RELIEF STANDOFF

WH in talks as Dems pitch own $1.2T bill

The White House has started informal talks with Republicans and Democrats in Congress about what to include in another round of coronavirus relief legislation — but there’s already a snag.

Democrats have crafted a $1.2 trillion-plus package without input from the administration or Republicans, Axios reported Monday, citing congressional sources.

House Dems could bring their Phase 4 coronavirus relief package — CARES 2 — to the floor for a vote as early as this week.

But it’s going nowhere, at least for now, according to the report.

Republicans say they are waiting for billions in aid allocated in the first $2.2 trillion CARES Act to be spent before considering an additional package.

The standoff comes as more than 80,000 Americans have died during the coronavirus pandemic and US unemployment has surged to 14.7 percent, a level not seen since the Great Depression.

Appearing Sunday on CBSs’ “Face the Nation,” Kevin Hassett, one of President Trump’s top economic advisers, said the unemployment rate could rise to somewhere “north of 20 percent” in May or June, even as the commander in chief urges states to reopen and fire up the economy.

Despite the dire predictions for their package in Congress, House Dems see their plan as a way to highlight their priorities and prod Republicans and Team Trump toward more economic relief for individuals, state and local governments, and the US Postal Service.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and her caucus members also want to show that they’re still on the job, despite remaining in their home districts.

The Democratic legislation, which is still being written and is subject to change, according to Axios, is expected to include:

About $1 trillion for state and local governments, which many state and local officials say are going broke as spending soars and revenues plummet amid the outbreak.

Roughly $25 billion to keep the US Postal Service in business.

Expanded food and other nutritional benefits, Medicaid funding and a continuation of increased unemployment insurance payouts, which are set to expire at the end of July.

Another round of direct payments to all Americans to juice spending.

House leaders also want to narrow the guidelines for how the funds are allocated to ensure that people aren’t “double dipping” into different sources of money, a senior Democratic aide told Axios.

For example, they don’t want someone who is getting increased unemployment money to also get cash through the Paycheck Protection Program.

“We’re trying to limit the amount of overlap so people aren’t abusing the system,” the aide said.

The White House has signaled it is in no hurry to pass another relief bill.

“Let’s take the next few weeks,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told “Fox News Sunday.”

“We just want to make sure that before we jump back in and spend another few trillion of taxpayers’ money that we do it carefully.

“We’ve been very clear that we’re not going to do things just to bail out states that were poorly managed,” Mnuchin said.