This week in NECA Government Affairs we spotlight infrastructure legislation, the new SBA Administrator and the newly signed US/China Trade Agreement.

1. Administration Calls for Additional Funding for PPP

One of the most popular programs created in the CARES Act, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), has released over $70 billion to small businesses to help them remain viable during this pandemic. Due to the large demand, the Administration has requested additional funding for that program in a letter to Congressional leaders.

NECA’s look Ahead: Senate Democrats requested an additional $250 billion for hospitals and local governments in addition to funding for the PPP while Republican leaders argued that funding for the PPP is the only account that requires additional immediate funding at this time. The Senate adjourned on April 9, 2020 unable to pass additional funding for the PPP under unanimous consent.

2. Treasury Guidance Clarifies Qualifications for PPP Borrowers

With the passage of the CARES Act, many agencies have been scrambling to enact the reforms and programs developed in rapid time. One such program, the Paycheck Protection Program, which allows substantial loans to be granted under favorable terms by the Small Business Administration, came under scrutiny for potentially requiring businesses to meet both size and revenue requirements instead of just the size requirements (under 500 employees) originally required. While this scrutiny came from an over-cautious interpretation of an earlier guidance, the Treasury Department offered additional guidance to make it clear to borrowers that they may meet either the revenue standards listed under a given NAICS code or qualify by having less than 500 employees. 

NECA’s Look Ahead: NECA worked with key leaders once the CARES Act was signed into law to attain greater clarity on this issue for our contractors. This new change will give NECA contractors the predictability they need to move forward with the new SBA loan program. We will continue to monitor the implementation of the CARES Act and continue to maintain in constant conversation with Congressional staff and agency officials to communicate the needs of our members. 

3. DOD Releases Rule on Payment to Small Business Contractors

Earlier this week the Department of Defense (DOD) released a final rule on the defining and implementation of accelerated payments to classified small businesses under DOD contracts. The rule (DFARS Case 2018–D068) which finalizes the implementation of a section from 2019’s National Defense Authorization Act urges the federal government to pay small business contractors within 15 days of the receipt of a proper invoice. While this is only a goal for the federal government and not a direct mandate, which NECA advocated for in the past, we view this final rule and its upcoming full implementation as a positive step forward.

NECA’s Look Ahead: We encourage NECA contractors to read the final rule and monitor its implementation on DOD contracts. With your feedback and on-the-ground experiences, we will be better able to make lawmakers and agency officials aware of its progress.

1. PPP Safe Harbor Deadline Extended

On May 5, 2020, the U.S. Treasury Department extended the safe harbor date for those that applied for a PPP loan prior to April 24, 2020. The original date, May 7, 2020, has been pushed back to May 14, 2020. Borrowers will not need to apply for the extension and additional guidance on how the SBA will review the certification will be provided shortly. NECA released the following alert pertaining to the extension and forthcoming guidance.

NECA’s Look Ahead: NECA is pleased by this extension after sending a letter to the Treasury department last week. We continue to advocate for NECA contractors as we move forward during this time.

2. Bill Introduced to Make 501(c)(6) organizations Eligible for PPP Loans

On May 5, 2020, Representatives Chris Papas (D-NH), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and Greg Steube (R-FL) introduced H.R.6697 – “Local Chamber, Tourism, and 501(c)(6) Protection Act of 2020”. This NECA supported legislation would expand the Paycheck Protection Program by allowing 501(c)(6) organizations, such as NECA Chapters, to access the Paycheck Protection Program to meet payroll and other necessary expenses during this crisis. 

NECA’s Look Ahead: NECA will encourage the inclusion of this bill in any future COVID-19 relief package along with additional PPP reforms such as:

• Extending the PPP to more than eight weeks or allow companies to apply again after the first eight-week period ends.

• Increasing the qualified expenses covered under the Paycheck Protection Program to include nonpayroll expenses.

3. NECA Requests Infrastructure Support in Next COVID-19 Bill

NECA joined 71 trade associations and labor unions in a coalition letter to President Trump to encourage continued support for infrastructure in the next Phase of COVID-19 legislation.

NECA’s Look Ahead: NECA continues to advocate before the Administration and Congressional leaders for the inclusions of major infrastructure investment as a corner stone for the next phase of COVID-19 legislation, often referred to as Phase IV.

Google has added an Undo Send feature to Gmail. Now you can finally unsend an email, although you have just a short time to unsend it.

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Blue Frog Robotics has launched its adorable companion Buddy robot on Indiegogo. The robot has many features. It can be a personal assistant, playmate or security robot.

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Google Maps has added a sharing feature. You can track your favorite places and share them with your friends.

Read more on howtoweb.com

Reddit has disabled its Start Chatting features shortly after launching the new chat product.

Read more on howtoweb.com

With better address data, the city added more than 300 missing addresses to the Census file provided by the federal government

Some health care organizations believe that increasing the number of patients walking through the doors is the surest way to see an increase in revenue. While this is one way of increasing profit, there are several actions your organization can… Read More

The post Optimize the Revenue Cycle to Increase Profit without Adding Patients appeared first on Anders CPAs.

Tools help extract data insights to grow revenue, audience, engagement

With Australians unable to stray far from home, ABC iview is taking them on a trip across the nation with more than 200 additional hours of on-demand content exploring the people and places of this wide brown land.

His announcement came after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rescinded an invitation for him to deliver the speech in the House Chamber.

How will the sudden plunge in US oil prices impact India: WTI crash explained

Siddaramaiah further stressed Karnataka's pro-NRI stance by pointing to the newly-released policy catering to their interests

It makes going through the motions feel meaningless and it makes truly important meetings bring people together to solve problems that no individual could solve alone. It makes us feel human. It makes us feel a part of something bigger.

The committee will consist of four Democrat and three Republican senators. Democratic senators include David Frockt, Manka Dhingra, Christine Rolfes and Rebecca Saldana and Republicans include senators Randi Becker, Tim Sheldon, while one member is yet to be named.

Banking space to see more pain going forward: Siddhartha Khemka

The country -- hardest hit by the pandemic in terms of the number of fatalities -- has now confirmed a total of 1,283,829 cases, Johns Hopkins University reported.

US gold futures rose 0.6 per cent to $1,698.70.

‘Demand environment, supply opportunity and currencies are the three major drivers for pharma’

In a letter to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the Confederation of ATM Industry (CATMi) mentioned that it has been recognised by the government as a crucial player to further the financial inclusion. The COVID-19 situation has caused a sharp decline in the ATM transactions and has posed severe business challenges to the ATM industry, the CATMi stated.

At the start of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, the Department of Justice today announced that on April 20, the Madoff Victim Fund (MVF) began its fifth distribution of approximately $378.5 million in funds forfeited to the U.S. Government in connection with the Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (BLMIS) fraud scheme, bringing the total distributed to over $2.7 billion to nearly 38,000 victims worldwide.

The Department of Justice announced today that it is requiring United Technologies Corporation (UTC) and Raytheon Company (Raytheon) to divest Raytheon’s military airborne radios business and UTC’s military global positioning systems (“GPS”) and large space-based optical systems businesses in order to proceed with their proposed merger.  Without these divestitures, the merger would eliminate competition between two of the primary suppliers of military airborne radios and military GPS systems to the Department of Defense (DoD), and enable the merged firm to lessen competition for multiple components used in reconnaissance satellites sold to DoD and the wider U.S. intelligence community.  

South Korea-based company Jier Shin Korea Co. Ltd., and its president, Sang Joo Lee, have agreed to pay $2 million to the United States for civil antitrust and False Claims Act violations for their involvement in a bid-rigging conspiracy that targeted contracts to supply fuel to U.S. military bases in South Korea, the Department of Justice announced today.

Six weeks since he last rode, Hall of Fame jockey Edgar Prado is ready to return to action with three mounts on Saturday's 12-race program at Gulfstream Park. Prado, who turns 53 June 12, is named on 3-year-old gelding Mountain Tree in Race 1, 3-year-old filly By His Grace in Race 3 and 3-year-old colt […]

The post ‘Excited To Come Back’: Hall Of Famer Prado Back In The Saddle Saturday appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Have you had dreams of becoming a horse racing writer but gave up on them because of the diminishing opportunities in Thoroughbred print? Looking for a fresh start in a fast-paced and positive work environment? Do you want to combine an education in the new media world with your love for horses and horse racing? […]

The post The Paulick Report Is Adding to Its Stable appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

The quarterback says he's not worried about the Madden Curse.

According to Wikipedia, “An oil painting is painterly when there are visible brushstrokes, the result of applying paint in a less than completely controlled manner, generally without closely following carefully drawn lines.” It also describes the effects created by a […]

The post How to Add Painterly Effects to Your Photos appeared first on Tech Tips » Surfnetkids.

The OHDSI study-a-thon group has a pre-print An international characterisation of patients hospitalised with COVID-19 and a comparison with those previously hospitalised with influenza. What is encouraging with this one over yesterday’s study, is multiple data sources and almost too many co-authors to count (take that Nature’s editors). So an opportunity to see the variation […]

Due to Extreme Fire Danger throughout Grand Canyon National Park, park officials will be increasing fire restrictions and extending them to all areas within the park except the Colorado River corridor. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2012-06-19_restrictions.htm

Grand Canyon will celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grand-canyon-to-celebrate-asian-american-heritage-month.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) announced today another opportunity for the public to weigh in on revisions to Grand Canyon National Park’s Backcountry Management Plan (BMP). The NPS began developing a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for this plan in 2011 in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/backcountry-plan-webinar-and-open-house.htm

Fire managers will take advantage of continued warm, dry weather conditions over the next several weeks and may initiate additional prescribed fires on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/bright-angel-rx.htm

As part of the 2018 Federal Highways Administration’s South Rim Roads Improvement project, additional construction and detours will begin Monday, January 8 at the South Entrance Road and Desert View Drive (Arizona Highway 64 East) intersection. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/road-construction-south-entrance-road-and-desert-view.htm

Another phase of the 2018 South Rim roads improvement project will begin the week of February 4, which will include full closures of several Grand Canyon Village intersections. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/february-4-detours.htm

The National Park Service (NPS) announced today that Grand Canyon National Park will modify its entrance fees beginning June 1, 2018 to provide additional funding for infrastructure and maintenance needs that enhance the visitor experience. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/2018-entrance-fee-changes.htm

The U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service will implement additional fire restrictions, also known as Stage II fire restrictions, across the North Kaibab Ranger District, and the South Rim, North Rim and Inner Canyon of Grand Canyon National Park beginning at 8 a.m. this Friday. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/stage-2-fire-restrictions.htm

Grand Canyon National Park, in response to guidance from Center for Disease Control and Prevention, is announcing additional modifications to operations to support federal, state, and local efforts to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grca-modify-additional-opps-to-implem-loc-health-guid-03-26-2020.htm

Since these middle schoolers have been sent home during the coronavirus shutdowns, they decided to lift each other's spirits by having some virtual fun.

The post Middle Schoolers Bust a Move From Home By Joining Together for Music Video Against COVID-19 Fears appeared first on Good News Network.

Australians are being warned to take care when visiting their mums today, particularly if they are elderly.

Travellers should consider taking legal action to get money back

The marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) is a threatened coastal bird that feeds on fish and nests in old-growth forests. In northwest Washington, murrelet populations are declining despite protections provided by the Northwest Forest Plan.

An update to one of my early 'one page' demonstrations to bring it up to date using the latest CSS techniques.

Forests significantly influence the global carbon budget: they store massive amounts of carbon in their wood and soil, they sequester atmospheric carbon as they grow, and they emit carbon as a greenhouse gas when harvested or converted to another use.

Updated projections of demand for Alaska timber were published July 2006. Their application in land management planning for the Tongass National Forest has resulted in numerous questions and requests for clarification. This note discusses a broad range of these questions from the context of why we do projections, the model we used, the assumptions that determine the levels of timber harvest, our use of scenario planning, comments about how producers in Alaska compete with other North American producers, and the potential that some significant changes in southeast Alaska markets have changed the demand projections.