Watchdog raises possible Kushner link to $700M rescue loan
The taxpayer-funded loan was made on the grounds that the company's operations are critical for maintaining national security. The panel members questioned the decision to deem YRC’s business vital to national security. Ramamurti asked Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin whether he had had contacts with Kushner or his staff regarding the YRC loan. He called the loan to YRC “a fast-tracked, extremely generous loan that just so happened to help” Apollo as YRC’s creditor. To qualify for the national security aid, companies should be performing under defense contracts of the highest national priority or operating under top-secret security clearance.
Too risky? Fed pressed to expand aid to some businesses
Lawmakers are pressing the central bank to deliver more aid to struggling small and mid-sized businesses. And now many lawmakers are asking the Fed to expand its lending to small and medium-sized businesses, by allowing companies to offer assets such as commercial properties as collateral. The decision is on the doorstep of Fed Chairman Jay Powell and Steven Mnuchin, the Trump administrations treasury secretary. Its risky because it can be hard for the Fed to accurately appraise assets right now, he told The Associated Press. If it makes riskier loans, the Fed may be seen as propping up teetering zombie businesses that could default on payments.
Black candidates push race debate into GOP-held districts
The reenergized movement against racial inequality and police brutality following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis has amplified the voices of Black candidates across the country. Its just a total shift.The reenergized movement against racial inequality has amplified the voices of Black candidates, in some cases pushing the political debate over race into Republican-leaning areas. Democrats say they've seen a significant boost in fundraising and other engagement for candidates running on racial justice issues, and believe it could help the party flip some Republican-held districts in November. It was the kind of fundraising appeal that typically would bring in about $1.50 for every $1 a congressional campaign spent on the ad buy. Other Black candidates are seeing a similar trend, she said.
With no leader, commission overseeing virus relief struggles
Four of the five members of the Congressional Oversight Commission have been appointed, but Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have not agreed on who should chair the panel. The four members have not met as a group since the economic rescue law was passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump in late March. So far, its a non-oversight, oversight commission, added Kimberly Wehle, a visiting professor at American University Law School. Even as both sides acknowledge the importance of overseeing the sprawling economic rescue law, lawmakers are immobilized by a larger political fight, with no resolution immediately in sight. It was a shining moment when it first came out," Wehle said of the economic rescue law.