The Big Story: COVID relief talks stall as startups still wait for support. The Trump administration and Congress are continuing to discuss the framework of a bipartisan coronavirus relief package to support struggling small businesses and Americans, although the lack of progress on an agreement means that a stimulus deal is unlikely until after the presidential election on Nov. 3rd. With startups and small businesses in need of economic support to weather the pandemic’s economic uncertainty, entrepreneurs are calling for policymakers to provide more-targeted relief proposals in the much-needed stimulus package being discussed.

The Big Story: Acquisitions, content moderation become focus of antitrust hearing. A Senate antitrust panel held a hearing this week to examine the impact of Google’s online advertising market on competition, but in what is becoming a routine occurrence, policymakers shifted their focus to other areas, spending considerable time airing unrelated and unsupported claims about Google’s supposed anti-conservative bias and the alleged harms of acquisitions.

The Big Story: SEC’s accredited investor update a good first step for startups. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission this week updated its “accredited investor” rules—which govern who can invest in early-stage, privately held firms—to allow individuals who do not meet the existing wealth threshold to participate in private capital markets. The previous rules only allowed individuals who earned more than $200,000 per year, or had a net worth of over $1 million, to qualify as accredited investors. The updated rule expands the definition so that potential investors are not judged only by their wealth, but by other features—such as having relevant knowledge and expertise—that can make it easier for qualified individuals to invest in startups.

The Big Story: Messy ‘Big Tech’ hearing fails to address startup competition. Big tech CEOs were in the hot seat this week during a House antitrust hearing ostensibly about anti-competitive practices. Instead, however, lawmakers used the opportunity to air a variety of grievances against large tech firms without offering a coherent plan for policymaking that could benefit the U.S. startup ecosystem. While some of the members of the House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee used Wednesday’s hearing with the CEOs of Amazon, Apple, Google, and Facebook to address startup concerns, the hearing clearly demonstrated that policymakers need to rethink their approach to competition policy by listening to the concerns of the entrepreneurial community if they truly want to support startup growth and innovation.

The Big Story: In order to promote tech competition, Congress needs to hear from startups. While a planned House antitrust panel next week featuring the CEOs of Amazon, Apple, Google, and Facebook has reportedly been postponed, the startup community is still paying close attention to ongoing congressional discussions about allegations of anti-competitive practices by the country’s largest tech firms. Recent history has shown that efforts to combat the perceived dominance of a few tech firms often have counterproductive outcomes, and policymakers need to factor the U.S. startup community into their work moving forward.

The Big Story: Congress extends small business loan program, but startups still need relief. Congress this week extended the deadline for startups and small businesses to apply for emergency funding from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), just hours before the loan program was set to expire. Under the measure, the U.S. Small Business Administration can continue to approve and offer PPP loans until August 8th to startups and small businesses that have been financially harmed by the coronavirus pandemic.