WASHINGTON – Republicans on Tuesday began circulating text of a narrow coronavirus relief package on Tuesday that would restore additional unemployment benefits at half the original rate, protect companies from virus-related lawsuits and provide funding for testing and schools.
The draft measure appears to be an attempt to break through the political stalemate over providing another round of economic stimulus to Americans during the pandemic. But it is unlikely to change the debate in Washington, where Democrats have rejected previous Republican offers several times if not enough. The new bill would spend less money, in fewer areas, than those previous offers.
The proposal contains, according to draft legislation passed by The New York Times, many of the provisions that Republicans first introduced as part of a $ 1 trillion opening bid before negotiations with Democrats. Those talks stopped when Democrats insisted on a much larger package, initially totaling $ 3.4 trillion.
With both sides on a standstill, President Trump has surrounded Congress with a series of executive actions aimed at providing additional unemployment benefits and reducing the amount of money workers who contribute to payroll taxes by temporarily delaying the collection of those taxes until next year.
It is unclear whether senators, currently scattered across the country until early September for the annual summer recess, will vote on the measure at any time. Lawmakers and staff have begun discussing the possibility of using the hard time in the annual government funding, which expires in late September, to jointly approve a short-term spending bill and relief package.
The existence of the draft measure means an attempt by the Republican leaders of the House of Representatives – who have lagged behind Mr. Trump’s advisers in the negotiations with Democrats so far – to resume negotiations. And it comes after California House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called back early from her summer recess to vote Saturday on legislation tailored to changes to the Postal Service and offer $ 25 billion to the beleagured agency, which will be critical to ensure voters can vote through this November post.
Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, told The Courier Journal on Tuesday that the stand-alone postal bill “could open up the possibility of discussion about something smaller than what the speaker and the Democratic Senate leader insisted on in the event of an accident.”
Ms Pelosi and Senator Chuck Schumer, the minority leader of New York, have repeatedly insisted that Democrats resume negotiations only if the administration agrees to spend at least $ 2 trillion on another round of relief – an amount much larger than what Republicans are willing to pay. are to assign.
“We must try to reach that agreement now – all they have to do is acknowledge the need,” Ms Pelosi said at a Politico Playbook event on Tuesday.
Democrats also want more money for the Postal Service, which is not included in the Republican bill. The draft measure would not allocate new money to the agency, but would forgive a $ 10 billion loan to the Postal Service in the $ 2.2 trillion incentive law passed in March.
As the impasse continues, rank-and-file lawmakers for re-elections of both parties have become increasingly uneasy with the lack of congressional action. Thousands of House lawmakers signed a letter to Mrs. Pelosi and Maryland Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, the majority leader, asking for a second vote on Saturday, on legislation that would restore the full $ 600 weekly federal benefit and an automatic care continuation and adjustment based on the state of the economy and public health crises.
While Mr. Trump has tried to circumvent Congress with his own incentives, those executive actions have so far done little to support an economic recovery that has stalled from real-time data since midsummer.
The president’s move to essentially supplement a new $ 300 unemployment benefit with federal disaster funds has left a backlog of government officials. Only a handful of states have so far won funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to claim the benefits. FEMA officials said this week that they did not expect most workers to start seeing benefits by the end of August, and that the initial subsidies to states would only cover three weeks of payments.
A coalition of large business groups on Tuesday warned the Trump administration and congressional leaders that many of its member companies would probably not maintain a tax exemption that Mr. Trump enacted this month with executive order, with concerns that works could expose it. to workers next year a large and unexpected tax return.
The letter estimates that a worker earning $ 50,000 a year in 2021 could face a surprising tax bill of nearly $ 1,100 if companies follow Mr. Order’s order. Trump, given that it does not clear the tax, but simply rejects the payment. The coalition includes the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers and more than two dozen other corporate lobby groups.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Updated August 17, 2020
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Why does standing six feet apart help others?
- The coronavirus spreads primarily by drips from your mouth and nose, especially when you cough or sneeze. The CDC, one of the organizations using that measure, bases its six-foot recommendation on the idea that most large drops that expel people when they cough or sneeze fall within six feet to the ground. But six feet has never been a magic number that guarantees complete protection. Noses, for example, can launch drops much farther than six feet, according to a recent study. It’s a rule of thumb: you need to be the safest to stand six feet apart, especially when the wind is blowing. But always wear a mask, even if you think you are far enough apart.
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I have antibodies. Am I immune now?
- At the moment, that probably seems like at least several months. There have been horrific accounts of people suffering from what appears to be a second bolt of Covid-19. But experts say these patients may have a prolonged course of infection, with the virus taking a slow toll weeks to months after initial exposure. People infected with the coronavirus typically produce immune molecules called antibodies, which are protective proteins made in response to an infection. These antibodies may only last two to three months in the body, which may seem worrying, but that is perfectly normal after an acute infection progresses, said Dr. Michael Mina, an immunologist at Harvard University. It could possibly get the coronavirus back up, but it is highly unlikely that it would be possible in a short window of time from initial infection or the second time safe.
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I am a small business owner. Can I get relief?
- The incentive bills introduced in March provide assistance to the millions of American small businesses. Those eligible for support are non-profit companies and organizations with less than 500 workers, including sole proprietorships, independent contractors and freelancers. Some larger companies in some sectors are also eligible. The assistance provided, which is managed by the Small Business Administration, includes the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Damage Disaster Program. But many people have not seen payments yet. Even those who have received help are confused: the rules are draconian, and some are stuck on money they do not know how to use. Many small business owners get less than they expected or heard nothing at all.
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What are my rights if I am worried about returning to work?
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What will school look like in September?
- It is unlikely that many schools will return to a regular schedule this fall, requiring the grinding of online learning, easy childcare and stunted workdays to continue. The two largest public school districts of California – Los Angeles and San Diego – said on July 13 that instruction will be remote only in the fall, citing concerns that growing coronavirus infections in their areas pose too great a risk to students and teachers. Together, the two districts enroll about 825,000 students. They are the largest in the country to date to abandon plans for even a partial physical return to classes when they reopen in August. For other districts, the solution will not be an all-or-nothing approach. Many systems, including the nation’s largest, New York City, are creating hybrid plans that include some days attending classrooms and other days online. There is no national policy yet, so check regularly with your municipal school system to see what is happening in your municipality.
Mr. Trump has said he will press Congress to forgive the delayed taxes, effectively resulting in a one-time tax cut. Champion of the proposed plan claims it would pump more money into workers’ salaries at a time when economic recovery has slowed and remains well short of its levels before the coronavirus pandemic sent it into recession.
But analysts and business leaders have consistently expressed skepticism that it would deliver the promised benefits.
“Many of our members consider it unfair for employees to make a decision that would force a major tax bill on them next year” if Congress does not move to forgive the delayed liability, the coalition groups said in their letter. ‘It would also be unworkable to implement a system where employees make this decision. Therefore, many of our members will probably refuse to carry out proposal, and instead choose to go ahead and pay the government the government tax required by law. “
The new Republican plan focused on the issue of temporary relief for tax services, which has generated some enthusiasm among Republicans and Democrats in Congress this year, even though Mr. Trump repeatedly called it a top priority for a relief package.
Instead, the plan essentially seeks to codify and fund the planned Mr. Trump’s planned $ 300-a-week unemployment supplement by the end of December, while revitalizing the liability protection measures that are a top priority for Senate Republicans and business lobbyists, but were not included in one of the one-sided actions of Mr. Trump this month.
The new plan includes more money per week for unemployed workers than the original Republican bill, which would have provided extended unemployment benefits, amounting to about 70 percent of a worker’s previous income – amounting to about $ 200 per week. Democrats, in their $ 3.4 trillion measure, had fought to maintain the $ 600 weekly benefit first enacted in the $ 2.2 trillion incentive law, which expired in late July when negotiators struggled to separate disputes over another help package.
These benefits would apply retroactively to the end of the $ 600 per week benefits, meaning some workers could normally be subject to major one-time checks if the measure were to be approved and payments to be resumed in September.
But the proposal throws one of the few areas of bilingual consensus out of the original Republican plan and something Mr. Trump has said he wants to see: a second round of direct payments to low- and middle-income Americans.
The new legislation would establish the protections for liability that are a long priority for Mr. McConnell, but that Mr. Trump dismisses as not essential. The bill would also provide $ 105 billion for schools if students started going back to classes.
Catie Edmondson carried report.
