- Jason Furman, a top economist during the Obama administration, had a lot of criticism for how Republicans handle stimulus negotiations.
- “I find it confusing that the White House had no plan,” he told Business Insider in an exclusive interview.
- Stimulus negotiations between Republicans and Democrats erupted after two weeks of largely fruitful talks earlier this month.
- Read the full Q&A with Jason Furman here.
- Visit the Business Insider website for more stories.
A former top economist of President Barack Obama condemned Republicans and the Trump administration for a lack of a coherent strategy on stimulus negotiations that fell apart earlier this month.
In an exclusive interview with Business Insider, Jason Furman, the former head of Obama on the Council of Economic Advisors, was extremely critical of how Republicans are handling efforts to save the economy with coronavirus batteries.
“I find it confusing that the White House had no plan,” Furman said. “I think it’s appalling that the Republicans in the House of Representatives did not come up with a plan until the very last week. I think it’s appalling that the President and the Republicans of the Senate are not on the same page.”
Stimulus negotiations between Republicans and Democrats stalled after two weeks of largely fruitless talks. Senate Republicans unveiled their plan days before the $ 600 federal supplement to state unemployment insurance for 28 million Americans on unemployment benefits expired.
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The White House had also pushed for a tax cut to be included in the relief package, objecting to many Senate Republicans and opposition Democrats. It was eventually thrown out of the $ 1 trillion incentive plan in favor of direct payments.
The GOP and Democrats disagree on the amount of spending needed to pull the nation out of a recession, especially on boosting unemployment insurance and helping states.
Democrats wanted to keep the $ 600 benefits, but Republicans wanted to cut it to a lower amount. The Democratic spending package was also three times larger than the GOP one, with nearly $ 1 trillion for states struggling with plummeting tax revenue.
President Donald Trump then signed several executive orders to sidestep Congress, with the aim of increasing the benefits of state unemployment and introducing a tax-free holiday. The Unemployment Charter initially staged an uprising among cash-strapped states that could not afford the program, which many state officials say should be designed from the ground up.
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But at least 13 states have been approved so far. An additional $ 300 in weekly benefits will not be available to the unemployed until the end of August, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It would be a full month after the $ 600 federal benefits expired. The payouts can also only last three weeks in some states.
Republicans are pushing a concluding letter of encouragement to break through the partisan logjam on Capitol Hill, reports The New York Times. It would restore federal unemployment benefits to $ 200 a week and include liability protection for companies run by Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
