The spread of COVID-19 and the strain it has placed on Alabama’s health care system has inspired a new coalition to push for Medicaid expansion in the state, but support from Republican leadership still seems doubtful. Read more.
Congressman Bradley Byrne, R-Mobile, on Thursday led a bi-partisan letter to Small Business Administration Administrator Jovita Carranza asking the agency to offer more help and guidance for those seeking Economic Injury Disaster Loans, or EIDLs. In March, the SBA began allowing states to apply for the EIDL. The loan program helps qualified businesses and non-profit organizations recover from economic losses tied to the abrupt economic downturn triggered by the COVID-19 disease and efforts to stop its spread. The program offers up to $2 million in assistance for an eligible small business, and advance grants of up to $10,000 are available. However, there are reports of “severe oversubscription” to the EIDL program and of the $10,000 advance grant being insufficient to meet the needs of businesses trying to survive in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the lawmakers wrote. Read more.
Tommy Tuberville and Jeff Sessions have been running almost dollar-for-dollar in recent weeks as they raise cash for their campaigns for the Republican nomination to the U.S. Senate, according to reports they filed this week with the Federal Elections Commission.
Tuberville, a former Auburn University football coach, narrowly led a field of seven candidates in the GOP primary on March 3. He will meet Sessions, who held the Senate seat for almost two decades until he resigned in early 2017 to become President Donald Trump’s first attorney general, in a runoff on July 14. Read more.
See the lists of contributors in the U.S. Senate race.
Crime isn’t taking a coronavirus holiday, but law enforcement statistics show it headed in a positive direction as more people shelter from the pandemic. In fact, streets in the Birmingham area and around the world are not only safer from crime so far in 2020, but also from automobile accidents. Evidence indicates, however, that domestic disturbance calls in some communities are increasing as people spend more hours together at home. Read more.
The Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles will resume parole hearings May 18 after stopping them last month in response to COVID-19. Advocates say the state should expedite the parole process to protect inmates and alleviate prison crowding. Read more.
More than 77,500 Alabamians filed initial unemployment claims last week, according to the Alabama Department of Labor. Of the 77,515 total claims, 71,374 were related to the coronavirus outbreak. Meanwhile, the state’s unemployment rate went from 2.7% in February to 3.5% in March, according to information released by the Labor Department today. But the department warned that the new number doesn’t capture most of the damage done by the coronavirus. That information will be reflected in the April rate released next month. Read more. ">
The outbreak of the new coronavirus has drastically altered the campaigns for Alabama's runoff elections. Originally scheduled for March 31, runoffs for the Republican races for Congress and U.S. Senate are now postponed until July 14. The pandemic and its total consumption of the news cycle have also shifted the narrative for candidates. Former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who is running for his former seat in the U.S. Senate, has capitalized on the situation to take an aggressive position against China and highlight his foreign policy bonafides. In the runoff, Sessions faces former Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville, who won 33% of the vote to Sessions' 32% in the March 3 primary election. Todd Stacy of Alabama Daily News interviewed Sessions and talked about his campaign and the issues he is discussing. Read more.
MONTGOMERY —The list of companies vying for the state’s $900 million contract to build three large prisons is down to two. Gov. Kay Ivey this week announced a two-week extension of the deadline for submitting responses to the state’s request for proposals. In that announcement, two companies were listed: Alabama Prison Transformation Partners and CoreCivic.
Alabama has recorded 55 deaths of people who tested positive for COVID-19, the state Department of Public Health, reported today. Updated figures show that 39 of those deaths have been officially attributed to the disease, with the remaining 16 still under investigation. The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state stood at 2,089. Jefferson County led with 449 confirmed cases of the disease. The county has recorded 11 deaths of patients who tested positive, with five of those confirmed to be from COVID-19. Read more.
The spread of the new coronavirus, the resulting strain on hospitals and the possible infusion of federal relief money is rekindling talks of expanding the state's Medicaid program For 10 years Alabama has resisted expanding its Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act, mostly on fiscal grounds. Some estimates show expanding the program to include 360,000 more residents would cost the state about $170 million in the first year alone, with increasing costs going forward. However, now the state could be in receipt of funds to lighten that bill. The coronavirus economic relief package known as the CARES Act contained $150 billion to help states and local governments recover from the financial impact of the outbreak and specifically included provisions to help states shore up their Medicaid programs. Analysis from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities shows Alabama coffers could receive as much as $1.7 billion, though much of that is likely to be earmarked toward specific programs. Read more.
