‘We all want to get to the same place’
Trump working on stimulus deal
President Trump on Sunday vowed to help workers and companies that have been impacted by the coronavirus crisis, as Democrats and Republicans continued to argue over the $1.4 trillion economic stimulus package.
“We all want to get to the same place,” Trump said at a White House press conference.
“We all want to protect the worker very much. So do they, so do the Democrats,” he said. “We also want to protect the worker through their companies. … You have great companies that are in financial trouble now, and we need money to help those companies so they get back to where they should be — health.”
The proposed package would provide a one-time stipend of about $1,200 per individual, $2,400 for couples, and $3,000 for a family of four.
Also, about $350 billion would be provided for small businesses.
Asked whether the feds will send a second round of checks to Americans because of the potential lengthy duration of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S., Trump said, “We’re going to see what happens.”
“Hopefully we won’t need it, but we might,” the president said.
Democrats on Sunday said the bill was tilted toward corporations rather than workers and health care providers. Democrats said the largely GOP-led effort does not go far enough to provide health care and unemployment aid for Americans, and fails to put restraints on a proposed $500 billion “slush fund” for corporations.
The setback sent Republicans back to the negotiating table.
Also on Sunday, Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky announced that he’s the first U.S. senator to test positive for the coronavirus. Four senators are now in isolation, including former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, now a Utah senator.
“Romney’s in isolation? Gee, that’s too bad,” Trump said.
When asked about senators voting remotely for the stimulus package, the president said, “I would certainly be in favor of it, where they could vote from a certain outside location. … Look, with what’s going on, nobody’s ever seen anything like this. You could have a lot of people in there from Congress.”