Negotiators report progress in aid talks
Pressure mounts to keep supplemental benefit
WASHINGTON – Lawmakers participating in rare weekend talks on a coronavirus relief measure reported progress on Saturday, as political pressure mounts to restore a newly expired $600-per-week supplemental unemployment benefit and send funding to help schools reopen.
“This was the longest meeting we had and it was more productive than the other meetings,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. “We're not close yet, but it was a productive discussion. Now each side knows where they're at.”
Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., met for three hours with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.
The Democratic duo is eager for an expansive agreement, as are President Donald Trump and top Republicans like
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. But perhaps one half of Senate Republicans, mostly conservatives and those not facing difficult races this fall, are likely to oppose any deal.
The administration is willing to extend the $600 jobless benefit, at least in the short term, but is balking at other Democratic demands like aid for state and local governments, food-stamp increases, and assistance to renters and homeowners.
“We have to get rid of this virus so that we can open our economy, safely
open our schools, and to do so in a way that does not give a cut in benefits to American workers,” Pelosi said.
Mnuchin said restoring the $600 supplemental jobless benefit is important to Trump.
“We're still a long ways apart and I don't want to suggest that a deal is imminent because it is not,” Meadows said. “There are still substantial differences, but we did make good progress.
The additional jobless benefit officially lapsed on Friday, and Democrats said they will not extend it without securing
other relief priorities. Whatever unemployment aid negotiators agree on will be made retroactive – but antiquated state systems are likely to take weeks to restore the benefits.
Republicans in the Senate had been fighting to trim back the $600 benefit, saying it must be slashed so that people don't make more in unemployment than they would if they returned to work. But their resolve weakened as the benefit expired, and Trump abruptly undercut their position by signaling he wants to keep the full $600 for now.