House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday that she is “absolutely” ready to give up the August congressional recess to work on the completion of another coronavirus relief package.
Each year, Congress normally goes into recess during the month of August. When asked on CNN on Tuesday if Pelosi would be willing to resign or delay the break, she replied, “Oh, we have to.”
“The timeline is the timeline for Americans who need their unemployment insurance, their direct payments, their rental assistance, and the foreclosure leniency in terms of that,” the California Democrat continued.
Pelosi said he “certainly hopes” that Democrats can find common ground with Republicans in the Senate, and asked them to pass the House Heroes Act, especially to extend federal unemployment benefits, which add an additional $ 600 for week to unemployment checks.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Republicans have pushed for a new coronavirus relief package to include liability protections, where an employee who contracts coronavirus on the job cannot sue his employer. CNN’s Jim Sciutto asked Pelosi if she would be willing to include that in a final package.
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“Well, what do you mean by that? Does it mean that essential workers have to go to work? If they don’t, they lose their unemployment insurance. What if they get sick there, have no recourse? She answered.
On May 15, the House passed the $ 3 trillion Heroes Act, the largest aid package in history, but many Republicans dismissed it as a “liberal wish list.” Democrats have since lobbied the Senate to adopt aid legislation, which McConnell has said they could do after the July 4 recess that ends on July 20.
“This is not over. We are seeing a resurgence in many states,” McConnell said. “I think the country needs one last push.”
“If there is another, he will join in July,” McConnell said in mid-June, speaking in Ashland, Ky.
But with the United States’ budget deficit reaching $ 864 billion in June, Republicans are seeking closely tailored legislation to help the hardest hit industries. Fox News is told that Republicans are targeting a bill that costs no more than $ 1 trillion.
Trump and McConnell do not rule out another round of direct, targeted stimulus controls, especially for those earning less than $ 40,000.
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The Trump administration has continued to advocate for an unpopular idea among both Republicans and Democrats: a cut in payroll taxes that employers pay on behalf of their workers. The federal government has collected such taxes on employee wages. Payroll taxes financed Social Security and Medicare, which accounted for almost a quarter of all government revenue. Reducing the payroll tax cut could further exploit the national debt, contributing hundreds of billions, if not trillions, of red ink, in addition to the staggering spending passed by Congress this year alone.
Fox News’ Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
