On the Hill

Democratic control of the U.S. Senate will have a multitude of impacts on legislative issues critical to agents and brokers and small businesses including taxes, health care, and COVID-19 relief.

On Jan. 5, Democrats prevailed in two Georgia runoff elections for the U.S Senate, effectively completing a Democratic sweep of the White House, Senate and U.S. House of Representatives.

Late Wednesday, the Small Business Administration and the Department of the Treasury issued new guidance on the recently revived Paycheck Protection Program. Here is what you need to know.

Late last week, the U.S. Senate followed the House in voting to override President Trump’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act. The new law represents a reporting requirement victory for small businesses.

Here’s what Big “I” members need to know about the package, which includes roughly $325 billion in small business relief, including $284 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program.

The U.S. Senate is scheduled to vote on President Trump’s veto in the coming days.

Late Sunday, Congressional leadership approved a roughly $900 billion COVID relief package and a $1.4 trillion omnibus government funding package, expected to be approved today. The package includes roughly $325 billion in small business relief, including

The 2021 Big “I” Legislative Conference will now take place virtually. Exact dates for the virtual conference, which was scheduled to take place in person April 14-16, 2021, in Washington, D.C. are yet to be finalized.

Earlier this week, the Department of Labor ruled on creating a new exemption for investment advice fiduciaries allowing financial advisers to collect commissions and other compensation when offering retirement advice.

The flood industry, industry stakeholders and policyholders are unified in the fact that Congress needs to act on long-term reauthorization to end the cycle of short-term extensions to the NFIP.