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Category: COVID-19

Texas Congressman Holds Up COVID-19 Funding Bill

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Rep. Louie Gohmert, (R–TX), is holding up the House-passed coronavirus relief bill, HR 6201– the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, and preventing it from being delivered to the Senate for a vote.

The House was expected to make technical corrections today to the bipartisan measure,  which passed by the House early Saturday. However, Rep. Gohmert is insisting on having the changes read out loud, keeping the measure from being passed by Unanimous Consent. If one Member of Congress stands in opposition, the House cannot use the Unanimous Consent process to send the bill to the Senate and the House would have to have a vote by the full house — and many Members went home to their districts from Washington this weekend.

 

On Saturday, the House early this morning passed H.R. 6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, by a vote of 363-40.  An overview of the measure is here.

Highlights of the bill include:

  • Clarifies that the funds provided under section 105 of Division G can be used for COVID-19 diagnostic tests and related administration or service costs (as defined under section 101). Claims reimbursed under this section would be limited to those for uninsured individuals not eligible for other COVID-19 testing and services assistance included in the bill.
  • Clarifies that Medicaid payment for the new eligibility category for the uninsured under section 104 of Division G is limited to COVID-19 testing and testing-related services. Makes a technical amendment to clarify that the increase to the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) specified in section 104 of Division G is applicable notwithstanding the first sentence of the subsection.
  • Clarifies that SSA should use dedicated phone lines for emergency paid leave applications, separate from those used for the regular Social Security program.
  • Clarifies that that the emergency waiver of federal rules applies to four specific kinds of rules: work search, waiting periods, “good cause” to leave employment, and employer experience rating.
  • Removes findings from the Health Care Worker Protection Act of 2020.
  • Clarifies definition of a “qualifying need related to a public health emergency.”

 

 

Census Bureau Modifies Policies and Timelines on Info from Higher Education

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As part of the census process every 10 years, colleges and universities are required to collect and provide certain pieces of information about their student population to the Census Bureau. 2020 is a census year.

For the census, college students living in on-campus housing are counted through their university as part of the bureau’s Group Quarters Operation. Due to the impact of COVID-19 on colleges and universities, the Census Bureau issued a statement on Monday highlighting several modifications to the policies and timelines it had in place for the census.  The statement reads, in part, as follows:

  • In general, students in colleges and universities temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 virus will still be counted as part of this process.  Even if they are home on census day, April 1, they should be counted according to the residence criteria which states they should be counted where they live and sleep most of the time. We are asking schools to contact their students and remind them to respond.
  • Per the Census Bureau’s residence criteria, in most cases students living away from home at school should be counted at school, even if they are temporarily elsewhere due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The full statement from the Census Bureau is available here.

 

Department of Energy Soliciting Scientific Questions Regarding COVID-19

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The Department of Energy sent a letter to academic institutions soliciting questions which might enable the Department to use its facilities, infrastructure, or computational resources in response to COVID-19. Although the DoE does not undertake medical or clinical work, it can be an important element of the Federal Government response. UW faculty wishing to respond can contact our office or follow the instructions in the letter.

House Passes Second Supplemental

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The House of Representatives held votes just after midnight on Saturday to pass a second supplemental appropriations bill to fund the American COVID-19 response.

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act, H.R. 6201, is bipartisan legislation resulting from negotiation between House Democrats and the White House. The bill guarantees free COVID-19 testing, paid emergency leave, and strengthens food security among other things. A summary can be found here.

The supplemental is with the Senate, which canceled its scheduled recess (district work period). The House is now in recess until March 23rd.

Education Department Releases FAQs on FERPA and COVID-19

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Earlier this week, with the numbers of both K-12 districts and institutions of higher education trying to deal with COVID-19 concerns growing, the federal Department of Education released an FAQs document with respect to what institutions can and cannot do in the area of sharing of students’ educational records and personally identifiable information.

In the document, ED discusses a number of situations in which student information can and cannot be shared.  The FAQs are available here.