Coronavirus: The Hill and the Headlines, November 12 2020

Your guide to the latest Hill developments, news narratives, and media headlines from Hogan Lovells Government Relations and Public Affairs practice.

In Washington:

  • Congressional Democrats are doubling down on their calls for a large coronavirus relief bill following the election. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on Thursday said the House-passed $2.2 trillion Heroes Act should be the “starting point” for negotiations. Pelosi maintained that passing the Heroes Act has always been Democrats’ goal and a Biden win was a mandate for Democrats’ go-big approach following and showed no signs of budging from their position.
    • Speaker Pelosi has spoken with Senate Appropriations Chair Richard Shelby (R-AL) but Shelby says he still believes a bill near $500 billion is the best proposal.  He considers a “highly targeted” bill focused on the “residual problems” would be the best way to improving the economy. Pelosi says she has no interest in a bill that is only $500 billion. 
    • On Thursday, Speaker Pelosi and Minority Leader Schumer discussed passing the next coronavirus bill in a lame duck session with President-Elect Joe Biden. They continue to push for state and local government support and expanded unemployment insurance.
    • Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) continues to signal that he intends to take over the negotiations.  Commenting on the Democrats’ price tag, "That's not a place I think we're willing to go. But I do think there needs to be another package.”  McConnell reiterated to reporters on Thursday that he will seek a figure similar to the $519 billion targeted bill that Senate Republicans previously presented.   
  • A top health adviser to President-elect Joe Biden suggested that a short lockdown coupled with a large financial stimulus would bring the coronavirus pandemic under control, largely mirroring initial expert proposals from the spring that went unheeded. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said “we could lockdown for four to six weeks...And if we did that, we could drive the numbers down, like they've done in Asia, as they did in New Zealand and Australia.” Osterholm predicted a short lockdown would end with “vaccine availability in the first and second quarter of next year, and bringing back the economy long before that."
  • NIH official Dr. Anthony Fauci told a Chatham House think tank audience Thursday that the COVID-19 pandemic will not last for "a lot longer" because of the development of vaccines, striking a hopeful note even as the situation worsens in the short-term. He cautioned, "I doubt we're going to eradicate this, I think we need to plan that this is something we may need to maintain control over chronically, it may be something that becomes endemic that we have to just be careful about."
  • The Health and Human Services (HHS) will work with several major retail pharmacy chains to distribute future COVID-19 vaccines to the public.  The agency says 19 companies will be a part of the program which will allow easy access to the vaccine, including underserved areas of the country.  With a majority of Americans having a pharmacy within five miles, HHS Secretary Alex Azar said their goal is to make getting the coronavirus vaccine like getting a flu shot.
  • Congressman Don Young (R-AK) announced Thursday afternoon that he has tested positive for COVID-19. In a tweet, Young said he is “feeling strong,” working from home, and “following proper protocols.” Young has been spotted at events without a mask and does not require them for attendees at his events. Young was first elected in 1973 and is the House’s oldest member. At 87, he is more likely to become severely ill from COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevent (CDC), which says the risk is highest among those 85 and older.
  • An incoming congresswoman from Iowa’s 1st Congressional District announced Thursday that she has tested positive COVID-19 as well. In a statement, Rep.-elect Ashley Hinson's (R) office said that she "feels great and is quarantining at her home in Marion until advised to do otherwise by her physician." Hinson this month defeated first-term Rep. Abby Finkenauer (D). She attended a packed in-person campaign event with President Trump on November 1.
  • Trump confidante Corey Lewandowski, and Republican National Committee chief of staff Richard Walters have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the latest outbreak among President Trump’s aides and advisers to 14 people.
  • President-Elect Joe Biden announced that he will tap Ronald Klain as White House chief of staff.  Klain, has been a senior adviser to Democratic presidents and has been a longtime aide to Biden. Klain was formerly Biden’s chief of staff when he was Vice President and also chief of staff to Vice President Al Gore.  The entrusted aide was the White House Ebola response coordinator in 2014.   

In the News

  • In the week ending Nov. 7, a seasonally adjusted 709,000 Americans filed initial jobless claims, according to data released Thursday by the Labor Department. This number represents a decline of 48,000 from the previous week’s revised total. Another 298,154 Americans also filed their first claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, a program created to help contractors, gig workers and others who do not qualify for traditional unemployment insurance, a decline of 63,805 from the previous week.
  • The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced they will contribute another $70 million to global efforts to develop and distribute vaccines for low- and middle-income countries. 
  • Ticketmaster is working on a plan to safely allow people to return to concerts in 2021 by verifying if they tested negative for COVID-19 or have been vaccinated. 
  • The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits fell last week to 709,000,the lowest figure since March and a further sign that the job market might be slowly healing. 
  • Face mask mandates are gaining momentum as Republican governors in Iowa, Utah, and Ohio have to try and tamper down the surges of cases in their states. 
  • Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has told the city to cancel Thanksgiving and say home for thirty days.  

 

Authored by Ivan Zapien

Contacts
Ivan Zapien
Partner
Washington, D.C.
Shelley Castle
Legislative Specialist
Washington, D.C.

 

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