Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
2nd stimulus round, aid for governments in new Democrat bill
WASHINGTON — House Democrats unveiled a $3 trillion coronavirus rescue bill Tuesday that would direct more money to state and local governments, health systems, and a range of other initiatives to deal with the sputtering economy.
The bill also would send a second round of stimulus checks to millions of Americans and include more funding for the Postal Service. Not every component of the bill would include more government spending. Some parts would aim to address the coronavirus pandemic in other ways, such as by requiring passengers to wear masks on airplanes and public transit.
The House is expected to vote on the package as soon as Friday. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said there is no “urgency.” The Senate will wait until after Memorial Day to consider options.
Republicans rejected the legislation, describing it as a liberal wish list that would go nowhere in the Republican-led Senate. McConnell,
R-Ky., said he was at work on crafting liability protections for businesses instead.
“This is not a time for aspirational legislation,” McConnell said.
The new Democratic bill was assembled by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and her top lieutenants without input from Republicans or the Trump administration. It’s less an opening bid in a bipartisan negotiation than an expression of House Democrats’ priorities that they hope will resonate with the public.
As health officials and economic advisers warn that the pandemic and economic fallout likely will drag through the summer and at least into the fall, lawmakers from both parties are looking at how the government’s response to the virus could affect the November elections.
The U.S. economy lost 20.5 million jobs in April, pushing the unemployment rate up to 14.7%. Many experts believe the rate will go even higher in the coming months as many Americans remain unsure about returning to work or spending money as the government continues to try to contain the pandemic.
“We must think big for the people now, because if we don’t it will cost more in lives and livelihood later,” Pelosi said at a news conference. “Not acting is the most expensive course.”
Pelosi drew on U.S. history — and poetry — to suggest “no man is an island” as she called on Americans to respond to the crisis with a strategy of science, virus testing and empathy.
“There are those who said, ‘Let’s just pause,’” she said. “Hunger doesn’t take a pause. Rent doesn’t take a pause. Bills don’t take a pause.”
INCREASING ASSISTANCE
The 1,800-page legislation would devote nearly $1 trillion to state, local, territorial and tribal governments and establish a $200 billion “Heroes Fund” to extend hazard pay to essential workers. It also would send a second — and larger — round of direct payments to individual Americans, up to $6,000 per household.
Other parts of the bill would increase nutrition assistance benefits by 15% and provide $175 billion in housing assistance, among other things. A $600 weekly increase in unemployment insurance would be extended through January, and the bill directs another $75 billion for coronavirus testing and contact tracing.
Other provisions include $25 billion for the U.S. Postal Service and a new requirement for passengers and employees on airlines, public transit systems and Amtrak trains to wear masks. Protections are included for legitimate cannabis-related businesses, and there is $3 billion to increase mental-health support, and $400 million to help the Census Bureau deal with coronavirus-related delays in the 2020 census.
For hospitals and other health care providers, there’s another $100 billion infusion to help cover costs and additional help for hospitals serving low-income communities.
There’s another $600 million in funding to tackle the issue of rapid spread of the virus in state and federal prisons, along with $600 million in help to police departments for salaries and equipment.
The Democrats’ legislation also includes provisions to ensure that all voters can vote by mail in the November election and all subsequent federal elections, an idea that President Donald Trump and many Republicans have rejected because they say it invites fraud.
It would be Congress’ fifth coronavirus relief bill, building on the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act passed in late March. But while the first four bills were the result of urgent bipartisan compromise in the early days of the pandemic, now the two sides aren’t even talking and are moving in different directions.
Asked Tuesday if the Senate needs to pass a bill before Memorial Day, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said, “Oh God no.” Many Republicans argue that having spent around $3 trillion already in the laws passed thus far, they need to pause and see how those programs are working before doing anything further.
Speaking Tuesday on the Senate floor, McConnell described the House Democratic legislation as “a big laundry list of pet priorities.” He said it was “exactly the wrong approach.”
McConnell said Senate Republicans would be producing legislation to offer legal liability protections to businesses, health care providers and the makers of protective gear, to prevent what he warned could be “a second epidemic of frivolous lawsuits.”
Many business groups have asked for this liability protection to serve as a shield against lawsuits from employees who might become infected while at work.
Pelosi has said Democrats are not interested in offering liability shields to businesses, arguing that businesses can avoid lawsuits by following appropriate safety protocols. The Democratic bill requires the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue a strong national standard within seven days requiring all workplaces to implement infection-control plans and prevent retaliation against workers who report problems.
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., lashed out at Republicans for their unwillingness to take further action. “What is it going to take for Mitch McConnell to wake up and see that the American people need help and need it now?” Schumer asked at a news conference.
‘TALKING,’ SAYS TRUMP
Trump has sounded more open to additional legislation.
Asked on Monday about a second round of direct payments to individuals that’s part of the House Democrats’ bill, the president said, “Well, we’re talking about that with a lot of different people. I want to see a payroll tax cut. I want to see various things that we want. I want the workers to be taken care of. But we are talking about that. We’re negotiating with the Democrats. We’ll see what happens.”
Democrats say that the White House is not, in fact, negotiating with them. And the payroll-tax cut that Trump has repeatedly talked about is probably a nonstarter on Capitol Hill, with even Senate Republicans rejecting it.
However, there are some programs now in effect that Republicans are seeking changes to, which could help force congressional action in June.
Two-month loans issued under the small business Paycheck Protection Program, created as part of the measure in late March, will begin to expire, and some Republicans would like to see their time period extended.
The $600 billion program itself, which already ran out of money once, forcing Congress to step in and add more in its most recent coronavirus bill last month, also could run short of funding again. Information for this article was contributed by Erica Werner and
Mike DeBonis of The Washington Post; and by Lisa Mascaro, Andrew Taylor, Alan Fram, Matthew Daly, Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Nick Riccardi and Michael Schneider of The Associated Press.