Issues
The U.S. House of Representatives voted today to pass the next round of stimulus legislation, titled the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The $1.9 trillion plan will now be sent to President Biden for signature, likely this week. The legislation includes additional funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Advance…
The National Safety Council (NSC) released a preliminary report this week showing an increase in motor vehicle deaths in 2020, even as total vehicle miles travelled dropped drastically due to the pandemic. The report shows an 8% increase in motor vehicle deaths compared to 2019- the highest estimated year-over-year jump since 1924. The report also…
According to new preliminary estimates by the Federal Highway Administration, Americans drove 13 percent fewer miles in 2020 than in 2019. In urban areas, miles driven dropped by 14.1 percent, and there was an 11 percent drop in rural areas. In total, Americans drove 3.3 trillion miles in 2019 and 2.83 trillion miles in 2020.…
This morning, President Biden announced tweaks to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) that are intended to focus loans to the smallest businesses that may have been left behind in previous iterations of the program. The most significant of these changes is a 14-day period beginning Wednesday, February 24 when only businesses with fewer than 20…
The U.S. House of Representatives Small Business Committee released their economic stimulus plan proposal this week. Included in the plan is increased eligibility for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL). Additionally, the proposal allocates an additional $7.25 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program, elevating the total program level to $813.7 billion.…
The U.S. Small Business Committee this week held a hearing entitled “State of the Small Business Economy in the Era of COVID-19”. During the hearing, lawmakers questioned four witnesses: Sharon Pinder, President and CEO of the Capital Region Minority Supplier Development Council, Stephen Shoaps, owner of Strother Cinema in Oklahoma, Robert Fairlie, a professor of…
This morning, ASA signed onto a letter sent by the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) to the U.S. Congress opposing the Raise the Wage Act of 2021. This legislation, if passed, would raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour over the next five years. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), raising…
Today, the Coalition for Future Mobility (CFM), a group that includes the Automotive Service Association and 44 other auto industry stakeholders, sent a letter to the U.S. Congress encouraging the support of autonomous vehicle (AV) legislation this year. In the letter, CFM urged the U.S. Congress to establish a federal framework for the development of…
The Coalition for Sustainable Automotive Regulation (CSAR), a coalition of automakers including Toyota Motor Corp., Fiat Chrysler, and Hyundai, announced this morning their withdrawal from an emissions lawsuit between California and the federal government. The group of automakers have been defending the federal government in their petition to revoke California’s Clean Air Waiver. California’s…
Last week, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released new guidance on mitigating and preventing the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace. These guidelines come after President Joe Biden’s January 21 executive order on “Protecting Worker Health and Safety”. The new guidelines include a recommendation to wear face coverings in the office, as well…