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News and updates

News and updates

Text and Section-by-Section Summaries of “Phase 3” Now Available

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The text of the Senate Republican stimulus bill, “Phase 3,” has been released and is available here.

In addition, several chairmen of the committees that would have jurisdiction over different parts of the bill have released summaries of the parts of the bill that they would oversee.  The section-by-section summaries of parts of the bill that are most relevant to UW and other universities are provided below:

As noted previously, this is the initial proposal from the Senate Republican and it will need to be modified along the way as they begin to negotiate with Congressional Democrats, who will also have their own priorities.

 

 

Senate Republicans Release “Phase 3” Stimulus Bill

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Earlier this evening, Senate Republicans unveiled their initial version of the “Phase 3” stimulus bill in an attempt to prevent further damage to the economy.  The center piece of the package is direct payments of up to $1,200 for individuals and $2,400 for married couples, with the payments being cut off at individuals making $99,000 per year.

The proposal includes additional assistance to other sectors of the economy, such as $50 billion for the air line industry and $8 billion for the air cargo industry.

While the measure was introduced by the Senate Republican leadership, there is still disagreement within the Senate ranks.  In addition, neither the House or Senate Democrats were involved in the drafting of the proposal, meaning changes are likely along the way.

Read more about the situation here and here.

OMB Grants Regulatory Flexibility on Non-COVID-19-Related Research

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As noted on March 18, the higher education community asked the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for regulatory flexibility on federally supported research not directly related to COVID-19.  Today, OMB issued a  memo to agencies that would enable them to grant such flexibility on other non-COVID-19-related research activities.

The OMB memo reads, in part:

This memorandum provides similar administrative relief listed in M-20-11 to an expanded scope of  recipients affected by the loss of operational capacity and increased costs due to the COVID-19 crisis. Many of the operational impacts and costs are unknowable at this point, as they will depend on the spread of the coronavirus and response dictated by public health needs. This memorandum provides short term relief for administrative, financial management, and audit requirements under 2 CFR Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost principles and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, without compromising Federal financial assistance accountability requirements.

 

House Clears Bill to Protect GI Bill Benefits, Sends It to White House

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By Unanimous Consent, the House cleared early this morning S. 3503, a bill aimed at ensuring that the disbursement of GI Bill benefits is not disrupted as a result of the coronavirus and COVID-19.  The Senate approved the measure quickly earlier this week.

The bill now heads to the White House for the President’s signature.

A large coalition of groups and individual institutions asked for the bill’s quick adoption.

State Department Suspends Most Visa Services Worldwide

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The US Department of State announced the temporary suspension of routine visa services at most overseas posts.

Any country with a travel advisory of 2, 3, or 4 will be affected. Among others, this includes the United Kingdom, Germany, China, Israel, South Korea, Italy, Japan, France, Ukraine, Russia, India, Denmark, Turkey, and Brazil. The Visa Waiver Program, which allows 90 day visas for certain nationalities, remains unaffected.

No timeline has been given. US Embassies and Consulates will continue to provide emergency visa services and American Citizens Services.