Ohio’s senators show divide on stimulus

Ohioans waiting for Congress to decide to how much they’ll get in federal unemployment benefits will have to keep waiting.

Congressional Republicans and Democrats, including Ohio’s two U.S. senators, remain divided on what should be included in the next stimulus package.

“I know we are not close to an agreement right now. That’s sad,” Republican Sen. Rob Portman said during his weekly call with reporters. “But when you look at the parts, I think there is a lot of agreement.”

Senate Republicans introduced the Help, Economic Assistance, Liability protection and Schools (HEALS) Act. It would send all Americans another stimulus check, extend federal unemployment benefits, give out more Paycheck Protection Program dollars, and extend legal protections for businesses from Covid-19-related lawsuits.

The problem, Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown said in his weekly call with reporters, is in the details.

Democrats want to keep sending $600 unemployment checks, while Portman said Republicans want to reduce the amount because they think it has allowed people to earn more than they would returning to work.

Portman floated the idea of restricting payments to about 70% of a person’s income. Ohio’s unemployment system pays people about half of what they earned from work, with the amount capped.

Portman said of the federal supplement: “It’s about $200 per week on average.”

Brown told reporters that “anybody who thinks it’s a good idea to cut it back to $200 is puzzling to me.”

He believes those $600 weekly checks are the reason the U.S. hasn’t seen a spike in the poverty rate despite a massive increase in unemployment.

The two men also were divided on whether to prioritize some school districts over others. Republicans want most of the proposed new aid for schools to go to districts offering inperson classes.

“I think if you go remote, you do have expenses, but it’s not the same,” Portman said.

Schools bringing children into classrooms this fall need personal protective equipment, barriers around desks, and additional teachers because classes will be smaller, he said.

Tracy Wheeler, superintendent of the Berea City school district, disagreed. She joined Brown on his phone call and said her Cleveland-area district needs the same supplies even though its leaders voted to start the school year with remote learning.

“We hope that’s not how we spend our entire year,” Wheeler said. “We still have to prepare for those things.”

President Donald Trump tweeted in July that he might “cut off” funding for schools that didn’t offer in-person classes.

House Democrats released their own stimulus proposal in May: the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY., dismissed the Democrats’ bill as a “socialist manifesto,” but Brown said he supports much of what’s in it.

For example, he thinks Democrats have a more realistic number for how much money the U.S. Postal Service will need to handle millions of mailed ballots in the fall general election.

Both senators said that a meeting was scheduled Wednesday with the new postmaster general.

“The question is, what do they really need,” Portman said of the Postal Service.

The House approved $25 billion, but Portman suggested the correct number might be closer to $10 billion. atsaver@dispatch.com @annastaver