Federal: House Appropriation Bills and COVID-19 Resources Available

The U.S. Senate is scheduled to return to Washington, DC May 4, to continue deliberations on the next pandemic response and relief measure. U.S. House of Representatives were also expected to return to Washington, DC on May 4 but decided not to reconvene citing concerns of contracting the Coronavirus.

In the meantime, U.S. House appropriators are remotely drafting their 12 appropriations bills to fund the federal government for fiscal year 2021. Appropriators are considering removing spending limits agreed to last year to allow for additional funding for programs and agencies dedicated to COVID 19, such as The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, National Strategic Stockpile, and Infectious Disease Rapid Response. House Appropriations Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-NY-17^th) plans to begin subcommittee markups when or if Congress reconvenes later this month.

There has been discussion, particularly in the House, to allow for virtual markups and remote voting; but this would require changes to House procedural rules. Senate Committees have conducted what are described as “paper hearings,” which allow for witnesses to post their testimony with follow-up questions from those committee senators. Both the Senate and House Armed Services Committees plan to move their annual defense spending bills sometime in May. Senate Committee Chair James Inhofe (R-OK) is committed to writing the Senate’s bill by the end of May; while the companion House Committee plans to mark up its bill sometime in mid-May. This would certainly be an accelerated and ambitious schedule as compared to past defense spending bills.

Electronic Bonding Efforts, SBA Payment Protection Program and More on NASBP Coronoavirus Resources Page

If you have not had an opportunity to view the resources NASBP has created on its webpage dedicated to COVID-19, please do so. The site includes information pertaining to the joint efforts NASBP and SFAA have undertaken to persuade federal, state, and local elected officials and contracting agencies to require the acceptance of electronic bonds, including use of electronic signatures, seals, and powers of attorney, accompanying federal contracts.

Recently NASBP and SFAA urged the Chief Acquisitions Officer Council (CAOC) to take action to provide flexibilities in acquisition procedures to accept surety bonds with digital attributes and to waive certain requirements, such as raised corporate seals and notarization. The CAOC is a government-wide interagency forum to monitor and improve the federal acquisition system. The members of CAOC could be very influential in the movement for electronic bonding. Read the letter: CAOC_Letter_42020.pdf and the NASBP and SFAA memo requesting federal authorities take emergency action.

In addition, the NASBP Coronavirus webpage includes various resources and pronouncements from the U.S. Small Businesses Administration relating to the Payment Protection Program (PPP) as well as articles about helping clients and staff maintain their health and well-being. Visitors will also find how to access NASBP Virtual Seminars with panels of experts offering guidance to surety professionals. Also, the site lists the episodes of the NASBP Podcast, “Let’s Get Surety: Let Me Hear Your Bonding Talk,”  and guests who speak on the impact the Coronavirus is having on the surety and construction industries and how surety professionals can help their clients.