Dive brief:

• President Donald Trump on Thursday signed a Standing Resolution (CR) that limits federal time off and provides relief to federal contractors, according to a White House announcement. HR 8337 was passed by both houses of Congress before the end of the fiscal year to avoid government shutdown, allowing federal agencies to remain operational until December 11. 84 to 10 voices, Trump signed the invoice upon returning to the White House following a campaign event in Minnesota, according to CNBC. The House passed the measure on September 22 with a vote of 359-57.
• The bipartite bill includes various temporary provisions such as leave restrictions or the layoff of federal employees due to lack of funds. It also extends payments to certain contractors and allows eligible contractors to be reimbursed for costs associated with granting paid leave to employees during the pandemic. This is an extension of Section 3610 help, relief and economic security from the coronavirus (CARES) Law “To protect the lives and safety of government personnel and contractors,” the Department of Homeland Security said in an April memo.
• The CR has also increased and expanded the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) fee for providing premium processing services for certain immigration-related applications. In August, USCIS avoided an administrative leave of more than 13,000 employees.

Dive overview:

The spending bill provides funding and advice to federal agencies, but lawmakers are still undecided on the next national coronavirus assistance program. Workers in industries hard hit financially by the pandemic have suffered job loss or leave.

American Airlines and United Airlines have announced that they start a leave more than 32,000 employees as of Oct. 1, the Washington Post reported. However, if a stimulus deal is struck, the two airlines have said they could turn the tide, according to reports. In March, Congress approved $ 25 billion in wage support for U.S. airline payrolls through September.

The Treasury Department announced on September 29 that it completed loans to American and United, as well as Alaska, Frontier, Hawaiian, JetBlue, and SkyWest to support payroll. “The payroll assistance and loan programs created by the CARES Act have saved a large number of jobs in the aviation industry and allowed workers to remain employed and connected to their health care, for a period without previous, “Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin said in a statement. Mnuchin called on Congress to extend the Paycheque Protection Program, which expired on August 8.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said on Twitter on September 30 that the House would vote on the revised omnibus law on emergency solutions for health and economic recovery (Heroes Act), legislation for a proposed $ 3 trillion COVID-19 stimulus package. The House passed the first version of the HEROES Act in May, but did not make it to the Senate for a vote. Pelosi also stated that she and Mnuchin “had a in-depth conversation and we have found areas where we seek further clarification; our conversation will continue. “