Federal Update: White House Planning to Forecast Vaccine Shipments Months in Advance, Fraud Fears and Messy Data Stall FEMA Program for COVID Victims, Coronavirus Sparks Debate Over Paid Leave
February 25, 2021
- The Biden administration is planning to provide states with estimates of their expected vaccine shipments likely months ahead of time rather than weeks, according to multiple sources with knowledge. The longer planning window, which is expected to start as soon as next week, could address concerns from governors who had complained that limited shipment forecasts affect their ability to plan vaccination clinics and figure out where to steer doses.
- The federal government wants to help Americans pay for their families’ COVID-19-related funerals — if it can figure out how to keep the scam artists at bay. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is planning a $2 billion pandemic funeral assistance program, using money set aside in the $2.3 trillion spending package that former President Donald Trump signed in December. But progress has stalled over concerns within the agency that the program is vulnerable to widespread fraud.
- Democrats, Republicans and corporate America are coalescing behind a federal paid leave policy for the first time in the U.S., one of few rich nations where workers aren’t automatically provided the benefit. But as they hammer out the details, fracture lines are already emerging that could derail the decades-long effort once again. The policy has garnered more bipartisan support than ever. But there is already a wide gap between what Biden campaigned on, what Republicans are amenable to and what employers think could be workable.
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