Happy Thursday and welcome back to On The Money. I’m Sylvan Lane, and here’s your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line.
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THE BIG DEAL–Small business loan program out of money amid impasse over new funds: The initial $349 billion pool for emergency loans for small businesses derailed by the coronavirus pandemic has run dry as Republicans and Democrats squabble over how to replenish the relief program.
- The Treasury Department and Small Business Administration (SBA) have tapped the entirety of funding allotted for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The program offers forgivable loans to small businesses intended to keep workers on the payroll and small firms from going under.
- Created through the $2.2 trillion economic relief bill enacted by President Trump last month, the PPP unleashed a wave of demand for emergency loans across the U.S., overwhelming banks, credit unions and SBA technology. It was exhausted in less than two weeks.
- Trump, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and lawmakers from both parties pledged to pour more money into the program as its initial funding quickly ran down, but leaders have been locked in a showdown over potential stipulations for the next tranche of loans.
The Hill’s Jordain Carney and I have more here.
No deal after deadline passed: The fight over hundreds of billions in small-business funding will carry into next week after the Senate adjourned for the week on Thursday without an agreement.
The Senate held a brief pro forma session on Thursday — which are constitutionally mandated absent a larger adjournment agreement.
But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) did not try for a second time to pass a new $250 billion for the small-business program — a request that would have been blocked by Democrats absent a deal on the funding package, which has not yet been reached.
What each side wants:
- Republicans want to pass a stand-alone bill that would include $250 billion in additional money for the program.
- Democrats want to add in $100 billion for hospitals, $150 billion for states and a boost in food assistance funding, along with conditions meant to steer more loans toward minority- and women-owned businesses.
What comes next: Banks, credit unions and other lenders will be unable to keep sending loan applications through the system, though they can continue to prepare them when the program is replenished.
But Trump told senators during a phone call Thursday that he’s open to attaching money for hospitals and state and local governments to an additional $250 billion for the program, creating a window for a potential deal.
LEADING THE DAY
5.2 million more file for unemployment: Another 5.2 million people filed initial unemployment claims for the week ending April 11, according to the Department of Labor, adding to the sharpest and most severe rise in joblessness in the nation’s history.
- Thursday’s report is the fourth in a row showing more than a million initial claims, a level that had not been reached previously.
- Overall, more than 22 million people have filed for initial benefits in the span of just four weeks, accounting for about one of every seven workers in the economy, and nearly wiping out the 22.4 million jobs created in the 11-year recovery that followed the last recession in 2009.
- Economists believe that the unemployment rate is likely already up to at least 15 percent, a stunning rise from a 50-year low of 3.5 percent earlier this year. Some predict that number could end up reaching as high as the Depression-era peak of 20 percent.
The Hill’s Niv Elis has more on the brutal report here.
Trump guidelines on reopening economy to let governors make final decisions: President Trump on Thursday unveiled guidance for a phased reopening of parts of the U.S. economy that largely leaves the final decisions up to governors, according to a copy of the guidelines obtained by The Hill.
- The 18-page document, which was distributed to governors during a conference call on Thursday afternoon, recommends that states see a downward trajectory in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases as well as flu-like symptoms before they move to lift stay at home orders and other restrictions meant to curb the spread of the virus.
- It also recommends that states and regions see a decline in documented cases over a period of 14 days, ensure that hospitals can treat all patients without crisis care, and have a robust testing program in place including antibody tests for at-risk healthcare workers.
The guidelines include specific recommendations for individuals and employers. They are also broken up into three phases. Read more on the guidelines from The Hill’s Reid Wilson, Brett Samuels and Morgan Chalfant.
GOOD TO KNOW
- Former Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday proposed federally funded subsidies for businesses to keep employees on payroll when they would otherwise need to lay them off in times of economic distress.
- Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson said Thursday that funds should be designated to assist mortgage companies with higher risks of failure, citing predictions of millions of missed payments by homeowners.
- Starbucks is planning to reopen a number of its stores across the U.S. as the chain adjusts to new social distancing guidelines.
- The emergency relief bill President Trump signed in late March will end up costing the government $1.76 trillion, according to a preliminary estimate from the Congressional Budget Office.
- Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said Thursday that mass coronavirus testing on a global scale will be needed to “get the economy back up and running” amid the pandemic.