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)A bill to encourage domestic advanced manufacturing of critical drugs and devices in order to address economic, health, and security concerns, combat shortages of critical drugs and devices, and promote increased domestic diversification of, and independence from foreign reliance on, pharmaceutical and medical device supply chains.Sponsor: Sen. Peters, Gary C. [D-MI] (Introduced 05/20/2020) Cosponsors: (0)Committees: Senate - Health, Education, Labor, and PensionsLatest Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (All Actions)Tracker:

25. S.3781 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)A bill to increase reporting of, help mitigate potential shortages related to, and promote, accountability and

transparency for pharmaceuticals and medical devices.Sponsor: Sen. Peters, Gary C. [D-MI] (Introduced 05/20/2020) Cosponsors: (0)Committees: Senate - Health, Education, Labor, and PensionsLatest Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (All Actions)Tracker:

26. S.3782 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)A bill to modify the amount authorized for commitments for 7(a) loans, and for other purposes.Sponsor: Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL] (Introduced 05/20/2020) Cosponsors: (6)Latest Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Introduced in the Senate, read twice, considered, read the third time, and passed without amendment by Unanimous Consent. (All Actions)Tracker:

27. S.3783 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)A bill to direct the Secretary of Defense to standardize, collect, and analyze information on the demographics of applicants to military service academies, and for other purposes.Sponsor: Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY] (Introduced 05/20/2020) Cosponsors: (4)Committees: Senate - Armed ServicesLatest Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services. (All Actions)Tracker:

28. S.3784 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide monthly rebates to every individual residing in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic.Sponsor: Sen. Harris, Kamala D. [D-CA] (Introduced 05/20/2020) Cosponsors: (3)Committees: Senate - FinanceLatest Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (All Actions)Tracker:

29. S.3785 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)A bill to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to provide food and agriculture emergency aid to States, and for other purposes.Sponsor: Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI] (Introduced 05/20/2020) Cosponsors: (2)Committees: Senate - Agriculture, Nutrition, and ForestryLatest Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. (All Actions)Tracker:

30. S.3786 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)A bill to reimburse United States citizens for costs incurred for commercial flights arranged by the Department of State to evacuate them from foreign countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic and to waive promissory notes and the obligation to repay emergency repatriation loans related to such travel.Sponsor: Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (Introduced 05/20/2020) Cosponsors: (1)Committees: Senate - Foreign RelationsLatest Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. (All Actions)Tracker:

31. S.3787 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)A bill to permit the Secretary of the Treasury to provide direct funding to certain entities.Sponsor: Sen. Harris, Kamala D. [D-CA] (Introduced 05/20/2020) Cosponsors: (7)Committees: Senate - FinanceLatest

Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (All Actions)Tracker:

32. S.3788 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for an increase in the maximum amount of grants awarded by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to States and tribal organizations for operating and maintaining veterans' cemeteries, and for other purposes.Sponsor: Sen. Tester, Jon [D-MT] (Introduced 05/20/2020) Cosponsors: (3)Committees: Senate - Veterans' AffairsLatest Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. (All Actions)Tracker:

33. S.3789 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)A bill to make a clarifying amendment to the CARES Act.Sponsor: Sen. Cassidy, Bill [R-LA] (Introduced 05/20/2020) Cosponsors: (1)Committees: Senate - AppropriationsLatest Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Appropriations. (All Actions)Tracker:

34. S.3790 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)A bill to provide reimbursements for certain costs of health care items and services, including prescription drugs, furnished during the public health emergency declared with respect to COVID-19.Sponsor: Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] (Introduced 05/20/2020) Cosponsors: (6)Committees: Senate - Health, Education, Labor, and PensionsLatest Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (All Actions)Tracker:

35. S.3791 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)A bill to extend the period in which Governors of States may order members of the National Guard to active duty in connection with the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), and for other purposes.Sponsor: Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL] (Introduced 05/20/2020) Cosponsors: (18)Committees: Senate - Armed ServicesLatest Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services. (All Actions)Tracker:

36. S.J.Res.72 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)A joint resolution providing for the reappointment of Michael M. Lynton as a citizen regent of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution.Sponsor: Sen. Boozman, John [R-AR] (Introduced 05/11/2020) Cosponsors: (2)Committees: Senate - Rules and AdministrationLatest Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent. (All Actions)Tracker:

37. S.Res.571 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)A resolution congratulating the students, parents, teachers, and leaders of charter schools across the United States for making ongoing contributions to education and supporting the ideals and goals of the 21st annual National Charter Schools Week, to be held May 10 through May 16, 2020.Sponsor: Sen. Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO] (Introduced 05/12/2020) Cosponsors: (27)Committees: Senate - Health, Education, Labor, and

PensionsLatest Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Resolution agreed to in Senate without amendment and with a preamble by Unanimous Consent. (All Actions)Tracker:

38. S.Res.589 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)A resolution recognizing the significance of Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month as an important time to celebrate the significant contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to the history of the United States.Sponsor: Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI] (Introduced 05/20/2020) Cosponsors: (22)Committees: Senate - JudiciaryLatest Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (All Actions)Tracker:

39. S.Res.590 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)A resolution supporting the designation of May 15, 2020, as "National Senior Fraud Awareness Day" to raise awareness about the increasing number of fraudulent schemes targeting seniors in the United States, to encourage the implementation of policies to prevent those schemes, and to improve protections from those schemes for seniors.Sponsor: Sen. Collins, Susan M. [R-ME] (Introduced 05/20/2020) Cosponsors: (11)Latest Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Submitted in the Senate, considered, and agreed to without amendment and with a preamble by Unanimous Consent. (All Actions)Tracker:

40. S.Res.591 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)A resolution promoting minority health awareness and supporting the goals and ideals of National Minority Health Month in April 2020, which include bringing attention to the health disparities faced by minority populations of the United States such as American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asian Americans, African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders.Sponsor: Sen. Cardin, Benjamin L. [D-MD] (Introduced 05/20/2020) Cosponsors: (17)Latest Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Submitted in the Senate, considered, and agreed to without amendment and with a preamble by Unanimous Consent. (All Actions)Tracker:

41. S.Res.592 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)A resolution expressing support for the designation of June 5, 2020, as "National Gun Violence Awareness Day" and June 2020 as "National Gun Violence Awareness Month".Sponsor: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL] (Introduced 05/20/2020) Cosponsors: (18)Committees: Senate - JudiciaryLatest Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (All Actions)Tracker:

42. S.Res.593 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)A resolution to recognize the 50th anniversary of Earth Day and the leadership of its founder, Senator Gaylord Nelson.Sponsor: Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI] (Introduced 05/20/2020) Cosponsors: (16)Committees: Senate - Environment and Public WorksLatest Action: Senate - 05/20/2020 Referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. (All Actions)Tracker:

43. S.Amdt.1589 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)Purpose: In the nature of a substitute.Amends Bill: S.945Sponsor: Sen. Kennedy, John [R-LA] (Submitted

05/20/2020) (Proposed 05/20/2020)Latest Action: 05/20/20 Amendment SA 1589 agreed to in Senate by Unanimous Consent. (All Actions)

44. S.Amdt.1590 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)Purpose: In the nature of a substitute.Amends Bill: S.1130Sponsor: Sen. Alexander, Lamar [R-TN] (Submitted 05/20/2020) (Proposed 05/20/2020)Latest Action: 05/20/20 Amendment SA 1590 agreed to in Senate by Unanimous Consent. (All Actions)

SOURCE-MLA Lobbyists at: O'Neill and Associates Boston Washington