A COVID-19 to-do list Congress must come to agreement to extend relief programs created during pandemic
As federal lawmakers return to Washington this week, leaders on both sides of the aisle expressed confidence they could reach a deal on a new coronavirus bill before a scheduled recess in August.
With so small a window for negotiations, there will be no time for grandstanding, gamesmanship and political bickering.
The American people expect action, and Congress must deliver it.
As the coronavirus pandemic spread across the United States this spring, lawmakers passed a series of legislation to bolster the nation's health care system, mitigate the economic effects of business closures and assist individuals and businesses. The results were decidedly mixed.
Rather than erring on the side of generosity, the programs forced many Americans to choose between protecting their health and rushing back to work at their earliest opportunity. Loan programs lacked needed oversight. Help for local and state governments was too stingy.
Millions of Americans remain out of work, and with cases surging in so many places it remains to be seen when or if many of them will return. An untold number of businesses have folded, including an estimated 11,000 restaurants, and many more face an uncertain future. State and local governments have lost considerable revenue.
In approving the coronavirus relief packages in March and April, Congress acted as though the disruption would be temporary. They were not stingy — lawmakers approved billions in funding — but they were temporary measures, essentially a bridge to a summer where, it was hoped, the virus would be in remission.
That did not come to pass — because hope is not a strategy. And to ensure the health and safety of American workers, and to protect the nation's economy from further lasting harm, it's essential that Congress come to agreement to extend many of the relief programs created during the pandemic.
First on that list should be the extension of additional unemployment benefits approved in March. Republicans and Democrats disagree on what form that should take, with GOP members balking at continuing the $600 per week stipend, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell expressed support for tending to the jobless, which inspires hope for a deal.
Similarly, there is talk of a second stimulus, along the lines of the checks issued to most taxpayers earlier this year. That money was a godsend to many American families — despite delays in the distribution — and another round would stave off mounting concerns about how to pay for food and housing in a sputtering economy.
The Paycheck Protection Program has suffered withering criticism since its implementation — some of it justified, given that money went to a number of well-heeled businesses as well as those in more desperate situations. It lacked the type of robust oversight a program of that size needed.
But it did save American businesses from ruin and keep millions of workers from unemployment. Congress should consider forgiving some of the smaller loans, as has been discussed, in order to provide lasting relief to small businesses.
Debate between the parties over whether to help state and local governments should end with the recognition that continued delivery of essential services depends on the solvency of those entities. These aren't bailouts for past missteps but rather an acknowledgment of the extraordinary challenges they face.
There will be less agreement on other matters, though the virus has exposed fraying in our social fabric. From housing to health care access to food security, Americans need assurance that their basic needs won't be moved further from reach.
Lawmakers will need to find common ground on these issues and quickly, neither of which Congress is generally inclined to do. A looming election in the fall traditionally makes the parties less willing to compromise, so as not to lose talking points for the campaign.
But Americans cannot wait, nor will they abide by the partisan bickering commonplace in Washington. When lawmakers return to work, the nation expects them to deliver and should accept nothing less.