The Stimulus Checks Start To Arrive And Americans Are Spending Them On Food, Basic Necessities

The Washington Post: The $1,200 Relief Checks Have Begun Arriving In Americans’ Bank Accounts
The U.S. government has started sending $1,200 checks to Americans to help ease the financial pain caused by shutting down the economy to fight the deadly coronavirus. By Wednesday, 80 million people are expected to receive a direct deposit in their bank account, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said. The checks are the centerpiece of the U.S. government’s economic relief package, and many Americans have taken to social media to celebrate the arrival of the money by posting photos of the money hitting their bank account. (Long, 4/14)

ProPublica: Millions of Americans Might Not Get Stimulus Checks. Some Might Be Tricked Into Paying TurboTax to Get Theirs.
Congress has approved billions of dollars of checks for Americans hard hit by the biggest round of layoffs in U.S. history. But millions of Americans will have to wait months for that money — and millions more may never get the money at all. That’s because the rescue legislation left it to the IRS, an agency gutted by Congress, to organize the complex logistics of delivering the money to those entitled to it. As the IRS has struggled, for-profit tax preparation companies, notably Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, have stepped in with websites to help people get their checks. (Elliott and Kiel, 4/15)

The Washington Post: Donald J. Trump's Name Will Be On Stimulus Checks In Unprecedented Move
The Treasury Department has ordered President Trump’s name be printed on stimulus checks the Internal Revenue Service is rushing to send to tens of millions of Americans, a process that could slow their delivery by a few days, senior IRS officials said. The unprecedented decision, finalized late Monday, means that when recipients open the $1,200 paper checks the IRS is scheduled to begin sending to 70 million Americans in coming days, “President Donald J. Trump” will appear on the left side of the payment. (Rein, 4/14)

The Wall Street Journal: Lack Of Savings Worsens The Pain Of Coronavirus Downturn
Alicia Cook was down to $22 on Monday, a month after her hours as head banquet chef at a hotel in Nacogdoches, Texas, had dwindled to almost nothing. Her $10.25-an-hour wage had been enough to live on but not enough to save. A few hours of work over Easter will get her another $100. “It’s five $20 bills to rub together and I got to give away four of them to the light bill,” she said. (Harrison, 4/15)

The New York Times: How The Government Pulls Coronavirus Relief Money Out Of Thin Air
The United States has responded to the economic havoc wrought by the coronavirus with the biggest relief package in its history: $2 trillion. It essentially replaces a few months of American economic activity with a flood of government money — every penny of it borrowed. And where is all that cash coming from? Mostly out of thin air. (Phillips, 4/15)

The Washington Post: Airlines, Besieged In Covid-19 Era, Fail To Refund Passengers As Required, Lawsuits Say
A lawsuit filed against Southwest Airlines alleges the carrier violated its contract with customers by failing to provide refunds for flights canceled amid the coronavirus pandemic. In the suit, traveler Adrian Bombin says that when Southwest canceled his trip from Baltimore-Washington International Marshall Airport, via Florida, to Havana last month, he asked for a refund. (Laris, 4/14)

The Wall Street Journal: Treasury, Airlines Reach Agreement On Coronavirus Aid
The Treasury’s assistance includes $25 billion in direct aid to allow passenger airlines to continue paying salaries and benefits to employees in the coming months. The payroll assistance “will support American workers and help preserve the strategic importance of the airline industry while allowing for appropriate compensation to the taxpayers,” Mr. Mnuchin said in a statement. Airline executives spent this past weekend in discussions with federal officials. On Friday Mr. Mnuchin told the largest carriers that 30% of the assistance would need to be repaid and that airlines would have to offer stock warrants on a portion of those funds. (Sider and Davidson, 4/14)

The Wall Street Journal: Airbnb Gets $1 Billion Loan, Bringing Coronavirus Funding To $2 Billion
Airbnb Inc. secured a $1 billion loan from institutional investors, the company said, the second funding round for the home-sharing marketplace since the coronavirus pandemic devastated the global travel industry. The San Francisco-based company didn’t disclose Tuesday the terms of the loan or the names of the investors. According to a person familiar with the matter, the loan is five years, and the interest rate will be 7.5%, plus a benchmark rate known as the London interbank offered rate, or Libor. (Wollman, 4/15)

The New York Times: The Virus Is Vaporizing Tax Revenues, Putting States In A Bind
The ballooning costs of the coronavirus pandemic have put an unexpected strain on the finances of states, which are hurriedly diverting funds from elsewhere to fight the outbreak even as the economic shutdown squeezes their main source of revenue — taxes. States provide most of America’s public health, education and policing services, and a lot of its highways, mass transit systems and waterworks. Now, sales taxes — the biggest source of revenue for most states — have fallen off a cliff as business activity grinds to a halt and consumers stay home. (Walsh, 4/15)

The Hill: New York, New Jersey Lawmakers Demand More Federal Aid For States Hardest Hit By Coronavirus
A group of New York and New Jersey lawmakers demanded congressional leaders create a new fund to help the states hardest hit by the coronavirus grapple with the virus’s outbreak. The group of 36 bipartisan lawmakers, who represent the two hardest hit states in the country, wrote a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) urging them to include a fund of at least $40 billion in a relief package that would be allocated based on states’ share of the national coronavirus infection rate. (Axelrod, 4/14)

Modern Healthcare: Hospital Groups Float New Wish Lists For Funds Flowing From Washington
Hospital lobbying groups have scrambled to get their next set of asks together as regulators and lawmakers set priorities for existing COVID-19 provider relief grants and another potential infusion of cash. Members of Congress are haggling over an interim spending package to replenish funds for small business assistance that are already dwindling from a stimulus bill enacted late last month. Democrats want to double a relief fund for providers and Republicans would rather leave the issue for a later spending package. (Cohrs, 4/14)

Modern Healthcare: Private Equity-Owned Doc Practices Shut Out Of Small Business Bailout
Private equity funds that invest in healthcare companies hoped to piggyback on venture capital's bid to get a share of COVID-19 small business bailout funds, but the Trump administration has snubbed them so far. Congress set aside $350 billion for small business assistance in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. Qualifying companies must have 500 employees or fewer. Under a set of standards called "affiliation rules," the administration determined that most private equity-owned companies, including healthcare practices hard hit by cancellations of elective procedures, won't qualify. (Cohrs, 4/14)

Stateline: Coronavirus Eviction Rules Don't Always Help People In Motels 
Most renters are protected from eviction by coronavirus emergency orders. But the new rules don't always apply to people who are paying for motel rooms, a major loophole that could affect thousands of families. The federal eviction moratorium is limited and applies to only certain rentals, such as landlords who have federally backed mortgages. And some states adopted laws before the pandemic that don’t consider motel dwellers tenants — and therefore don’t apply rental protections to them should they lose their jobs. (Wiltz, 4/15)

Meanwhile, Congress might have to adapt to legislating at a distance —

The New York Times: Sidelined By Coronavirus, Congressional Leaders Face Pressure To Vote Remotely
With Congress sidelined by the coronavirus pandemic and unable to return to the Capitol, House and Senate leaders are under increasing pressure from a bipartisan array of current and former lawmakers to shift to remote legislating, including using a secure online system to conduct votes. Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, have both expressed opposition to remote voting, insisting that lawmakers can fulfill their duties without making such tradition-shattering changes in the way Congress operates. (Stolberg, 4/14)

The Wall Street Journal: Congress Puts Off Return To Washington Until Early May
Congress now heads into an unprecedented period, with legislation limited to consensus-driven aid packages that can pass by unanimous votes. Oversight hearings, judicial confirmations and non-virus bills will remain on hold until both chambers can safely meet again, spurring calls for remote voting and virtual hearings as some lawmakers fret that the legislative branch is ceding too much power to the executive branch in a national emergency. (Wise, 4/14)