Long way apart
WASHINGTON — Although timing for the House’s return isn’t set, the outlines are emerging for a Democratic-driven bill to aid states and local governments as well as the Postal Service, and to boost contact tracing to track the coronavirus.
Democratic leaders promise that the House will deliver legislation to help state and local governments through the crisis as early as next week, though the measure is still being drafted by committee heads and party leaders such as Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the No. 2 House Democrat, said Wednesday that party leadership is hoping for bipartisan backing for the upcoming bill, the fifth effort to respond to the harm the coronavirus has done to the economy and the U.S. way of life.
Hoyer said he supports $500 billion in aid to state and local governments with a supplemental aid package for smaller cities left out of previous aid bills. He said the measure would bail out the Postal Service, contain money for absentee voting this fall, and fund other priorities such as advanced tracing to monitor the virus as states try to open up without sparking a second wave.
He didn’t specify the issues that are still being negotiated within the party, and he didn’t answer a question about concerns being raised by some Democrats in swing districts about moving ahead with only Democratic priorities and without first negotiating with Senate Republicans.
Hoyer said the House won’t return to Washington until there is a vote on the next coronavirus bill, saying that “it could be as early as next week.”
“The timing of when we come back will be dictated as to when we are ready and have a bill that is ready for consideration on the floor of the House of Representatives,” Hoyer said on a call with reporters. “At that point in time, we will call members back.”
Hoyer said that he hoped discussions with Republicans and the White House would get underway soon to speed the legislation to passage.
“We want to see a bill that’s signed. We just don’t want a political message,” he said.
But if Republicans want to hold off on more aid, Hoyer said, Democrats will proceed “to vote upon our priorities.”
DEBATE IN GOP
For now, the House is staying away from Washington because of the pandemic, although the GOP-controlled Senate is open. Republicans there face internal divisions over spending and how ambitious to be in the upcoming round to respond to unemployment caused by the virus shutdowns.
Some Republicans, such as Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah and a group of GOP governors, want to be more generous to states confronting furloughs and cuts to services as revenue plummets and unemployment insurance and other costs spike.
But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Tuesday that it’s time to push “pause” on more aid legislation — even as he repeated a “red line” demand that any new aid package include liability protections for hospitals, health care providers and businesses operating and reopening.
Senate Republicans also dislike President Donald Trump’s demand for a cut to Social Security payroll taxes as a salve for the economy. Many lawmakers think the payroll tax cut is a bad idea because it only boosts paychecks but doesn’t help people thrown out of their jobs.
“We haven’t had any discussion of that” on the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee, panel Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said Wednesday. “And I think I better wait till I talk to my colleagues.”
Trump is encouraging states to reopen, and Republicans hope the gradual comeback will kick-start the economy, reducing the pressure for more pricey aid.
Trump took to Twitter on Tuesday with a repackaged set of demands.
“Well run States should not be bailing out poorly run States, using CoronaVirus as the excuse! The elimination of Sanctuary Cities, Payroll Taxes, and perhaps Capital Gains Taxes, must be put on the table,” Trump tweeted.
Romney on Tuesday urged his colleagues to pass additional state aid, with a chart titled “Blue states aren’t the only ones who are screwed,” based on Moody’s Analytics data showing Louisiana, Missouri, Florida, Kansas and Kentucky competing with New York and New Jersey and the states facing the worst revenue shortfalls.
SHAPING LEGISLATION
Details on the package are a ways away, but it’s likely to be anchored by money for state and local governments, including smaller cities. Business interests are pushing hard for additional operating subsidies and relief from coronavirus-related lawsuits.
Senate Republicans are frustrated by a negotiating dynamic on previous bills that empowered Democrats and sent costs spiraling. But they’re also reluctant to unleash federal funds beyond the nearly $3 trillion that Congress has already approved for virus relief.
Ultimately, the legislation is likely to be shaped most by a familiar quartet of congressional leaders including Pelosi and McConnell, as well as top Trump administration officials such as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
For her part, Pelosi recognizes that any bill drafted by Democrats will need more thorough culling than early Democratic efforts, which came under GOP attack for easy-to-criticize items such as aid to the Kennedy Center and material taken from the so-called Green New Deal.
Pelosi advised her colleagues in a caucus-wide call this week to think big — but to be realistic, reminding them that Democrats will have to dial things down.
“I think all of us are going to get our papers graded in November based on how we responded. This is going to be the dominant issue in every election in the country,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.
One idea gaining traction among Republicans is to allow greater flexibility on $150 billion in aid that’s already been delivered to states and larger cities. That money is supposed to be used to pay for the coronavirus response, but governors in some states won’t be able to use it all for that purpose and want to use it to make up for revenue lost as the country slides into recession.