An update from Bandit Lites founder, Michael T. Strickland; Faith and Hope. As Mr. Stickland mentions, the fight is not over yet. Consider being a part of the growing interest in as US based rally based on the #WeMakeEvents. Details are to come, though you can get details directly to your inbox here: wme.isquint.net.

From Michael T. Strickland:

Friends,

As the week closes, both the House and Senate are in August Break. They are not scheduled to return until September 14. This does not necessarily mean there will not be a relief bill until then. The real negotiations are, and have been, between Pelosi, Schumer, Meadows and Mnuchin.

At this moment there seems to be 2 potential paths forward for a relief bill.

First, it is possible that the negotiations continue between Pelosi, Schumer, Meadows and Mnuchin. If they come to an agreement they can call back the House and Senate on a 24 hour notice in order to vote. They could also pass it by Unanimous Consent, which simply means everyone agrees. It only takes one person to stop a Unanimous Consent.

Second, it is possible that nothing takes place and the issue is picked back up September 14. In that case negotiations would resume then.

Please do not believe most of what you read. There are many conversations that only Pelosi, Schumer, Meadows, Mnuchin and the President are aware of. No one outside of that group is privy to much of these conversations. I have spoken to several legislators and their staff members, and they too are in the dark.

At this point we have moved away from negotiations for a relief bill and into a purely political situation. Both sides are posturing to achieve their political goals. When this occurs, the details of the real needs of the country take a second position to the political process. Until the political process is not the first driver of those involved, this will remain in a stalemate.

This political posturing is caused by both parties, not just one. There are two issues looming that would point to a resolution during August.

The first motivator is the extreme urgency of school funding. Both sides have agreed and indeed $105 billion seems to be the number. Schools are beginning to open now and the money is needed as soon as is possible. The second motivator is that 435 House members and 35 Senators are up for reelection.

Every day that passes without a relief bill does the legislators damage with their constituents. No legislator wants to look bad to the voters. No legislators wants to be seen as keeping funding from schools. Thus, at least 470 legislators have a big incentive to assure a relief bill is passed sooner rather than later.

But, they are not the four people in the room.

Our political leaders could always vote on every issue one at a time, or stand alone. This is known as a clean bill. If they did that, the things everyone agreed on would pass, and the things they did not agree on would not. But it does not work that way. They use leverage to gain some of the things that may not pass.

Absent leverage, only bills that everyone agreed on would pass.

Thus, all of the issues on the plate are wrapped into a single bill, and leverage is used to gain the needs of each side. There is a lot of trading done to achieve the end goals. At this point it does not seem that any of the unresolved elements will be carved out and dealt with alone.

Every issue will sink or swim as one.

Thus the art of negotiation.

As previously identified, the two big points of disagreement seemingly are money for the states and liability indemnity, in that order. The other issues are either agreed to or look likely to be resolved. There is still large bipartisan support of most of the issues before the Congress, and that includes additional relief for small business. The RESTART Act continues to gain bipartisan support and strength. At this moment RESTART still looks to be the vehicle of choice to assist small businesses.

All of this leads us to the two questions everyone has. Will there be another relief bill? If so, when? Both answers require an opinion at this time.

I will give you what I believe is a qualified opinion based on hundreds of hours of conversation and research in the last 3 weeks. As both sides of the aisle continue to state that they do want another bill, it does seem the answer here is yes, there will be another relief bill. I do believe solidly that a bill will be delivered. That is also the sentiment of the majority of the legislators and others on Capitol Hill.

As to when, that is pure speculation. Only four people and the President are privy to the details of the negotiations. Common sense would tell you they will get it done quickly, say in the next two weeks. But, political motives must first be removed, and only the four people in the room can do that.

If I were forced to provide a range of dates, I would believe a bill will be delivered between August 20^th and September 25^th.Money would most likely flow two weeks after passage. I realize that is not the answer many of you were looking for, but I believe it to be a reality.

There are many in the Live Events Industry for whom relief by the end of September is too late. That fact has been, and will continue to be advanced.

Each day, every day, all day. By myself and others.

I again suggest that all of you reach out to your Congresspeople and Senators with a personal e-mail letting them know, again, that the RESTART Act for small business must happen now.

https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials

If anything changes over the weekend I promise to notify you. Please do know that regardless of what happens and regardless of what you hear, there are many people in government working on this every day.

Hope is the fuel that drives the human spirit. It is what we all put into our minds every day that drives us forward. We must never surrender our hope and we must realize that humans are resilient and find a way to succeed.

I know many of us are in a position that looks impossible, but do not give up. I and many others are pushing seven days a week, 16 hours a day to assure small business is provided for. I urge you to have faith in the many efforts and to contact you legislators with a personal note.

With Faith and Hope we will succeed.I want to thank each of you for your phenomenal efforts and ideas.Our power still rests in our extraordinary numbers.

Keep it up my friends.

Have a great weekend and be safe,

Michael T. Strickland

Chair and Founder

Bandit Lites

An UPDATED from Mr. Strickland

Here is an easier way to do your messaging from our partners at NITO. Feel free to use this as well.

NITO has a tool available to everyone to directly communicate with their representatives. The process is easy and takes less than 60 seconds.  Folks have the opportunity to modify the pre-written text, so if they have written previously, they could write again as a follow up. 

Here’s the link ~ https://nitolive.org/resources/take-action/