Negotiations on the upcoming Covid-19 bailout bill in the United States were in constant flux on Friday as the virus posed new risks for parts of the Midwest and South, death toll rose, and federal payments Additional ones that helped prevent financial ruin for millions of unemployed people were set to expire.
Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, sent the senators home before the weekend, promising that a Republican proposal for new relief efforts would be ready Monday. But Democrats warned that time was wasting amid Republican Party infighting as the crisis skyrocketed.
As Republicans struggled, the nation’s infections passed 4 million and the number of deaths rose from several thousand to almost 145,000. New jobless claims topped 1 million and the unemployment rate stood at 11%, higher than during the Great Recession of the past decade.
Republican Senators disagree with the White House
Senate Republicans were expected to reveal their counterproposal this week to a $ 3 billion relief bill that Democrats passed in May. But Republican lawmakers and the Trump administration remained divided over the key aspects of the proposal in a fast-paced week of progress from start to finish.
McConnell’s proposal was expected to include a new round of direct cash payments of $ 1,200 to Americans, along with $ 105 billion to help reopen schools, $ 25 billion for virus testing, and McConnell’s top priority for a civil liability shield to protect companies, hospitals and others against Covid-19 lawsuits.
Senate Republicans got the president to drop his pressure for a payroll tax exemption, which they argue does little to help Americans without jobs. But the White House added new priorities in turn. Those include money for a new building to replace the FBI’s old J Edgar Hoover building in downtown Washington, across the street from the new Trump hotel.
An important point is how to reduce the weekly unemployment benefit increase of $ 600 that the federal government has added to the weekly unemployment checks that states send in since the start of the pandemic. That benefit officially expires on July 31, but due to the way states process unemployment payments, the cut was, in effect, Saturday.
Republicans largely believe the plug-in is too strong and is becoming a disincentive to getting back to work. Under McConnell’s plan, senators proposed reducing it to $ 200 and then transitioning in the coming months to a new system more closely tied to the state’s own pay levels. An administration official granted anonymity to discuss the private talks, saying the White House considered the proposal too “cumbersome” and that the $ 200 increase was too high. The White House floated reducing the increase in unemployment benefits to just $ 100.
Pelosi rejects the extension of temporary benefits
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday rejected the idea of a temporary extension of improved unemployment benefits.
“I would be very reluctant to separate [unemployment benefits] off and lose all the leverage [on Republicans] to … meet all other needs, “Pelosi told reporters.
Richie Neal, the Democratic chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Media and Customs, said the country was “on the eve of an economic catastrophe.”
“People need the livelihood of everyday life,” Neal said on Capitol Hill. He said the extra help not only helped cash-strapped families, but was key to boosting the economy as Americans go without paychecks. “Recovery is going to be slow,” he said.
