Dear Friend,
On Friday, I spoke out against the so-called HEROES Act, also known as Nancy Pelosi’s liberal wish-list. Despite bipartisan opposition, the bill passed
the House of Representatives by a vote of 208-199. The bill includes provisions that would fundamentally alter our elections, encourage individuals
not to work for months on end, provide a lifeline to unstable pension plans, and is filled with numerous partisan poison pills.
On top of passing their extremely partisan legislation, Democrats also approved a radical rule change for voting in the House of Representatives. Since
the founding of our nation, Representatives have come together to debate the merits of proposed legislation and cast their own votes in the Chamber.
This has been a foundational part of our successful democracy. However, Democrats have undone this critical piece of our legislative process by
introducing a rule change to allow proxy voting in the House, despite these concerns.
COVID-19 Testing Sites and Resources
The University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) and the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) will be operating drive-through testing sites
in the coming days. If you are showing symptoms of COVID-19 and are interested in being tested, please download the C Spire Health app or dial (601) 496-7200.
- May 19 – Jones County: Bogue Homa Facility Building, 109 McFarland Road, Heidelberg
- May 19 – Yalobusha County: Oakland Fire Department, 13863 Hickory Street, Oakland
- May 20 – Lowndes County: Columbus High School, 215 Hemlock Street, Columbus
- May 21 – Covington County: Covington County Multi-Purpose Building, 68 Collins Industrial Park Drive, Collins
- May 22 – Simpson County: Simpson County Livestock Area, 2777 Simpson Highway 49, Mendenhall
I have compiled a list of resources on my website for your convenience. By visiting my Coronavirus Relief page,
you can find helpful information on managing this crisis. We will continue to update the page as more information becomes available, so be sure
to check back every few days and subscribe to my newsletter to receive updates.
PPP Loan Forgiveness
Today, the United States Department of the Treasury released guidance on Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness. Recently, I led a letter
to the Treasury Department and the United States Small Business Administration requesting additional guidance on PPP loan forgiveness. This guidance
will provide businesses with crucial information they need to understand the requirements of PPP loan forgiveness, which comes at a critical time
as our economy begins to reopen.
The first round of PPP funding provided by the CARES Act enabled 20,748 PPP loans totaling $2,481,000,606 for Mississippi’s small businesses. As of
Friday, May 8th, the second round of PPP funding enabled by Congress had provided an additional 19,614 loans totaling $708,706,077 for small businesses
in Mississippi.
I’d like to thank Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza for their responsiveness to the needs of small businesses
across our country. Our nation has remained strong during these uncertain times and we will continue to rebuild a robust economy as we begin preparing
to reopen our nation’s businesses.
Additional Remdesivir Doses in Mississippi
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced last week that states would be receiving additional doses of remdesivir, the antiviral
drug that has shown promising results for treating severe COVID-19 cases. I advocated for Mississippi to receive remdesivir and am pleased that
HHS has worked to provide more doses to serve patients in our state.
Latest Statistics
As of Monday, May 18th, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that 1,480,349 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the United States. From Sunday to Monday, we saw 13,284 additional cases. The number of
individuals who have passed away as a result of infection increased by 698 nationwide, and the total number of deaths in the U.S. from the virus
is now 89,407. See below for graphs and infographics from the Mississippi State Department of Health on the number of cases in Mississippi. As
of today, an additional 136 Mississippians have contracted the coronavirus, and 7 more Mississippians passed away from the virus. In total, 115,767
Mississippians have been tested for COVID-19.
Sincerely,
Michael Guest
Member of Congress
