After initial resistance from some Republicans, Congress is nearing a deal to extend at least part of the $ 600-a-week federal unemployment insurance subsidy approved this spring to help American workers experience the coronavirus crisis.
When they return next week to begin talks on another major relief bill, lawmakers face a tight deadline to renew the popular benefit, which expires at the end of the month.
The recent resurgence of COVID-19 cases in many states, including California, is providing a political tailwind for Democrats who want to spread the money.
“The additional $ 600 a week has been an absolute lifeline for these Americans,” House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means committee Richard E. Neal (D-Mass.) Said Wednesday. He said it was “cruel” to leave unemployed workers in limbo so close to the deadline before Congress reaches an agreement on whether the money will continue.
And while some in the Republican Party are strongly opposed to extending the money and argue that it discourages some workers from returning to their jobs, some Republicans, including some White House officials, have begun to raise the idea of passing a reduced federal subsidy. or more restricted to help the nearly 50 million American workers who have applied for unemployment insurance since the pandemic began.
In public comments for the past two weeks, Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin and economic adviser Larry Kudlow appeared to open the door to a compromise on the issue.
Unemployment insurance is just one of several trouble spots.
The fights are also brewing over whether to include incentives to reopen schools in the fall, how far to go to protect companies, schools and others from COVID-19-related liability claims and how much federal aid, if any. there are, should receive state and local governments to shore up their budgets.
They should also agree on how to make Paycheck Protection Program loans more attractive to small businesses, whether to continue the moratorium on evictions for people living in public housing or rent houses with federally-backed mortgages. , and whether to issue other direct cash payment of up to $ 1,200 per adult and $ 500 per child.
With the traditional recess in Congress in August, there isn’t much time to reach an agreement. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (a San Francisco Democrat) promised to get a package from President Trump’s desk before he left.
“We will have an invoice and we hope to have it sooner rather than later because people really need to have it, and we should have it before unemployment insurance expires,” Pelosi said Wednesday.
Direct negotiations between Democrats and Republicans have not yet begun in earnest, but both sides have begun to publicly send test balloons through press conferences, statements, and television appearances.
It will be Congress’ first major response to the pandemic since the spring, when it passed several laws that provided a total of nearly $ 3 trillion in emergency financial aid.
Negotiations on what to do next stalled in May, and Republicans said they wanted to wait until July to see how the money they already approved, the largest approved economic aid package in US history, affected the economy before approve more.
Democrats moved on and the House approved a $ 3 billion package without the Republican input or broad support they hope will be the starting point for the current negotiations. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) Called it a wish list and a non-initiator in the Senate.
McConnell has insisted that the next package would originate from his office. The previous coronavirus bills were largely drawn up between Democrats and Mnuchin, to the frustration of Senate Republicans.
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (DN.Y.) told Senate Democrats in a call Wednesday that McConnell has not reached out to them for information and that Republicans appear to be trying to sideline House Democrats. But he said Senate Democrats would only negotiate the next package with House Democrats in the room, according to a source on the call.
Democrats in the House of Representatives and Senate want to extend the federal unemployment benefit of $ 600 for the rest of the year.
The Trump administration and congressional Republicans have called the fixed subsidy a disincentive for people to return to work because some workers with lower wages are making more money being unemployed than they would have at work.
Still, in a departure from his previous position to end the subsidy, McConnell acknowledged this week that unemployment insurance will be addressed on the next bill, although he did not provide details.
“I think you could anticipate this coming to a head sometime in the next three weeks, starting next week,” McConnell told reporters in Kentucky on Monday.
Economic experts argue that the purpose of the benefit was to encourage people to stay home and not seek work as a way to control the spread of the coronavirus. Government officials also said that providing a fixed amount, based on a national average, was the quickest way to get the money, rather than making adjustments by state or based on workers’ wages, something that state systems of unemployment were not designed to manage.
With the positive case rate increasing again in more than half of the states, Republicans have begun to talk about extending the benefit by less in the future or finding a way to limit the benefit to no more than the normal salary of person.
One possibility being considered is to reduce the unemployment benefit from $ 600 a week to between $ 200 and $ 400 a week, and make up for at least part of the difference by sending another round of stimulus payments of $ 1,200 to some families.
Pelosi told reporters on Wednesday that she is open to negotiations on the $ 600, saying it should be considered in its entirety along with possible direct payments to people.
McConnell reiterated Wednesday at an event in Kentucky that the next aid package should include liability protections for the reopening of schools, healthcare providers, and businesses. Democrats initially branded such liability protections as non-initiating, but have covered themselves somewhat in recent weeks. Pelosi said Wednesday that companies would be protected from lawsuits if the Occupational Safety and Health Administration approves the safety standards they want for workers.
McConnell also said the bill he plans to introduce will include incentives for children to physically return to school in the fall so that parents can return to work. That could require a substantial federal investment, he said.
The issue has become a key focus in recent weeks, with Trump threatening to link federal aid to whether schools open completely for children to be physically present. While you cannot do it alone, you can insist that Congress condition aid in some way. Some of the nation’s largest school districts, including Los Angeles Unified, are already saying they won’t reopen for in-person instruction in the fall.
McConnell did not say that funding for education should be contingent on reopening, adding that it may be necessary to rotate children in and out of schools to limit class sizes.
“It can be done safely. You have to weigh the consequences. What are the consequences of staying home instead of going back to school? Clearly, although some western school districts are closing again, I think all the evidence indicates that distance learning for children is not that good, “said McConnell. “We need to find a way to return to work safely, and we feel that I feel that the federal government will have to play a financial role in helping to make that possible.”
Democrats want the package to address how to reopen schools safely as well, with money for protective safety gear for educators and students, improved ventilation systems, and more technology for distance learning. But they oppose Trump’s threat to connect federal aid to schools to reopen physical locations, saying the safety of students and teachers must be paramount.
“We cannot risk their health and safety and, in fact, their lives [and the] lives of anyone who can bring this home, ”Pelosi said. “Our teachers, our custodians, our people who work in public schools need protection. We cannot follow the attitude of this administration: “If it does not open, we will not give it money”, no, we will give it money so that it can open. “
