May 6 COVID-19 UPDATE

Treasury
The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced that it will borrow $3 trillion dollars this quarter to make up for the four separate COVID-19 relief bills that authorized $3 trillion in new spending. Since March 1, the national debt has grown by $1.5 trillion.
       
Recovery and Relief
During Fox News’s town hall, President Trump doubled down and said that a payroll tax cut would be necessary in Congress’s next COVID-19 relief package. However, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, has expressed hesitation about moving legislation containing payroll tax cuts. Additionally, the Senate’s second highest ranking Republican, Senator John Thune (R-SD), stated he was not particularly eager to pass a payroll tax cut and instead was focusing on liability litigation and providing aid to small businesses.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) stated that in the next round of COVID-19 relief legislation that liability protections for employers was his red line. Senator McConnell has explained that the bill to protect employers from litigation surrounding COVID-19 and the workplace would be “narrowly crafted” and that the bill would “not protect somebody from gross negligence.”  
 
House Democrats are working on putting together a bill proposal for the next COVID-19 relief package. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and her colleagues have created an outline for a package that would cost over $1 trillion. This package is expected to include funding to assist state and local governments. Speaker Pelosi has also stated that they would be “strengthening PPP, expanding support beyond the PPP as it has been originally presented, and then having more resources.”
   
Automotive
 According to connected vehicle data, vehicle traffic volume has continued to increase. This is a consequence of states loosening stay at home restrictions.

The state of California has sued ridesharing companies Uber and Lyft. The lawsuit alleges that both companies have been misclassifying their workers as independent contractors. The law used as a basis for the lawsuit was passed this past January.