News of the Day

On Friday, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) and the Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR) announced almost 55,000 state small businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic received approximately $240 million last year through the We’re All In grants program – the largest direct-aid program for small businesses in WEDC history.

“Wisconsin’s small businesses have exemplified remarkable resilience throughout this pandemic, finding new, innovative ways to keep the doors open and the lights on. But it wasn’t easy, and I am glad we were able to provide this critically needed support,” said Gov. Evers. “We aren’t out of the woods just yet, and it is vital that we continue to support our local businesses and their employees to help them get through these tough times.”

Funded by the federal CARES Act, the We’re All In grants were awarded to Wisconsin small businesses in three phases throughout first year of the pandemic.

Starting in the summer, Phase 1 distributed $65 million to more than 26,000 businesses around the state. The grants were administered by WEDC, with each receiving a $2,500 grant.

In the fall, Phase 2 provided $130 million to more than 26,000 businesses. The program was created by WEDC but received technical and customer service assistance from the DOR. Due to greater demand and limited resources, Phase 2 grants were targeted toward industries hit hardest by the pandemic, as well as diverse businesses and businesses that had not received Phase 1 grants. Businesses received $5,000 awards.

In the late fall, Phase 3, We’re All in For Restaurants, was specifically targeted at food, beverage, and amusement businesses with annual revenues between $1 million and $7 million, with each qualified business receiving $20,000. More than 2,000 received these grants, which were also administered by DOR in collaboration with WEDC.

The Small Business Administration and the Treasury Department are preparing to revive the PPP five months after its first two rounds of funding ended.

In the latest round, businesses that received loans last year will be able to borrow up to $2 million as long as they have no more than 300 employees and suffered at least a 25% drop in quarterly revenue. First-time borrowers with no more than 500 workers will be able to borrow up to $10 million.

The loans, which can be forgiven, will have five-year terms and carry an interest rate of 1%.

The SBA will initially accept only applications submitted by community financial institutions, or CFIs, lenders whose customers are minority-owned and economically disadvantaged businesses. Starting Monday, applications for first-time borrowers submitted by these lenders will accepted, and on Wednesday, applications for second loans. The SBA said it would begin accepting applications from all its lenders within a few days of that initial period reserved for CFIs.

As with the first two rounds of the PPP, applications must be submitted online at banks and other SBA-approved lenders. All applications must be submitted and approved by March 31. Loan amounts are calculated using a company’s payroll expenses; businesses can use either their 2019 or 2020 payroll to compute how much they can ask for.

Companies will have 24 weeks from the date they receive a loan to use the money. While 60% of the proceeds must be used for payroll in order for loans to be forgiven, companies can use the rest for employee health benefits, mortgage interest, rent, utilities and expenses that are essential to business operations.

The PPP is being restarted under the coronavirus relief bill Congress approved in late December, providing for $284 billion in new loans. The first two rounds, which began April 3 and ended Aug. 8, gave out more than 5.2 million loans worth $525 billion.

Interim UW System President Tommy Thompson told WISN 12 the schools could help administer the vaccine to all Wisconsin residents.

Thompson said if allowed, the mass vaccinations could be done by the end of March or early April.

“We could set it up on our campuses,” Thompson said. “We could take care of the vaccine and keep it at the necessary temperatures to keep it safe. We have nursing students, nursing deans, individuals qualified to administer vaccines. We could do it the same way as testing and vaccinate as many people as needed.”

The former Wisconsin governor and Health and Human Services Secretary said he has contacted state and federal agencies about his mass vaccination plan.

“We think we could really be helpful. That’s why we’ve volunteered the university system,” he said.

Thompson said he has not yet received approval to move forward.

He added that vaccine manufacturers would need to send the doses directly to UW system officials.

A Jan. 3 White House Coronavirus Task Force report obtained by ABC News recommends Wisconsin vaccinate as many residents as soon as possible.

“Do not delay the rapid immunization of those over 65 and vulnerable to severe disease; recommend creation of high throughput vaccination sites with use of EMT personnel to monitor for potential anaphylaxis and fully utilize nursing students. No vaccines should be in freezers but should instead be put in arms now; active and aggressive immunization in the face of this surge would save lives,” the report said.

Officials with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) said Monday they aim to start issuing a new $300 unemployment insurance supplement to recipients “within the next few weeks.”

DWD spokesperson Grace Kim said in an email Monday evening that agency officials have several meetings scheduled this week with the U.S. Department of Labor to gather additional information about what is required to implement the latest version of the program, known as Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC).

DWD officials hope to begin testing the program this week, Kim said, and begin sending out the supplements within the next few weeks. But Kim cautioned that timeline is subject to change based on new guidance the department could receive from federal officials, and if any technical issues come up when the department is testing the program.

FPUC was one of three unemployment programs created by Congress in March as part of the first coronavirus aid bill. Initially, it added an extra $600 to weekly benefits for most people on unemployment. That version of the program ended July 25 in Wisconsin.

In October, DWD began paying out a $300 weekly unemployment supplement created by the Trump administration. That program, known as Lost Wages Assistance, lasted six weeks before ending in Wisconsin in early September.

Republican state lawmakers have unveiled a new bill responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in Wisconsin, a proposal they intend to fast-track to Gov. Tony Evers’ desk, according to the leader of the state Assembly.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said the new proposal was drafted in consultation with the GOP-controlled state Senate. It is scheduled for a public hearing and vote by the Assembly health committee Tuesday.

The new GOP-backed proposal, which mirrors some elements of an Assembly plan released in early December, would give businesses, schools and governmental entities legal immunity if someone contracts COVID-19 on their premises, even if the entity isn’t following local, state or federal requirements to curb the spread of the virus.

The bill would also:

• Bar schools from providing virtual instruction, unless its school board votes to approve virtual instruction by a two-thirds vote of its members. Each approval would last only 14 days.
• Require the state unemployment insurance call center to expand its hours until a backlog of unemployment claims is at pre-pandemic levels.
• Extend the suspension of a one-week waiting period for unemployment benefits until March 14.
• Prohibit the state Department of Health Services, local health officials, and employers from requiring people to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
• Limit local health officers’ ability to restrict capacity of businesses during the pandemic to 14-day periods, unless the local government approves an extension of such an order. Each extension could only last 14 days.
• Bar the state Department of Health Services and local health officers from closing or forbidding gatherings in places of worship.
• Allow a nursing home or assisted living facility resident to designate an essential visitor to visit and provide support for the resident.
• Require health insurers to cover testing for COVID-19 without imposing any copayment or coinsurance.
• Give the state budget committee more power over how federal COVID-19 relief funds are spent.
• Require the governor to submit a plan to reopen the state Capitol Building to the public.

On Monday afternoon, the governor’s spokesperson, Britt Cudaback, criticized Republicans for not working with Evers on a bipartisan bill.

“It’s disappointing that instead of passing the COVID compromise the governor and Republican leaders worked on together, Republicans now plan to move ahead with their own legislation,” Cudaback said. “Wisconsinites deserve legislators who will put politics aside and work together to do what’s best for the people of our state.”

Pandemic response measures and changing election procedures will take center stage when the Wisconsin Legislature opens its 2021-22 session on Monday, eclipsing even state budget deliberations that typically consume the first six months of every session.

The Legislature returns in January with Republicans in the majority and Democratic Gov. Tony Evers at midterm. But the political dynamics have shifted since then. Robin Vos remains Assembly speaker, but Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald has moved on after winning a congressional seat. Devin LeMahieu takes Fitzgerald’s place and will deal with a more conservative caucus than Fitzgerald had.

The Department of Workforce Development (DWD) today announced plans to make it easier for Wisconsinites to file for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits by updating the language for both its initial and weekly UI claim applications.

DWD is currently seeking public input on the updated draft application questions online at https://dwd.wisconsin.gov/uiapplicationsfeedback/.

To improve the UI application process, DWD has updated the questions to feature “plain language” as much as possible. “Plain language” is meant to be understandable to all individuals who are likely to use the UI application process, regardless of educational background or regional/cultural language differences. Further, it is to ensure all those who are filling out either an initial or weekly UI claim can understand the questions as quickly and easily as possible.

The deadline to submit public comment on the draft questions is January 8, 2021. DWD job centers will also host virtual focus groups with selected volunteers from around the state to collect additional feedback on the application process. The Department will review and incorporate all feedback before it begins the necessary IT programming in February and plans to post the updated web applications in March.

With the clock ticking toward a potential U.S. government shutdown, President Donald Trump Sunday signed a $2.3 trillion funding measure that includes $900 billion for coronavirus relief and $1.4 trillion for government funding  through next September.

President Trump said in announcing his signature that he was also insisting on changes to the funding legislation to remove what he called “wasteful items.”  Those demands amount to suggestions to Congress and will not necessarily result in any changes to the bill.

His main objections to the funding package were what he said were insufficient $600 per person coronavirus relief payments, as well as funding for multiple government programs such as foreign aid and scientific research.

“As President, I have told Congress that I want far less wasteful spending and more money going to the American people in the form of $2,000 checks per adult and $600 per child,” Trump said in a statement.

“I am signing this bill to restore unemployment benefits, stop evictions, provide rental assistance, add money for PPP, return our airline workers back to work, add substantially more money for vaccine distribution, and much more,” Trump added.