Chicago Sun-Times

Hopes dimming for new coronaviru­s relief bill

- BY ANDREW TAYLOR

WASHINGTON — At least there won’t be a government shutdown.

But as lawmakers straggle back to Washington for an abbreviate­d preelectio­n session, hopes are dimming for another coronaviru­s relief bill — or much else.

Talks between top Democrats and the Trump administra­tion broke off last month and remain off track, with the bipartisan unity that drove almost $3 trillion in COVID-19 rescue legislatio­n into law this spring replaced by toxic partisansh­ip and a return to Washington dysfunctio­n.

Expectatio­ns in July and August that a fifth bipartisan pandemic response bill would eventually be birthed despite increased obstacles has been replaced by genuine pessimism. Recent COVID-related conversati­ons among key players have led to nothing.

Democrats seem secure in their political position, with President Donald Trump and several Senate GOP incumbents lagging in the polls. Trump is seeking to sideline the pandemic as a campaign issue, and Republican­s aren’t interested in a deal on Democratic terms — even as needs like school aid enjoy widespread support.

Poisonous relationsh­ips among key leaders like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, DCalif., and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows give little reason for confidence about overcoming obstacles on the cost, scope and details of a potential relief bill. Pelosi recently referred to Meadows as “whatever his name is,” while the Meadows-run White House during a press briefing ran a video loop of Pelosi’s controvers­ial visit to a San Francisco hair salon.

Trump said Monday that Democrats “don’t want to make a deal because they think that if the country does as badly as possible . . . that’s good for the Democrats.”

“I am taking the high road,” he told reporters at the White House. “I’m taking the high road by not seeing them.”

All of this imperils the chances for another round of $1,200 direct payments delivered under Trump’s name, the restoratio­n of more generous unemployme­nt benefits to those who’ve lost their jobs because of the pandemic, updates to a popular business subsidy program, and money to help schools reopen and states and local government­s avoid layoffs.

“I personally would like to see one more rescue package, but I must tell you the environmen­t in Washington right now is exceedingl­y partisan because of the proximity to the election,” said GOP Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell at an appearance in Kentucky last week. “We’ve been in discussion now for the last month or so with no results so far. So I can’t promise one final package.”

McConnell had been a force for a deal but does not appear eager to force a vote that exposes division in his ranks.

Many Senate Republican­s are also wary or opposed outright to another major chunk of debt-financed virus relief, even as GOP senators imperiled in the election like Susan Collins of Maine and Cory Gardner of Colorado plead for more. Republican­s are struggling to coalesce around a unified party position — and that’s before they engage with Democratic leaders, who are demanding far more.

The relationsh­ip between Pelosi and her preferred negotiatin­g partner, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, is civil but isn’t generating much in the way of results, other than a promise to avoid a government shutdown at the end of the month by keeping a government-wide temporary spending bill free of controvers­y. That measure is likely to keep the government running into December. It’s likely to contain a bunch of lowerprofi­le steps, such as an extension of the federal flood insurance program and a temporary reauthoriz­ation of spending from the highway trust fund.

The decision for a “clean,” controvers­y-free stopgap bill, known as a continuing resolution, means that both sides will forgo gamesmansh­ip that uses the threat of a government shutdown to try to gain leverage. Trump forced a shutdown in 2018-2019 in a failed attempt to extract money for his U.S.Mexico border wall, while Democrats lost a shutdown encounter in 2017 over legislatio­n to help immigrants brought illegally to the country as children win permanent legal status.

“Now we can focus just on another relief bill, and we’re continuing to do that in good faith,” Vice President Mike Pence said Friday on CNBC.

 ?? PATRICK SEMANSKY/AP ?? “I am taking the high road,” President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday.
PATRICK SEMANSKY/AP “I am taking the high road,” President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday.

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