Trump signs executive orders of coronavirus relief
President Trump signs executive orders on coronavirus relief that includes a tax evasion holiday, protects people from eviction, provides an additional $ 400 a week to extended unemployment benefits and suspends student loan payments if the incentive talks stop on Capitol Hill.
“We are ready to meet the White House and Republicans halfway,” U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Said on Sunday, the day after President Trump signed four executive orders to provide Americans with financial relief from the ongoing pandemic. coronavirus amid halted negotiations in the First Chamber.
“We were at $ 3.4 trillion in the bill that Nancy Pelosi and the House Democrats passed twelve weeks ago,” Durbin, the current whip in the House of Representatives, told NBC’s Meet The Press on Sunday, referring to to the House’s Heroes’ Act in May.
He said that “now we have come down to the reach of two trillion.”
Durbin pointed out that First Republicans proposed $ 1 trillion in the “HEALS Act”, their version of a fresh round of coronavirus relief that was unveiled two weeks ago.
“We asked them to come up with a trillion,” Durbin said.
He made the remarks in response to an earlier interview on “Meet The Press” with White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro who said both sides should agree on a number in between one and three trillion dollars.
“This should be easier than it is,” Navarro said on Sunday. “We have two sides, one at $ 1 trillion, another at $ 3 trillion. The first thing you need to do is agree on what number is in between. Once you do that, step two is invented, within that, which you both agree on. “
“And then, what you do is you trade, go back and forth across the table about what you want, with respect for each other’s red lines,” Navarro added, emphasizing that “this should be easy.”
“The question we’ve seen this arise is, the question that the president has is if the Democrats are really honest when they come to the table,” Navarro said.
WHAT IS IN PRESIDENT TRUMP’S FOR CORONAVIRUS RELIEF EXECUTIVE ORDERS?
On Sunday, Durbin said that by “coming down to the reach of two trillion,” Democrats have already done “exactly what Mr. Navarro suggested.”
“We are ready to meet the White House and the Republicans halfway,” Durbin said. “We have said that from the beginning.”
“We have priorities that may be different from theirs, but in terms of [the] dollar amount, we are exactly where Mr Navarro suggested, ”he continued.
President Trump on Saturday signed off on the four executive actions, which included $ 400-a-week in additional unemployment benefits. Those unemployed received an additional $ 600 per week until the federal program expired at the end of July.
In addition, Trump extended the tax service from September 1 to December 31, 2020, for employees making $ 100,000 or less per year. The tax, derived from workers’ paychecks, funds Social Security and Medicare. Employees would have to repay the federal government if the tax holiday ends without further action.
Host Chuck Todd asked Durbin, “Do you think Congress should file a case for, say, the EO payment tax? [executive order] or the unemployment EO? ”
“This is a moral dilemma,” Durbin said in response. “We want unemployed people to benefit. We never wished they were completely cut off, so I would not suggest we go to court at this point. However, he went on to say that he thinks “some will” and that “there will be some challenges.”
Durbin then pointed out that the “fix proposed by the president would be a cut in unemployment benefits for 30 million Americans.”
“It will decrease from six hundred to 400 or from 600 to zero at the moment if the executive orders of the president do not stand,” he continued.
‘The bottom line is this: These people are not lazy people. We have five unemployed Americans for every job available, ”said Durbin.
He added that he had met with the families who are currently unemployed and “they are desperate to return to work,” noting that the majority of people returning to work ” have cut wages during the unemployment benefits. ”
“They understand that unemployment is a temporary helping hand, so this perception that they are lazy and if they tried a little harder, they would just not work jobs,” said Durbin, referring to those who criticize stimulating unemployment benefits that ‘ t the extra $ 600 encourages people not to work back.
Todd asked Durbin if he felt pressure to “cut a deal, even if … you do not like what you get?”
He went on to ask, “Are you worried that the Democrats here are taking too hard of a line, and at some point you have to move more than you want to?”
“That’s the nature of a negotiation, you have to give a little to get a little,” he said in response.
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He noted that “20 Republican senators” said they would not budget for “a penny, zero, nothing at this point.”
Fox News’ Marisa Schultz contributed to this report.
