Fiscal relief now, Congress

With the country gripped by a health and economic catastrophe, lawmakers in Washington are debating precisely what shape a badly needed stimulus should take. With the nation’s house on fire, this $2 trillion fight risks going on too long.

There’s much to like in the Senate bill initially developed by the Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell but now reflecting intense negotiation between Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

There’s money for transit systems nationwide, with a significant portion benefiting the MTA. An approximate $150 billion stabilization fund will deliver essential relief to state and local coffers devastated by shrinking tax revenue. Another $100 billion will go to hospitals. All sides agree that some mixture of direct payments and unemployment insurance to Americans is essential.

Still, two procedural votes in the Senate have failed in the last 48 hours. A legitimate sticking point is how much oversight should be required on a $500 billion loan program to businesses that would be largely at the discretion of Mnuchin. Democrats want strong strings attached so that companies won’t just take the money and then fire employees en masse, a reasonable request given how previous corporate bailouts were misused.

Conversely, a companion House bill appears to have too many narrow partisan elements better taken up at a later time. These include election-auditing, union pension protection, alternative energy promotion, airline emission regulation and more. Worthwhile policy items to consider when the emergency has passed.

The emergency has definitely not passed.