No Deal: Virus Relief Package Negotiations Continue

Lawmakers have yet to reach an agreement on a federal stimulus package to combat the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus, as negotiations continue in the Senate and Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats released their own $2.5 trillion counteroffer.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has agreed to “significant oversight” of a $500 billion exchange stabilization fund in a proposed rescue package, Politico reporter John Bresnahan said in a Twitter post late last night, citing three sources familiar. Oversight of that fund has been a concern for Democrats worried about accountability of how the funds will be used.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said last night leaders expect to have a deal this morning, CNN and CQ Roll Call reported. Schumer said there are still a few differences, but neither side expects them to be obstacles to a final deal, CQ Roll Call’s Jennifer Shutt said in a tweet.

Mnuchin and Schumer spent much of yesterday negotiating behind closed doors on the Senate proposal, initially introduced last week.

The Take Responsibility for Workers & Families Act

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) unveiled Democrats’ $2.5 trillion virus economic stimulus plan yesterday in a bid to shape negotiations on the Senate measure.

Pelosi’s 1,400-page bill would have broad implications for the financial sector. It would force lenders to grant a temporary reprieve from mortgage and car payments and credit card bills. It would order the Federal Reserve to provide loan servicers with liquidity to allow borrowers to stop paying their mortgages for up to 360 days. Public housing residents would get a temporary reprieve from paying rent, and student loan borrowers would have $10,000 of debt forgiven. Negative consumer credit reporting would be halted. Foreclosures and evictions would be banned.

There are currently no plans for House members to return to Washington to vote on the bill, and the proposal appears to be a list of demands Democrats want to see included in the Senate bill. Erik Wasson and Laura Davison break down some of the differences between the House and Senate bills here.

Read the text of House Democrats’ proposal here, summary here (and attached) and one-pager here (and attached)

Federalized U.S. Medical Supply Chain

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and other Democrats unveiled legislation that would federalize the U.S. medical supply chain. “Leaving it in private hands encourages hoarding and gouging, maximizes inefficiency during a crisis,” Murphy tweeted yesterday. Murphy’s bill would seek to “federalize the manufacture and distribution of scarce in-demand medical supplies” to “cure the growing inefficiencies of 50 states and thousands of hospitals competing against each other for medical supplies.”

Meanwhile, Trump signed an executive order yesterday to prevent hoarding and price hikes of supplies, according to the White House press secretary. “We will not let those hoarding vital supplies and price gougers to harm the health of America in this hour of need,” press secretary Stephanie Grisham tweeted yesterday. Trump signed it behind closed doors.

At the White House, Attorney General William Barr said that the government won’t go after a family with a big supply of toilet paper at home, but “if you have a warehouse of surgical masks, you’ll hear a knock on the door.” Barr said the federal government had already initiated investigations of activities that are disrupting supply chains and suggestive of hoarding. Read more from Saleha Mohsin.

Lawmaker Letters

Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), Ed Markey (Mass.), Brian Schatz (Hawaii), Chris Murphy (Conn.), Tammy Baldwin (Wis.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.) sent a letter to the Chamber of Commerce “demanding answers as to why the organization is lobbying against President Trump’s use of the Defense Production Act” to “quickly harness and use America’s technological and manufacturing might to address” the pandemic.

House Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) yesterday sent a letter to acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf and HHS Secretary Alex Azar “regarding the personal protective equipment and other critical medical equipment and supplies available in the Strategic National Stockpile that FEMA is presently shipping to states,” according to a statement. Thompson also requested details on a recent $500 million HHS contract for masks to be delivered over the next 18 months.

Additional legislation introduced Yesterday

• H.R.6314 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To provide emergency rental assistance under the Emergency Solutions Grants program of the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in response to the public health emergency resulting from the coronavirus, and for other purposes
• H.R.6315 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To provide administrative support and flexibility to the Corporation for National and Community Service to respond to the COVID-19 national emergency as declared by the President under the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) on March 13, 2020, with respect to the coronavirus.
• H.R.6316 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To provide relief for Federal and private student loan borrowers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6317 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To provide for special enrollment periods during public health emergencies, coverage of services related to public health emergencies, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6318 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To expand economic opportunities, improve community policing, and promote common-sense gun violence prevention in underserved communities, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6319 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To establish a Congressional COVID-19 Aid Oversight Panel, to authorize the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program to coordinate audits and investigations in connection with the receipt of Federal aid related to COVID-19, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6320 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To amend the Small Business Act to increase caps on sole source contract awards to certain small business concerns, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6321 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To provide financial protections and assistance for America’s consumers, States, businesses, and vulnerable populations during the COVID-19 emergency and to recover from the emergency.
• H.R.6322 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To make certain improvements in the educational assistance benefits under the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in the case of changes to courses of education by reason of emergency situations, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6323 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To waive, for 1 year, the cost sharing requirements of the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6324 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To amend the Small Business Act to provide no interest rate loans to small businesses and non-profit entities impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19), and for other purposes.
• H.R.6325 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To allow a tax credit for certain coronavirus-related charitable contributions for taxable year 2020.
• H.R.6326 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To provide additional waivers and authorities to HUD and USDA to respond to the COVID-19 emergency, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6327 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To authorize United States participation in, and contributions to, the Nineteenth Replenishment of the resources of the International Development Association, the Fifteenth Replenishment of the resources of the African Development Fund, and the seventh capital increase of the African Development Bank.
• H.R.6328 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To authorize Federal reserve banks to purchase COVID-19 related municipal issuances, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6329 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To provide supplemental appropriations to the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6330 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To authorize additional funding for the housing counseling program of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
• H.R.6331 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To require the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to establish a credit facility to provide loans to small businesses, including small family farms, during the COVID-19 emergency.
• H.R.6332 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To suspend payments on certain consumer loans during the COVID-19 emergency, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6333 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To establish a Small Business Financial Assistance Program to support small businesses during the COVID-19 emergency, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6334 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To authorize United States participation in the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6335 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To waive required minimum distribution rules for retirement plans in 2020.
• H.R.6336 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To amend title XI of the Social Security Act to provide for a waiver of payment reductions under the Medicare and Medicaid programs for certain nonapproved capital expenditures undertaken by health care facilities during the COVID-19 emergency.
• H.R.6337 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to create an epidemic tax credit, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6338 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To waive high deductible health plan requirements for health savings accounts.
• H.R.6339 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To temporarily ban stock buybacks until the impact of COVID-19 on the American financial system has ended.
• H.R.6340 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To provide for mortgage forbearance during the COVID-19 emergency, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6341 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To establish a business stabilization guaranteed loan program and authority to establish a secondary market in the Small Business Administration, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6342 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To amend the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to provide additional assistance for small businesses affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6343 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To require the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to provide economic injury grants for small business concerns affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6344 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To modify the economic injury disaster loan of the Small Business Administration in response to COVID-19, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6345 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To provide relief for State Trade Expansion Program grant recipients relating to COVID-19, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6346 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To establish a standard interest rate under programs for economic injury disaster loans, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6347 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To establish a moratorium on evictions from rental dwelling units during the public health emergency relating to coronavirus, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6348 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To fully implement the Initiative to Build Growth Equity Funds for Minority Businesses, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6349 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To establish grant programs for small business development centers, women’s business centers, and chapters of the Service Corps of Retired Executives in response to COVID-19, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6350 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To require the Financial Literacy and Education Commission to convene a special meeting with respect to the COVID-19 emergency, to update the Commission’s website with tools to help individuals recover from any financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 emergency, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6351 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to administer vaccinations for COVID-19, once available, at no cost to the inoculated, in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6352 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To ensure that facilities of the Indian Health Service, facilities operated by an Indian tribe, tribal organization, or inter-tribal consortium, and facilities operated by an urban Indian organization receive items from the strategic national stockpile and qualified pandemic or epidemic products directly from the Department of Health and Human Services.
• H.R.6353 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide for the availability of prompts and services of certain Department of Veterans Affairs toll-free telephone numbers and business lines in Spanish, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6354 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a one-time emergency tax credit to small businesses to cover rent and mortgage payments.
• H.R.6355 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To temporarily modify the John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6356 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To protect our Social Security system and improve benefits for current and future generations.
• H.R.6357 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To authorize the Secretary of Labor to take certain actions to effectively respond during the COVID-19 public health emergency declared under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act to the needs of individuals participating in community service activities under title V of the Older Americans Act of 1965.
• H.R.6358 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To authorize supplemental appropriations for fiscal year 2020 for community development block grants, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6359 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To amend title 23, United States Code, to include a payment and performance security requirement for certain infrastructure financing, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6360 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To establish requirements on accelerated filers receiving Federal aid related to COVID-19, to establish requirements on all corporations until Federal aid related to COVID-19 is repaid, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6361 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To provide loan and obligation payment relief for small businesses and non-profits affected by the COVID-19 emergency, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6362 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To authorize emergency homeless assistance grants under the Emergency Solutions Grants program of the Department of Housing and Urban Development for response to the public health emergency relating to coronavirus, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6363 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to halt collection of certain student loans, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6364 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To authorize and establish minimum standards for electronic and remote notarizations that occur in or affect interstate commerce, to require any Federal court located in a State to recognize notarizations performed by a notary public commissioned by another State when the notarization occurs in or affects interstate commerce, and to require any State to recognize notarizations performed by a notary public commissioned by another State when the notarization occurs in or affects interstate commerce or when the notarization was performed under or relates to a public act, record, or judicial proceeding of the State in which the notary public was commissioned.
• H.R.6365 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To provide emergency financial assistance to rural health care facilities and providers impacted by the COVID-19 emergency.
• H.R.6366 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To permit, due to the COVID-19 emergency, Federal financial regulators to allow for the temporary waiver of requirements that a State, territory, or local government provide matching or cost-sharing funds before receiving a grant from a Federal financial regulator, to allow for certain reprogramming of funds to support unemployment, childcare, and healthcare programs, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6367 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To provide grants to small business development centers, women’s business centers, and chapters of the Service Corps of Retired Executives to allow telework and create marketing materials in response to COVID-19, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6368 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To establish a Housing Assistance Fund.
• H.R.6369 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To waive certain requirements with respect in-person appraisals, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6370 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to provide for disaster protection for workers’ credit.
• H.R.6371 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require issuers to disclose risks related to global pandemics, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6372 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To extend the deadline for States to meet the requirements of the REAL ID Act of 2005.
• H.R.6373 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To increase the amount available under the Defense Production Act of 1950 to respond to the coronavirus epidemic, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6374 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To suspend requirements that tenants of assisted housing make contributions toward rent during the public health emergency relating to coronavirus, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6375 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require issuers to make disclosures related to supply chain disruption risk, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6376 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to exempt the reimbursement for certain travel to return to the United States, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6377 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for a temporary waiver of required minimum distribution rules for certain retirement plans and accounts, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6378 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)To require the Federal financial regulators to issue interagency regulatory guidance in order to provide forms of relief to borrowers and customers during pandemics and major disasters, to continue to operate and provide services and lending, and to require such regulators to conduct testing with financial institutions to assess pandemic or disaster preparedness, and for other purposes.
• H.R.6379 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)Making emergency supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, and for other purposes.
• H.Res.906 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)Calling on the President to invoke the Defense Production Act to respond to COVID-19.
• S.3568 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)A bill to require the President to use authorities under the Defense Production Act of 1950 to require emergency production of medical equipment to address the COVID-19 outbreak.
• S.3569 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)A bill to help small business broadband providers keep customers connected.
• S.3570 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)A bill to provide for the expedited procurement of equipment needed to combat COVID-19 under the Defense Production Act of 1950.
• S.3571 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)A bill to require member banks to maintain pass-through digital dollar wallets for certain persons, and for other purposes.
• S.Res.550 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)A resolution commending the people in the United States who are carrying out essential tasks during the unprecedented time of crisis created by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Today on the Hill

White House

• 9:00 am – In-House Pool Call Time
• 10:30am – VP Mike Pence participates in call with conservative leaders on coronavirus response
• 12:30pm – President Trump participates in a Fox News virtual town hall from White House rose garden
• 10:30am –  VP Mike Pence participates in call with conservative leaders on coronavirus response
• 2:15pm – Pence participates in call with educators
• 3pm – Pence meets with coronavirus task force meeting

Senate

• Senate meets at 10am; resumes consideration of the legislative vehicle for the coronavirus supplemental
• Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer expects to reach deal with Treasury Sec. Steven Mnuchin on third stimulus package

House

• Still in recess – Note below on voting practices

The House Rules Committee published a memo last night on remote voting that strongly recommends against the practice, despite potential health concerns over the coronavirus, Colin Wilhelm and Rebecca Kern report. The report warns that “implementing remote voting would raise serious security, logistical, and constitutional challenges.”

The report also notes that because the Constitution references physical presence in the chambers of the House and Senate, the “constitutionality of remote voting is an untested principle.” It recommends proxy voting as the best option, as opposed to remote voting. Proxy voting — where an absent member designates a present member as their proxy to cast a vote on their behalf for a prescribed period of time — would require a rules change and could be done under unanimous consent if there is bipartisan agreement.

Pelosi directed House Rules Chairman Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) last week to conduct a report on voting options.

Also in the news

Airline Relief: Struggling airlines would get $37 billion in grants to keep workers on the job as part of a $71 billion package to rescue airlines and airports under the bill, according to a person familiar with the matter. The House’s plan would also require airlines that accept federal aid to give labor a seat on their board of directors, offset carbon emissions by 2025 and would fund a program to be run by the Transportation Department to make carrier fleets more efficient by scrapping older planes, according to a release by House Transportation and Infrastructure Republicans who oppose such provisions, Ari Natter and Ryan Beene report.

Governors Clamp Down: Meanwhile, governors and mayors across the U.S. issued orders to clamp down normal human contact and commercial life.

Yesterday, Indiana, West Virginia and Massachusetts ordered all residents to stay home while Virginia and Maryland placed restrictions on non-essential movement. The actions by the governors, Democrats and Republicans alike, show that even if Trump relaxes federal recommendations, states won’t necessarily follow.

The governors of New York, Ohio, Illinois, California, Connecticut, Nevada and Pennsylvania within the last week told their residents — one-third of the U.S. population of 328 million — that nonessential businesses must close and they shouldn’t venture out other than for groceries, medicine or emergencies. This week, more are following that lead. Shruti Date Singh and Jordan Fabian have more.

Port Authority Relief Urged: Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Albio Sires (D-N.J.) are calling for emergency financial relief for the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, according to a statement from Nadler’s office. Nadler and Sires requested the aid in a letter to Pelosi, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), and Senate leaders. The letter details the decreased ridership, higher operational costs, and diminished revenue that have resulted in a “period of extreme financial strain” on the authority, Danielle Moran reports.

Trump Says Boeing Will Need ‘Help’: Trump said yesterday that Boeing needs federal government “help” amid an economic slowdown that has hit the travel industry. “Boeing’s going to need some help,” Trump said at the White House. “Obviously the airlines are going to have a problem, but the airlines aren’t going to be buying from Boeing or anybody else right now because of this difficulty.” The planemaker announced it is shutting its Seattle-area manufacturing hub for two weeks after a worker died of coronavirus complications, adding to a wave of plant closings sweeping the globe as the aviation industry navigates the biggest disruption in decades. Read more from Justin Sink and Jordan Fabian.

Cattlemen Want Coronavirus Stimulus: Livestock producers, to keep beef and chicken on American dinner plates, need congressional support during the new coronavirus pandemic and, more importantly, funding, lawmakers said. “Many of my farmers and ranchers may not, probably will not, survive this crisis,” said Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) on the Senate floor yesterday, as legislators hammer out the details of their stimulus plan. Moran joined Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.), chairman of the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, in a push for $20 billion to replenish the Commodity Credit Corp. The Agriculture Department entity subsidizes programs such as farm income. Megan Boyanton has more.

Loan Loss Rule Postponement: Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) is the latest lawmaker to call on U.S. accounting rulemakers to suspend major credit loss accounting rules until the cornonavirus pandemic ends. Meeks, with long-time FASB critic Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.), in a letter urged the Financial Accounting Standards Board to postpone the current expected credit losses accounting standard. The standard will force businesses to record losses they expect to see rather than waiting for customers to miss payments. Meeks, chairman of the Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions subcommittee, has expressed concern about the accounting change, Nicola M. White reports.

Hotels, Restaurants Seek More Aid: Trade groups representing restaurants, travel destinations and hotels called on Congress to increase the loan amount offered to small businesses in an economic stimulus package. The U.S. Travel Association supports increasing the maximum loan amount offered to small businesses to four times the borrowers’ monthly operating costs from 2.5 times the borrowers’ monthly payroll expenses, said Tori Emerson Barnes, who heads policy for the group. The American Hotel & Lodging Association also backs tha t position, according to Boosting Production of Ventilators: The Trump administration is looking to identify manufacturers that can make up to 100,000 ventilators and how much those life-saving devices would cost, according to an information request. The Health and Human Services Department is aiming to decide which companies can make the amount needed and which can quickly modify their capacities to make at least 5,000 of the machines that assist people with breathing if they go into respiratory failure. Read more from Shira Stein.

HHS Told to Ease ACA Access: Congressional Democrats called on the Trump administration to re-open enrollment in the Obamacare exchanges, following the lead of states, so people can get health care coverage as the coronavirus spreads. “We’ve seen many state leaders, governors, step up, offer those types of interventions, and many more,” Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.) said yesterday. Underwood called for a national special enrollment period for those who want to get health insurance during the outbreak in case they get sick. Read more from Sara Hansard.

Supply Hoarding, Price Hikes: Trump signed an executive order yesterday to prevent hoarding and price hikes of supplies amid the pandemic, according to the White House press secretary. “We will not let those hoarding vital supplies and price gougers to harm the health of America in this hour of need,” press secretary Stephanie Grisham tweeted yesterday in announcing the move. The White House didn’t immediately release the text of the executive order. Trump signed it behind closed doors.

At the White House, Attorney General William Barr said the government won’t go after a family with a large supply of toilet paper at home, but “if you have a warehouse of surgical masks, you’ll hear a knock on the door.” He said that the government had already initiated investigations of activities that are disrupting supply chains and suggestive of hoarding. Trump has given HHS the power to designate items people are banned from unreasonably accumulating and from selling above market value. Suc h items haven’t yet been designated, Barr said. Read more from Saleha Mohsin.

Trump Delays Real ID Rules: Trump said yesterday he was delaying the Oct. 1, 2020, deadline for Americans to obtain a Real ID to travel domestically, as part of an effort to limit people’s exposure to the coronavirus. “I’m also announcing that we’re postponing the deadline for compliance with Real ID requirements,” Trump said at a White House briefing. “At a time when we’re asking Americans to maintain social distancing, we do not want to require people to go with their local DMV. We will be announcing the new deadline ver y soon.” A “Real ID” will eventually be required to board a domestic flight or enter a federal building in the U.S. Justin Sink has more.

DNC Exploring ‘Contingency Options’: The Democratic National Committee is looking at contingency options for its July convention amid growing expectations that the coronavirus crisis will not have abated by the time the parties are ready to nominate their candidates for the White House. “We’re exploring a range of contingency options to ensure we can deliver a successful convention without unnecessary risk to public health,” Katie Peters, communications director for the DNC’s convention committee, said in a statement. Peters added it is a “very fluid situation” with the convention over three months away. Read more from Emma Kinery and Bill Allison.