The majority leader announced the move when talks on a new aid package began.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell revealed Tuesday morning that Senate Republicans plan to support yet another round of stimulus controls, or “direct payments,” on Americans in their upcoming coronavirus relief proposal.
In a speech in the Senate room, McConnell did not elaborate on who Republicans think should receive this next round of checks.
Most Republicans want a lower income threshold to qualify. The payment limit on the first CARES invoice was $ 99,000.
McConnell made the announcement when top White House officials would go to the Capitol to tell Senate Republicans what President Donald Trump wants in the aid package, including a cut in payroll taxes, and cuts in proposed funds. to test the Centers for Disease. Control and prevention: elements that many Republicans in the Senate oppose.
Later Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows would meet with Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi. House Democrats are pushing for far more than the $ 1 trillion package McConnell wants, including considerably more in additional unemployment benefits to be suspended later in the month.
McConnell outlined other key components of the Republican Senate proposal for the next phase of the COVID-19 legislation, the clearest outline presented so far.
In addition to advocating for a second round of direct payments to Americans, he also said he will push for a second round of the Paycheck Protection Program “with a special eye for affected industries.”
The Republican proposal also includes, said McConnell, $ 105 billion for schools plus additional money for child care and reimbursements for safe initiatives in the workplace, including funds for remodeling, cleaning and personal protective equipment. The package would also include funds intended to accelerate vaccine production and provide liability protections for companies, schools, and healthcare providers.
Arrangements for workers to return to work are also being analyzed with a “laser focus,” McConnell said, although he did not describe the details of those policies.
“The United States of America was not built for defensive squatting,” McConnell said. “We need to defend an education system and an economy that works for workers and families at the same time. We need to find the right kind of middle ground.”
It is still unclear how Democrats will respond to the proposal, although they have been critical of a drafting process that did not include their input.
Speaking in the Senate just after McConnell, minority leader Chuck Schumer said that, according to what he has seen in news reports, the Republican proposal “seems destined to fall dramatically below what is required.”
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