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EPA Administrator Wheeler Talks with Retailers and Third-Party Marketplace Platforms to Discuss Steps to Protect American Consumers from Fraudulent Coronavirus Disinfectant Claims

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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler hosted an interactive telephone call with U.S. retailers and third-party marketplace platforms to discuss imposter disinfectant products and those that falsely claim to be effective against the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, the cause of COVID-19. Through tips, complaints, and research, the agency is learning of the availability of such products marketed with unsubstantiated and potentially dangerous claims of protection against the coronavirus and has enlisted the help of the retail community to prevent these products from coming to market.

“There is no higher priority for the Trump Administration than protecting the health and safety of Americans,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “Our discussion this morning was both informative and productive, and together, we will work diligently to ensure that consumers have access to EPA-approved and verified surface disinfectant products; products that we know to be effective against the novel coronavirus. We are committed to doing our share to provide Americans with the information they need to protect their families.”

“Ensuring all Americans have access to safe and effective disinfectant products as we fight to flatten the curve of COVID-19 is a top priority for leading retailers,” said Michael Hanson, Senior Executive Vice President, Public Affairs, Retail Industry Leaders Association. “RILA members have robust compliance programs in place and work closely with trusted suppliers to ensure that all products that they sell meet or exceed all applicable U.S. safety standards and legal requirements. RILA is proud to partner with the EPA to raise consumer awareness over unvetted and unlawful COVID claims. Unscrupulous actors should not be allowed to dupe the American public during this crisis, and leading retailers are ready to work with the EPA to shine a light on false claims.”

“The retail industry is working hard to police and stop those who are trying to take advantage of this pandemic by selling fraudulent disinfectant products,” said David French, Senior Vice President of Government Relations for the National Retail Federation. “This issue requires a collective effort to protect consumers and retailers, which is why the retail industry is working closely with EPA to remove fraudulent products from the marketplace as soon as possible.”

“It is very important to us to maintain customer trust in the products we offer in store and online, especially during this uncertain time when customers are focused on making choices to help keep their families and communities safe,” said Lance Lanciault, Walmart Senior Vice President and eCommerce Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer. “Customer trust is a major reason we have rigorous policies governing the products that can be sold on our website and we develop marketplace seller and item policies holding third party sellers accountable to only sell disinfecting products which meet required EPA guidelines.”

“We welcome Administrator Wheeler and the EPA’s collaboration and continued vigilance in this area, said Carletta Ooton, Vice President, Safety, Sustainability, Security & Compliance at Amazon. “Amazon requires sellers provide accurate information on detail pages and we have processes in place to proactively block inaccurate claims about COVID-19. We have also developed specific tools for COVID-19 that run 24/7 and scan for any inaccurate claims our initial block may have missed. Together, our efforts have blocked or removed more than 6.5 million products and we fully support efforts by the EPA, DOJ, and other federal partners to prosecute bad actors.”

“Our priority at eBay remains ensuring the safety of our customers and employees around the world. We have been closely monitoring the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and have taken significant measures to block or quickly remove items from our marketplace that are unsafe, make false health claims or violate our price gouging policy,” said Mike Carson, Director, Global Policy and Regulatory Management at eBay. “We share the EPA’s concerns about protecting consumers and will continue to collaborate on this important issue.”

Based on tips, complaints, and research, the agency has identified products that have not gone through EPA’s robust registration process under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and are not legal for sale in the United States. These unregistered, illegal products are touting anti-viral, antibacterial, disinfectant, sterilizing, or sanitizing properties. EPA registration is an important process that ensures products work as claimed and users are provided directions that, when followed, achieve the intended functions, e.g., disinfection, while preventing unreasonable adverse health and environmental consequences.

EPA only registers disinfectants that can be used effectively against the novel coronavirus on surfaces. Non-registered products may not effectively eliminate the virus or reduce the spread of the virus and could even be harmful to consumers’ health. Consumers should refer to “List N” for EPA-registered disinfectants that the agency has determined to be safe and effective against the novel coronavirus.

Also discussed on the call were EPA’s efforts to work with retailers and third-party marketplaces to ensure that only safe, effective and approved disinfectant products are available for sale to the U.S. public. EPA is also coordinating with the U.S. Department of Justice and other federal partners to bring the full force of the law against those selling fraudulent or unregistered products.

The following is a list of some of the unregistered products that have been identified. EPA typically enforces FIFRA through stop-sale orders and penalty actions authorized under the Act. The agency cannot comment on any ongoing investigations, but is providing the information below to ensure that Americans have as much information as possible to help them protect themselves from COVID-19.

  • Lanyards that claim to protect wearers from coronavirus
  • Unregistered disinfectant tablets
    • “Epidemic prevention Chlorinating Tablets Disinfectant Chlorine Tablets Swimming Pool Instant Disinfection Tablets Chlorine Dioxide Effervescent Tablet Chlorine Disinfectant 100g Cozy apposite Fun Suit”
    • “The Flu Virus Buster, CLO2 Disinfection Sticker, Removable sterilize air purifier, Anti COVID-19, Stop Coronavirus disease infection /Influenza Buster Disinfectant 1 Box / 10 Tablets”
  • Unregistered disinfectant sprays
    • “Fullene silver antibacterial solution/24 Hour Defense Hand Sanitizer Disinfectant Spray Against Corona Virus COVID- 19 Kills 99.99% Of Germs Bacteria 24 Hours Of Lasting Protection Alcohol Free 50ml (1.7 fl. oz)”
  • Unregistered disinfectant wipes
    • “99.9% Sterilization Wipes/16/32/48/64/96pcs Sterilization Rate of 99% Disinfection Wet Wipes and Paper Napkin Prevention of Coronavirus”

Additional information: www.epa.gov/coronavirus

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EPA Announces Extended Comment Period on Supplement to Science Transparency Proposed Rule

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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced an extension of the comment period on the supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking for the proposed rule, “Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science.”

“EPA is committed to giving the public ample time to participate in the rulemaking process,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “By extending the comment period, we are listening to stakeholders and giving them more time to provide valuable input on how EPA can improve the science underlying its rules. When finalized, the science transparency rule will ensure that all important studies underlying significant regulatory actions at the EPA, regardless of their source, are available for a transparent review by qualified scientists.”

On March 18, 2020, EPA issued a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking to the proposed rule with a 30-day comment period that was scheduled to close on April 17. With today’s extension, the comment period will now close on May 18.

EPA is soliciting comments on the clarifications the supplemental notice made to the 2018 proposed rule. The Supplemental:

  • proposes that the scope of the rulemaking applies to influential scientific information as well as significant regulatory decisions;
  • defines and clarifies that the proposed rule applies to data and models underlying both pivotal science and pivotal regulatory science;
  • proposes a modified approach to the availability provisions for data and models that would underly influential scientific information and significant regulatory decisions, as well as an alternate approach; and,
  • clarifies the ability of the Administrator to grant exemptions.

Additionally, EPA is taking comment on whether to use its housekeeping authority independently or in conjunction with appropriate environmental statutory provisions as authority for taking this action.

Comments should be identified by Docket ID No. is EPA–HQ–OA–2018–0259 and submitted through the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov

EPD REPORT

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EPD REPORT

VANDERBURGH COUNTY RECENT BOOKING RECORDS

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https://www.vanderburghsheriff.com/jail-recent-booking-records.aspx

Record Number Of Unemployed Americans Will Stress State Medicaid Programs

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Record Number Of Unemployed Americans Will Stress State Medicaid Programs

“This is a quick enough shock that it could be a huge financial burden on Medicaid systems across the states,” one researcher said.
By Phil McCausland

 

Andrew Parys, 36, said he didn’t pay off his prosthetic leg at the end of March as planned because he didn’t know whether he’d be able to afford groceries. He worked as a bartender in Hershey, Pennsylvania, until the coronavirus pandemic shuttered the business last month, leading him to be one of the millions of Americans who signed up for unemployment over the past two weeks.

While Parys’ employer maintains his health insurance for now, he expects to lose it soon. His fiancée, Tara Delutis, 31, meanwhile, was furloughed from her job managing a spa and lost her coverage. That leaves her with few options to treat her fibromyalgia and endometriosis. Now both are worried they won’t be able to pay their medical bills without health care coverage.

“I can’t believe it’s 2020, we live in the richest country in the world and we have to be under so much stress about health care,” Parys said.

Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak

More than 156 million Americans depended on their employers for health insurance before the pandemic. But now, with almost 10 million people filing new unemployment claims over the past two weeks, an estimated 3.5 million workers likely lost their employer-provided health insurance, according to a study from the Economic Policy Institute.

In response, an overwhelming number of people are expected to sign up for Medicaid, the state and federal program that provides more than 70 million low-income people with health care coverage — pushing it to the breaking point.

Washington state has gotten a significant increase of about 35,000 new applications over the past 10 days, the Washington State Health Care Authority told NBC News. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said 12,000 more applications have been submitted over the past week than a month ago.

If unemployment continues to grow, an additional 10 million to 20 million Americans could enroll in Medicaid and millions could live without coverage altogether, a study published on Friday found. Insurance provided by employers could drop by 11 million to 23 million.

“You definitely see in the data that as unemployment goes up, the Medicaid rolls go up,” said Josh Bivens, the Economic Policy Institute’s director of research. “That’s good, and it’s supposed to happen: It’s a safety net. But this is a quick enough shock that it could be a huge financial burden on Medicaid systems across the states.”

When unemployment rose by 1 percent during the recession, health care professionals assumed that meant 1 million more people applying for Medicaid, experts said. Because the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 allowed states to expand Medicaid and cover more people, the number is expected to be much higher this time.

The 14 states that didn’t expand Medicaid, however, will likely have a more difficult time paying for care because they don’t have access to the same amount of federal money as those that did.

Download the NBC News app for full coverage and alerts about the coronavirus outbreak

Coronavirus legislation that has passed so far has provided states with billions of additional dollars to support their Medicaid programs, as well as a 6.2 percent increase in its federal matching rate. However, experts warn that that won’t be nearly enough as demand continues to increase, the cost of caring for a sick public grows and states’ tax revenue plummets because of closed businesses.

“More money is going to have to flow,” said Andy Slavitt, who was head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services during the administration of former President Barack Obama. “There was something that almost got into the third bill that would have created a recessionary bump in Medicaid when unemployment jumped. Republicans didn’t want it, but it’s a good addition.”

Experts warn that something will have to be done or it could lead to shrinking coverage. States with tight budgets may begin to make difficult decisions about the amount of care they provide to people, especially if they run low on ventilators and intensive care beds.

That is a particular point of worry for Eliot Fishman, a senior health policy director at the consumer group Families USA who was a top Medicaid official in the Obama administration.

“If states are in a position where they don’t have enough federal funds and they don’t have enough state funds and state revenues are crashing, also, I’m concerned that bad decisions around rationing care might happen, especially if this all becomes very expensive,” he said.

Loss of access to health insurance will put millions in vulnerable positions, especially after the Trump administration decided it wouldn’t allow a special enrollment period for people to sign up for coverage through the Affordable Care Act.

While 11 of 12 states that run their own health care exchanges have decided to create a special period for sign-ups, the remaining 38 states depend on the federal government to operate their programs and won’t be able to afford the same opportunity to their residents.

“It is the easiest low-hanging fruit that will provide some relief,” Bivens said. “If you lose your job, you are allowed to go to the ACA exchanges, but it requires some documentation of job loss and loss of previous coverage. Whereas if, instead, they did a special enrollment period, you wouldn’t have to go through those bureaucratic hoops.”

Another concern is whether states have the institutional framework to address the surge in demand. Multiple states have reported their unemployment websites crashing, and many have complained that they are unable to reach their state offices on the phone — some are even unable to pay out all the unemployment claims they have received.

“A sleeper issue for this is the ability for states to process this surge in enrollment,” said Joan Alker, executive director of the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy.

“States have had to move to telework, many are understaffed to begin with and some of their workforces may get sick,” Alker said. “I very much doubt most states can move to telework as easily as, let’s say, Google.”

The dialogue around the topic has some health care advocates particularly upset.

Wendell Potter, a former health care executive turned “Medicare for All” advocate, warned that sudden layoffs would show how imperiled the American health care system is.

“With the loss of jobs for most of those people is the loss of health insurance,” he said, “so it’s inescapable to see how unreliable this is and how absurd it is for their access to health care be tied to where they work.”

Indiana Is A Pioneer Of Virtual Charters

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Indiana is a pioneer of virtual charters. What do those schools tell us about at-home learning? 

By Stephanie Wang

In a time of unprecedented disruption, it’s mostly business as usual at a handful of schools in Indiana.

While brick-and-mortar schools have sent students home for at least six weeks, full-time online schools didn’t have physical classrooms to close amid the new coronavirus. Their students are already set up to work from home. Their teachers are accustomed to leading remote lessons.

“The students are seeing so much change in their world that we want to be something that doesn’t [change],” said Liz Sliger, who leads Indiana Digital Learning School.

Long before the COVID-19 outbreak, Indiana was experimenting with whether students could learn just as effectively without physically going to school. For nearly a decade, the state’s virtual charter schools have recreated classrooms at home, allowing students to interact with teachers and classmates through computer screens.

Full-time online schools aren’t exactly comparable to the temporary e-learning being used as a stop-gap measure while campuses are closed in an attempt to contain the spread of the pandemic. But what we know about online schools, their long-standing problems, and the state’s years-long battle to improve them suggests that the “new normal” of stay-at-home learning could present challenges — something families are no doubt discovering already.

Research has shown that full-time online settings aren’t as productive for students as in-person learning. A recent study revealed that Indiana students saw a decline in both math and reading after switching to virtual charter schools.

Plus, the recent $86 million enrollment scandal that shut down Indiana Virtual School and Indiana Virtual Pathways Academy was a hard lesson in how easily problems in online education can fly under the radar.

The inactive students at those two troubled virtual schools — who drove up the schools’ state funding, allowing millions of dollars to go to a web of companies with ties to school officials — prompted state lawmakers to drill down on how the state’s remaining online schools interact with students and ensure participation. Those issues also set off a federal investigation.

Here’s what Indiana’s experience with virtual schools can teach us about remote learning.

🔗Students, especially those who were already struggling, could flounder.

Virtual learning offers the potential for many students to access education in a way that wouldn’t have been widely available several years ago.

“In-person school is better than virtual school, but of course we don’t have the option for in-person right now,” said Susanna Loeb, director of the Annenberg Institute at Brown University. “Really what you want to know is whether virtual school is better than nothing. And I think in many cases, it is.”

But not everyone is on equal footing.

“Virtual tends to work better for students who do better in school anyway,” Loeb said. “Students who have a harder time engaging in school also have a harder time online.”

A family’s situation plays a huge role in how students learn online, she said: whether families have computers, internet, and a quiet place to work; how much time families can devote to helping children with their lessons; and what other stresses may be going on in the home, especially now, as the coronavirus continues to affect people’s health, employment, and economic security.

🔗There’s a learning curve for online learning.

Some schools that incorporate blended learning into regular school days hope that familiarity will help students transition to learning exclusively from home amid the coronavirus crisis. But even virtual schools say it takes a little while for new students to get used to a different way of learning.

That’s part of the reason why state lawmakers decided virtual schools need to be upfront with families about the expectations for online learning. Such schools are now required to have an onboarding process for students and families.

Chandre Sanchez Reyes, executive director of Indiana Connections Academy and Indiana Connections Career Academy, two virtual charter schools, said brick-and-mortar educators will need to get used to over-communicating, such as explaining how long students should spend on each assignment.

🔗It can be harder to get students to participate.

“It’s not easy to do virtual learning. Some people think it’s super easy — that you put some stuff online and kids just do it,” Sanchez Reyes said. “We know that’s not the case.”

Virtual schools originally launched to serve specific niches of students often self-motivated to work through online courses: gifted students, elite athletes, or students with significant health challenges.

But for others, staying on task can be a challenge. When the state started requiring virtual schools to address inactive students, hundreds of truant students were kicked out of those schools. That’s why many virtual schools have built-in “nudges” to reach out to students who have been inactive, and schools like Connections require students to have “learning coaches” — such as a parent — to help with education at home.

🔗Students still need face-to-face interactions.

Some might assume that online learning mostly consists of video lectures for large virtual classes. But effective online education requires a human touch, Sanchez Reyes said. Online schools have platforms that allow students to break into small groups, and teachers to reach out to students one-on-one.

Full-time online schools also still have in-person activities, such as field trips and graduation, where students and teachers can connect face-to-face. Getting to know each other in person can help students through online learning, educators say — but, for now, the coronavirus has forced virtual schools to cancel plans to gather.

🔗Online learning might not be for everyone.

Families and teachers usually get to choose whether they want to be in an all-online environment. With everyone now thrown into remote learning, some students and teachers might gravitate toward online lessons while it might not be a good fit for others.

Some students — especially younger ones, like kindergartners — may have never otherwise considered an online learning platform. Some traditional schools don’t usually send devices home with younger students and have had to change those policies.

“One size does not fit all, even for educators, families, and students,” Sanchez said.

 

Gov. Beshear: Strict Compliance in COVID-19 Fight Saves Kentucky Lives

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Gov. Beshear: Strict Compliance in COVID-19 Fight Saves Kentucky Lives

Administration Makes It Easier to Donate Personal Protective Equipment
Visit the Governor’s Facebook page to watch today’s news conference

FRANKFORT, Ky. (April 3, 2020) – Gov. Andy Beshear on Friday said strict compliance with efforts to fight the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has the potential to save the lives of thousands of Kentuckians.

With favorable weather forecasts across the commonwealth this weekend, the Governor encouraged Kentuckians to keep up their guard and avoid crowds. He said following the guidelines of social distancing and staying healthy at home has the potential to save as many as 11,000 people.

“This is our challenge, this is our calling, this is our time. Other generations went to wars, went to other challenges with even more than this on the line,” the Governor said. “I know it is tough, but what is being asked of us is to follow rules and stay apart from each other.”

Gov. Beshear shared several coronavirus outbreak models, including those issued by the White House and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. All of the models, he said, show the greatest impact we can have rests with how we conduct ourselves personally and collectively.

“The weather is beautiful. I want you to get out and enjoy it, but only if you can do it without creating a crowd or joining a crowd,” the Governor said. “You know that your sacrifice is going to help other people and that is truly amazing. For every example of someone doing the wrong thing, we have hundreds of thousands of examples of people doing the right thing. Let’s continue to lift each other up.”

Donating gloves, other PPE made easier
Gov. Beshear also announced a new initiative aimed at making it easier for people to donate personal protective equipment (PPE).

First, a new hotline (1-833-GIVE PPE) and website (giveppe.ky.gov) streamline the entire donation process. In addition, PPE donations now will be accepted at all 16 Kentucky State Police posts across the commonwealth and at Transportation Cabinet offices in Louisville and Lexington.

Currently, gloves used by medical professionals are the greatest need. “We believe this is the next area where there’s going to be another big run in the United States,” the Governor said.

No amount is too small. If you have any surplus equipment, please consider donating it to Team Kentucky.

Skilled nursing facilities update

Gov. Beshear gave an update on skilled nursing facilities in the commonwealth. The Office of Inspector General says there are six nursing homes with COVID-19 cases among residents and three with cases among staffers. Most non-emergency inspections are being put off to limit contacts, and officials are working to establish more COVID-19 isolated units at all the facilities.

Case information
As of 5 p.m. April 3, Gov. Beshear said there were at least 831 cases of COVID-19 in Kentucky, 90 of which were newly confirmed. There were six new deaths reported Friday, raising the state’s toll to 37 deaths related to the virus. The Governor said about 15,000 Kentuckians have been tested.

“Let’s remember that it’s real people. That it’s families. That when we announce 90 new cases, that it’s families that are worried about that person,” he said. “Everyone that we’ve lost, and those numbers will increase, are real, special, important people: children of God. And let’s make sure we don’t let this become just a numbers game.”

Gov. Beshear also shared some positive news, noting that so far the increases in positive cases in Kentucky has been less than many expected at this point.

“We are not escalating every day or every other day right now, although we will escalate,” Gov. Beshear said of the rate of increase in cases. “I believe that is directly attributable to the steps you are taking.”

He also announced that at least 228 people have fully recovered after being stricken with coronavirus.

“We believe it’s a lot more, but that’s what we can confirm right now,” the Governor said.

On Friday, Gov. Beshear also vetoed Senate Bill 2, saying the legislation appeared likely to reduce participation in the voting process. The Governor said the bill needlessly would threaten the health and safety of Kentuckians who would be required to obtain identification during the coronavirus pandemic.

Gov. Beshear also addressed a question from a reporter regarding farmers’ markets.

“Follow CDC guidelines at farmers’ markets. When people follow the rules, we can do this. If they create crowds, we cannot have them. If you are sick, you cannot go. If you touch something, you have to buy it,” the Governor said.

Read about other key updates from the week by visiting Gov. Beshear’s website, governor.ky.gov.

More information
Gov. Beshear has taken decisive action to protect all Kentuckians since the first case was confirmed in the commonwealth. To read the full list of actions Gov. Beshear has taken to protect Kentuckians and limit the spread of the coronavirus, visit governor.ky.gov/covid19.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) encourages people to follow these steps to prevent illness. Kentuckians who want advice can call the state hotline at 800-722-5725 or call their local health care provider. To read Gov. Beshear’s news releases and watch other news regarding COVID-19 visit governor.ky.gov.

Each day at 5 p.m. ET, Gov. Beshear holds briefings for Kentuckians that are streamed online at his Facebook and YouTube pages.

Gov. Beshear continues to urge Kentuckians to be cautious of rumors and depend on proven and good sources of news, including governor.ky.gov, kycovid19.ky.gov and the Governor’s official social media accounts Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

FTC Official: Legal ‘Loan Sharks’ May Be Exploiting Coronavirus To Squeeze Small Businesses

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FTC Official: Legal ‘Loan Sharks’ May Be Exploiting Coronavirus To Squeeze Small Businesses

Small businesses have borrowed billions from unregulated merchant cash advance companies. Now, amid the coronavirus crisis, the lenders have come for their money.

By Gretchen Morgenson

 

Jason Indelicato, who owns a three-store clothing chain in Massachusetts called North River Outfitter, is under siege. As with many small business owners, he has closed his stores because of the coronavirus pandemic, and his revenues have disappeared.

Still, the virus isn’t the worst of Indelicato’s woes, he told NBC News. A lender is.

On March 19, as COVID-19 spread across the U.S., triggering a national emergency, a merchant cash advance company sued Indelicato and his wife, Alice. The company, PowerUp Lending Group of Great Neck, New York, had given North River money to be repaid from the stores’ future sales. Now those sales are nonexistent — but PowerUp’s suit demanded immediate payment of almost $91,000, plus legal fees. (The suit is now on hold.)

“I don’t see how companies that are collecting future receipts can be litigating against companies that don’t have any receipts,” Indelicato said.

Merchants like Indelicato have been hammered by the coronavirus outbreak. But aggressive lenders are still trying to extract money from their empty coffers. Court documents show that amid the pandemic, so-called merchant cash advance companies are pursuing legal claims against owners that freeze their bank accounts and are pressing their family members, neighbors, insurers, distributors — even their customers — for money the lenders say they’re owed.

Small businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy, employing millions of people and paying taxes. But since the 2008 recession, they have struggled to get loans from commercial banks, which prefer to deal with bigger borrowers. Small businesses that need cash must increasingly rely on merchant cash advance lenders — members of a little-known industry with almost no government oversight; effective interest rates that can hit 400 percent, according to congressional testimony; and direct access to their customers’ bank accounts. Some companies’ aggressive, even menacing, collection techniques are documented in video, recordings and emails provided to NBC News.

“The coronavirus crisis is putting millions of small businesses in a precarious situation, and I’m really worried that loan sharks are exploiting the situation,” said Rohit Chopra, one of the five commissioners who run the Federal Trade Commission. “We’re already seeing a decadelong decline in small businesses. This type of predatory, extortionate approach is going to wipe out so many businesses, and they’re not going to come back.”

Five years ago, the merchant cash advance industry-financed around $8 billion for small businesses. But the industry’s reach has exploded as money from traditional banks has become less available to these borrowers. In 2019, it provided an estimated $19 billion in funding.

“I will put you in the hospital … Call the police I don’t care.”

If the merchants fall behind on their payments, some lenders send threatening emails and texts and even pay visits to borrowers’ homes to try to collect, lawyers and small business owners say.

NBC News reviewed some of the communications, including videos of a visit by a collection agent to a borrower’s home and another to a borrower’s office by an expletive-spewing man trying to collect on a loan. “You will end up hurt. Hurt bad,” one text said.

The most common arrangements between these companies and small business borrowers aren’t technically loans, and therefore their terms and the companies offering them aren’t regulated.

That must change, Chopra said. “The FTC has to seriously look at rules that ban some of the most extortionate clauses in these loan contracts,” he said, adding that the FTC is prepared to “go after some of the loan sharks and their lawyers who run lawsuit mills that are filing some of these sham collection actions.”

How It Works

Merchant cash advance companies like PowerUp aggressively cold-call, email and text small business owners offering quick and easy funding, merchants told NBC News. The offers are alluring to owners who often operate on the edge and are strapped for cash.

The companies generally provide a predetermined amount of money to a business in exchange for future receipts. As in any industry, some of the companies’ practices are more problematic than others.

The agreements are enforceable contracts the borrowers have agreed to, lawyers say, but some of the aggressive collection practices, such as visiting borrowers’ homes, aren’t legal, they contend.

Under a typical deal, a business might receive $40,000 in exchange for agreeing to hand over $50,000 in future revenue over a few months. Merchants are typically required to repay the advances via automatic withdrawals from their bank accounts every day or week.

To secure the financing, business owners must provide documents detailing their recent sales and identifying their business partners, including their customers, and the amounts they owe, known as accounts receivable.

Owners must also give the lenders unfettered access to their bank accounts for the automatic withdrawals. If revenue dries up and the money stops flowing, merchant cash advance companies can freeze business owners’ accounts by filing so-called confessions of judgment.

Companies often choose to make the filings in New York state, because its statute is powerful and easy to use. For instance, the filings can be entered without a hearing or review by a judge.

The filings are often in amounts that are twice the money owed, say lawyers who work in the arena. They are filed without a business’ knowledge; merchants often learn about them when they try to pay their employees and find their accounts blocked, the lawyers say.

The merchant cash advance companies often demand that borrowers also pay attorneys’ fees, which can be 25 percent to 33 percent of the balance due under a borrower’s agreement, documents show.

Legal filings by cash advance companies, including confessions of judgment filed against small businesses, have been ballooning amid the coronavirus crisis. Court filings in New York state show at least 313 legal actions brought by 98 companies from March 9 to March 20.

The flood receded when New York courts stopped accepting electronic filings in nonessential matters on March 23.

Itria Ventures of New York City, an affiliate of Biz2Credit, is among the merchant cash advance companies that filed numerous lawsuits in March. During the three-week period, Itria filed suit against 20 small businesses for nonpayment, court records show, most of them outside the state. In all cases, the businesses had stopped paying in March as the coronavirus clobbered operations and governments required that many nonessential companies close.

Small businesses sued by Itria included a builder’s company in Minnesota, a grocery in South Carolina, a Holiday Inn Express in Wyoming and a barbecue joint in Alabama, court filings show.

Lone Spur Café, a six-restaurant chain in Arizona and Colorado, was also sued by Itria on March 19, with a demand for $282,000.

NBC News asked Itria and Biz2Credit why they were taking such an aggressive tack against small businesses during a national disaster.

Rohit Arora, Biz2Credit’s co-founder and chief executive, said in a telephone interview: “In some cases, we have to file these cases, but we also try to work with our customers. A lot of these companies had problems prior to coronavirus; they were on a payment plan and they defaulted.”

Shortly after NBC News spoke with Arora, Itria withdrew its court actions against Lone Spur and other small businesses, court records show. He said the actions were dropped because they worked out payment plans.

‘A Cycle Of Death’

“Now, more than ever, alternative lending is going to be needed by small businesses,” said Shane Heskin, a lawyer at White and Williams, who represents Indelicato of North River Outfitter and other merchants against direct lenders. “You can’t have people freezing assets and demanding payments at a time like this.”

When merchants fall behind on their payments, some direct lenders send threatening emails and texts, owners and their lawyers say. (NBC News received no evidence that PowerUp, Itria or Biz2Credit had sent menacing messages to borrowers or had sent debt collectors to their homes.)

“If you don’t send money to me today you’re done,” said a recent text shared by a business owner. “I will put you in the hospital and your family, call the police I don’t care, you and your family will pay.” Another text to the owner included a Google map showing a driving route the debt collector was taking to the borrower’s home. “Currently in route to u right now,” the text said. “I’ll show you what type of loser you are you clown of a man.”

Heskin, who testified last year before Congress about the lenders’ tactics, said one of his law partners found a disemboweled rat splayed atop his mailbox in front of his home. He provided a photo to NBC News.

Indelicato said he began dealing with merchant cash advance companies around 2016, when he wanted to expand his business and needed more money than his conventional bank loan could provide. He said the companies have almost killed his business.

“We went from having good credit and eight or nine stores to having bad credit and three stores,” Indelicato said in an interview. “On some of our loans, we were paying over 200 percent. It became a cycle of death. They have access to your bank accounts — they can wipe out an account overnight.”

On March 27, NBC News contacted Bernard Feldman, a lawyer for PowerUp Lending, about the Indelicato case. In a return email, he said the firm had decided to stand down for the moment. “We have no intention of pursuing this matter at the present time,” Feldman wrote.

An email to PowerUp requesting comment received no response.

Another small business borrower who’s been through the wringer with merchant cash advance companies is Jon Runion of Runion Dental Group in Columbus, Ohio.

In mid-2018, Runion, an oral surgeon, wanted to add a second location to his practice and had initial approval from a bank for financing. But the bank backed out after he had signed a new lease and begun construction on the second office, and by spring of last year, Runion said, he desperately needed funding. The only source of capital he could find was from merchant cash advance companies.

“Working with a broker, I thought he was going to get me a traditional loan — that was how the conversation started,” Runion said. “He more or less presented me the net cash I would receive and the payments. He didn’t talk too much about how it was secured or the workings of it.”

Soon after he received the money, the amount of the repayments began rocketing, Runion said. When they reached $70,000 a month, he had trouble paying his vendors.

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In 1941, with war tearing through Europe and Asia, and America on the precipice of joining the conflict, President Franklin D. Roosevelt compelled and inspired industries and individuals to rally for the greater good. Food was rationed without rioting, and car plants all but stopped producing automobiles in favor of tanks and fuselages. By 1944, American factory workers were building nearly 100,000 warplanes a year — or about 11 per hour.

The United States is again faced with a crisis that calls for a national response, demanding a mobilization of resources that the free market or individual states cannot achieve on their own. The coronavirus pandemic has sickened more than 187,000 people around the globe and claimed more than 7,400 lives already. Based on what they know about the virus so far, experts say that between two million and 200 million people could be infected in the coming weeks and months, in the United States alone. If the worst comes to pass, as many as 1.7 million of our neighbors and loved ones could die. How many people are affected depends on the actions that we as a nation take right now.

Understandably, many American leaders have been focused on shoring up an economy that’s hemorrhaging money and trust. Many of the measures being advanced by Congress, like paid sick leave, are crucial. But the best hope for the economy, and the nation as a whole, is a strong public health response to the coronavirus.

Confusion has reigned, among health care professionals and laypeople alike, over when or whether to test patients, quarantine the exposed and isolate the sick — even over how worried to be. Part of the problem is a supply shortage that is already growing dire in some places. But another problem is the lack of consistent messages from leaders, President Trump in particular. For weeks now, clear statements — for example, that the worst is yet to come — have been undercut by blithe assurances that everything is under control.

Wartime Production

Much of the country is facing a grave shortage of ventilators, intensive care beds, the equipment and chemicals needed for testing, and all manner of medical supplies, including gloves, masks, swabs and wipes. More space is also needed to put these supplies to use healing patients. That means isolation wards for the sick and quarantine facilities for people who are exposed to the coronavirus.

A number of hospitals and state and local governments are working to secure those resources. Some cities and states have purchased hotels and turned them into quarantine facilities. Others are in bidding wars with one another for ventilators, I.C.U. beds and other essential equipment. If the current projections hold — and if countries in Europe and cities in China are any indication — neither these siloed efforts nor the nation’s federally maintained stash of medical supplies will be enough to face what’s coming.

Worse still, pitting states against one another for limited and essential supplies leaves poorer states at the mercy of the rich ones, and the states hit first against those that will be hard hit in the coming weeks. Yet on Monday, Mr. Trump told a group of governors desperate for equipment like ventilators, “Try getting it yourselves.”

Instead, the federal government needs to step in to sharply ramp up production of all these goods, just as it ramped up production of munitions during World War II. That will most likely necessitate the use of the Defense Production Act, a law that enables the president to mobilize domestic industries in times of crisis. President Trump has not demonstrated the democratic instincts or administrative competence to inspire the confidence that he ought to be trusted with even more executive authority. But he’s the only president America’s got, and this crisis requires White House action. It’s not hard to imagine, with proper organization and support, American factories producing ventilators, masks, hand sanitizer, coronavirus tests and other medical equipment at a scale that would meet what the crisis demands. But it won’t happen overnight, and it certainly won’t happen without leadership.

“We could increase production fivefold in a 90- to 120-day period,” Chris Kiple, chief executive of Ventec Life Systems, a Washington State company that makes ventilators used in hospitals, homes and ambulances, told Forbes last week. Mr. Kiple estimated that current worldwide production capacity for ventilators is about 40,000 a year.

In the absence of government leadership, companies can still take it upon themselves to help the effort. In France, for example, LVMH, which owns luxury brands like Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior, announced on Sunday that it was repurposing perfume production lines to make hand sanitizer and other anti-viral products.

Once supplies and space are secured, human capacity will need to be addressed. There are not enough health care workers who are trained and equipped to treat emergent, contagious lung infections in intensive care units. If those workers fall ill and are themselves quarantined and isolated — as some of them almost certainly will be, given the present lack of protective equipment — more will have to be trained and prepared.

That challenge will be exacerbated by the fact that large conferences and training sessions are likely to be forbidden in the months ahead. The federal government can help by conveying the urgency of the need — and calling on health care workers to volunteer for such training — and then by creating the necessary virtual modules and webinars.

Federal leaders can also help by calling on states to waive licensing requirements for out-of-state medical workers, as Massachusetts has already done. There will not be one giant outbreak here in the United States, but rather many smaller ones that will vary in scope, size and duration. That means some parts of the country will have a much greater need than others. The ability of any worker to deploy quickly from a low-need area to a high-need one will save valuable time as the number of confirmed cases surges in the days ahead.

During World War II, housewives, students, retirees and the unemployed moved into the labor force to help build tanks, planes and armaments. It was a full-scale national effort — and something similar is called for today.

This will take some creativity. In Spain, final-year medical students are being pulled into clinics and hospitals for more routine tasks to allow the staff to focus on critical cases. In the United States, retired hospital workers are being urged back into the work force to provide needed expertise.

These are just a few possibilities for putting people to work confronting the crisis, to be sure. Any such programs stand a much better chance of success if the federal government encourages them and directs them through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In recent days, the president has begun calling on industry leaders to help: to develop vaccines, diagnostic tests and treatments for the virus; to develop websites that might clarify and expedite testing; and to cede their parking lots to the needs of the public.

It’s time for him to call on the rest of the country as well. Not just to scrub hands and forgo basketball games, Broadway shows and the local bar, but to meet this moment with urgency and altruism. Many Americans are eager to help their fellow citizens. Would they ration their own consumption to help save them, if that’s what things came to?

During World War II, the American government raised corporate and personal income taxes, pushed the business community onto a wartime footing, drafted millions into the military or civilian defense forces, rationed civilian goods in service of military goals and drastically reorganized society by offering jobs to women and minorities who had long been excluded from them. The society that emerged from the war was different — stronger — than the one that went into it.

It is remarkable what the country can do when the lives of its citizens are in peril, and the final outcome is uncertain. What it takes is leadership to summon that spirit to act in the national interest.

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