Policy News – August 6, 2020

Reminder! The deadline to apply for a Paycheck Protection Program loan is August 8, 2020.

On Tuesday morning, Visa released a Back to Business study to explore the impacts of COVID-19 and help provide solutions to small and medium-sized businesses. Entrepreneurs and consumers in eight countries were surveyed, with the results reflecting significant change among U.S. consumers. The study states that “70% of U.S. consumers have changed the way they pay for items due to COVID-19, including shopping online only (45%), using cash less often (35%) and using contactless payment whenever possible (33%).” The full study can be found attached. 

The Department of Treasury (DoT) and Small Business Administration (SBA) released readouts from the Treasury/SBA Roundtable Discussion with Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) that took place on Monday. The discussion focused on the MDIs’ experiences as lenders in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), including how they have helped serve small businesses in low- and moderate-income communities.

On the trade front, the monthly Commerce trade report will be released today. While U.S. trade has taken a hit over the past several months due to coronavirus, U.S. exports increased in June to $102.6 billion. Similarly, imports of U.S. goods rose to $173.3 billion. Read more on the report here. 

In other news, the congressional commission set up to oversee the Fed and Treasury’s emergency efforts will hold a hearing on the Main Street lending program on Aug. 7.

 

BILLS OF INTEREST

  • Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) introduced S 4405 to establish a pilot program to provide grants to nongovernmental entities, including nonprofit organizations and faith-based organizations, to provide economic support in urban areas of the United States.
  • Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) introduced S 4400 to regulate the collection, retention, disclosure, and destruction of biometric information.

 

AT THE AGENCIES

U.S. Department of the Treasury

  • The Department of the Treasury released a “Readout from a Treasury/Small Business Administration (SBA) Roundtable Discussion with Minority Depository Institutions.”
  • The Department of the Treasury published a news release titled “Treasury Announces Marketable Borrowing Estimates.”

Small Business Administration

The Small Business Administration published a news release titled “Readout from the SBA / Treasury Roundtable Discussion with Minority Depository Institutions.”