While there are still outstanding congressional races left to be decided, and the membership of committees for the next Congress will not be finalized for several more weeks, there will be big changes coming to the leadership of the U.S. House and Senate Agriculture Committees in 2021. Although the next Farm bill is not up …
Continue reading Changes Coming to Agriculture Committees; Vilsack Named Secretary-Designate
PIA National has issued an action alert urging Congress to prevent a surprise tax on Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan recipients. Included in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was a provision stating that any portion of a PPP loan that qualified for loan forgiveness “shall be excluded from gross income” for …
Continue reading PIA Calls on Congress to Prevent Surprise Tax on PPP Loan Recipients
Today, December 1, the Small Business Administration (SBA) will reveal the identities of business owners who took coronavirus relief loans through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. The SBA opposed this disclosure, which will be made in response to an order issued by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg …
Continue reading Paycheck Protection Program Loan Recipients to be Disclosed
On October 19, 2020, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Treasury Department issued interim final rules (IFR) revising the process for some businesses to seek Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness and lender evaluation of loan forgiveness applications submitted in accordance with the new process. These IFR offer additional guidance to further simplify …
Continue reading SBA Simplifies Forgiveness Process for Some PPP Loans
PIA National, along with dozens of allies in the business community, sent a letter November 19 calling on congressional leaders to reform the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness process before the end of the year. The letter calls on Congress to pass the Paycheck Protection Program Small Business Forgiveness Act (S. 4117/H.R. 7777), championed …
Continue reading PIA, Allies Call for Congressional Action on PPP Loan Forgiveness
On November 19, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing, Insurance and Community Development held a hearing entitled, “Insuring Against a Pandemic: Challenges and Solutions for Policyholders and Insurers.” This follows a September Congressional Roundtable that PIA National participated in, where we expressed our support for the Pandemic Risk Insurance Act (PRIA), H.R. 7011. In …
Continue reading House Committee Holds Hearing on Insuring for a Pandemic
With Joe Biden being declared President-elect by various news outlets earlier this week, PIA National issued a statement reaffirming its commitment to a pro-insurance agenda in both the lame-duck session of Congress and the new Congress that will begin in January. Regardless of the outcome of the outstanding House and Senate races, and as the …
Continue reading PIA Reaffirms Insurance Agenda Post-Election
President Donald J. Trump and former vice president Joseph R. Biden each failed to reach the key 270 electoral-vote threshold from the states that had reported decisive results by midnight on Election Day. The process to determine the winner in several states is ongoing, and we may not know who will be inaugurated in January …
Continue reading Initial Election Results Are In, With Some Key States Still Unknown
In the latest entry in our Commissioner Spotlight series, we are focusing on the head of the South Carolina Department of Insurance (SCDOI), Director Ray Farmer. Dir. Farmer served as vice president of the American Insurance Association (AIA, now APCIA), a trade association for insurance carriers. He spent the early part of his regulatory career as …
Continue reading Commissioner Spotlight: South Carolina Director Ray Farmer
Kevin Cramer was elected to the U.S. Senate from North Dakota in 2018. Previously, he served as North Dakota’s At-Large Member in the U.S. House. Prior to joining Congress, Sen. Cramer served as a commissioner on the North Dakota Public Service Commission. Sen. Cramer received a BA from Concordia College and a master’s degree in …
