A man passes by the United States Capitol building in Washington on June 25, 2020.
Al Drago | Reuters
Republicans and Democrats seemed far from reaching a coronavirus relief deal on Wednesday as millions of Americans wait to see if Congress will renew financial lifelines during an ongoing economic crisis.
As negotiators cite little progress in the talks and congressional leaders attack each other on Capitol Hill, the Trump administration again raised the possibility of a short-term plan to address only improved unemployment insurance and a moratorium for federal eviction, while the parties draft a larger bill. Democrats have repeatedly rejected a temporary solution.
“As of now, we are very far apart,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, chief White House negotiator, said Wednesday morning. He said President Donald Trump would support the passage of legislation in the short term to allow more time for talks if the parties fail to reach an agreement before Friday.
Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows will meet with Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., to 3:30 pm ET on Wednesday, said an assistant familiar with the plan. .
Comments from Congressional leaders and White House officials portrayed a disorderly and politically charged process that seems unlikely to lead to rapid progress to combat an economic and healthcare calamity. With approximately 30 million people still receiving some form of unemployment insurance, states have stopped paying the additional $ 600 a week in federal benefits approved by Congress earlier this year. A federal eviction moratorium also expired last week.
As Covid-19 spreads across the country, the US has now reported more than 4.3 million cases and just over 150,000 disease-related deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Senate Republicans launched a roughly $ 1 trillion pandemic aid bill this week, against the $ 3 trillion package approved by House Democrats in May. But the proposal has not won the support of many Republican lawmakers, let alone Democrats.
As his administration works with Pelosi and Schumer to develop a plan that can be approved in both the Republican-controlled Senate and the Democratic House of Representatives, Trump downplayed the importance of solving other problems in addition to the moratorium on eviction and unemployment benefits. .
“We are going to work on the evictions, so that the people are not evicted. We will work on the payments for the people. And the rest, we are so separated, we do not care.” We don’t really care, “the president told reporters before leaving for Texas on Wednesday.
He stated that “Democrats are not taking care of people. Payments are not enough.”
Democrats have lobbied to send significantly more money to Americans than Republicans. They want to continue the boost to federal unemployment insurance of $ 600 a week until next year. The Republican Party has proposed reducing the benefit to $ 200 a week through September, and then changing it to a 70% salary replacement.
The Democrats’ plan for another round of direct payments to Americans also differs from the Republican bill. I would send another check of up to $ 1,200 to most people and $ 2,400 to couples. The plan would add another $ 1,200 per dependent for up to three children, a maximum of $ 6,000 per household.
Republican law would send checks of up to $ 1,200 to individuals and $ 2,400 to couples, with $ 500 per dependent of any age.
The Republican Party and Democrats are trying to solve other thorny problems in the legislation. Republicans did not put any new direct relief for state and local governments in their bill, while Democrats want nearly $ 1 trillion in aid.
Republicans have also lobbied for comprehensive liability protections for businesses, doctors and schools during the pandemic, a provision that Democrats oppose. On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, told CNBC that “a bill without liability protection will not be passed.”
After a meeting with Mnuchin and Meadows on Tuesday, Pelosi said the comments about legal immunity made McConnell sound “like a person who had no interest in reaching a settlement.”
The shooting continued on Wednesday. Speaking on the floor of the Senate, McConnell accused Democrats of taking a stand and threatening to extend key relief measures.
“Democrats would rather keep political problems alive than find bipartisan ways to solve them,” he said.
Schumer later criticized Republicans for crafting a plan that many Republican Party members do not support. He said he was “riddled with corporate gifts” and “presidential pet projects,” but did not include key help such as rent, mortgage and food assistance.
He also accused McConnell of operating in bad faith.
“Time is short,” said Schumer. “President Pelosi and I will return to the negotiating table with the White House later today. It is time for our fellow Republicans to get down to business and get serious.”
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