por admin » Mar Dic 01, 2020 10:32 am
Lawmakers unveil bipartisan $900 billion coronavirus stimulus package as stalemate drags on
PUBLISHED TUE, DEC 1 20209:12 AM ESTUPDATED 4 MIN AGO
Jacob Pramuk
@JACOBPRAMUK
A group of bipartisan lawmakers offered a new $908 billion stimulus plan in an effort to break the legislative stalemate as the coronavirus surges throughout the country.
It aims to address the expiration of key economic aid programs, including an unemployment insurance extension.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have not held talks on a relief bill since the 2020 election.
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Sen. Mark Warner on bipartisan push for extended coronavirus relief
Bipartisan lawmakers unveiled a coronavirus stimulus package Tuesday after months of congressional inaction on curbing the economic damage from the outbreak.
The roughly $908 billion proposal includes $288 billion in Paycheck Protection Program small business loans, $160 billion in state and local government aid and funding for enhanced unemployment benefits, according to a draft framework. It would put $16 billion into vaccine distribution, testing and contact tracing, and put funds into rental assistance, child care and broadband.
The proposal would not include another direct payment to most Americans. Democrat Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, a member of the congressional group that has discussed a new relief plan, earlier called it an “interim package” to provide support until President-elect Joe Biden takes office in January.
“If there’s one thing I’m hearing uniformly it’s: ‘Congress, do not leave town for the holidays leaving the country and the economy adrift with all these initial CARES [Act] programs running out,’” Warner told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., right, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., right, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call Group | Getty Images
It is unclear whether congressional leaders will embrace the proposal or if it will lead to a breakthrough before the end of the year, when many programs expire. Democrats have opposed liability protections and pushed for a $600 per week supplemental jobless benefit, while the GOP has pushed against new state and local aid.
The pandemic has rampaged through the country, straining hospitals and forcing state and local officials to implement new restrictions to slow infections. At the same time, lifelines put in place by Congress earlier this year will expire at the end of the year, hitting Americans already struggling to cover costs.
The programs lapsing at the end of December include an unemployment insurance extension, a federal student loan payment moratorium and some protections from eviction.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., have not yielded ground from their respective $2.2 trillion and $500 billion aid bills. Leaders of the Democratic-held House and GOP-controlled Senate have not held formal talks on stimulus since the 2020 election on Nov. 3.
Talks between the Trump administration and Democrats collapsed before the election. On Tuesday, Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin plan to speak for the first time since late October.
Mnuchin told reporters that the pair will focus on a spending bill Congress needs to pass before Dec. 11 to avoid a government shutdown. They plan to mention coronavirus relief, he said.
During the stalemate, members of both parties have urged compromise to ease some of the pressure on the economy and health-care system. On top of the economic programs, the federal government will likely need to approve funds to streamline distribution of Covid-19 vaccines in the coming months.
Senators who have joined in the discussions about the aid proposal include Warner, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah. Some House members have also been involved.
If the unemployment programs expire at the end of the year, about 12 million Americans could lose benefits. The two policies allow people to receive insurance for longer than they normally would and make freelance workers, contractors and others who normally would not qualify for benefits eligible to receive them.
Warner led a letter from about 30 Democratic senators to the chamber’s leadership on Tuesday calling to extend both policies. They wrote that the loss of benefits around Christmas would be “particularly cruel,” especially as the outbreak is expected to worsen in the winter months.
Some lawmakers could push to tie coronavirus aid provisions to a spending bill.