Trump, Pelosi claim stimulus credit
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said the $2 trillion-plus coronavirus stimulus he signed into law was in shambles until he got involved, loaded up with “junk” Democrats wanted that wouldn’t have done much to jump-start the economy.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Dcalif., has made a similar argument, suggesting Senate Republicans’ initial proposal was a corporate giveaway saved only by political “jujitsu” to place the emphasis on helping American workers.
Both sides are eager to frame the stimulus they know will be unpopular with some constituents, even if it does stave off a major economic meltdown. Though the particulars are different, the message is the same: It could have been worse if the other side had gotten its way.
“We were literally going to have to walk away and start all over again, they had so much junk in there, and it was junk,” Trump told Fox News.
What Republicans beat back
❚ Trump and other Republicans accused Democrats of trying to slip a “Green New Deal” into the stimulus. Though the bill never included a wholesale approach to climate change, it is true that some Democrats sought environmental provisions in the measure.
Chief among them: requiring airlines to lower carbon emissions.
❚ The Democrats pushed for sameday voter registration requirements and for states to have at least 15 days of early voting. Their initial bill set aside $4 billion to help states pull off elections during the pandemic.
Republicans started with about a $140 million proposed grant for elections. The final bill signed by Trump included $400 million. The other mandates were dropped.
❚ Democrats sought a major infusion of cash for the U.S. Postal Service. The Democratic proposal would have set aside $25 billion over two years to the struggling Postal Service while wiping way $11 billion in debt.
The stimulus Trump signed into law eliminated most of that money. Instead, the measure will allow USPS to borrow $10 billion from the U.S. Treasury.
What Democrats beat back
❚ Republicans attached few strings to the billions of dollars they proposed for large corporations, including the airline industry. Democrats, recalling the controversial stock buybacks and corporate bonuses paid out after the 2009 stimulus bill, insisted that wouldn’t happen again. Trump eventually acknowledged he would be fine if the bill prohibited measures to raise stock prices.
❚ Democrats ripped what they criticized as meager treatment of the newly unemployed in the initial GOP bill. They worked in a provision to boost unemployment insurance by $600 per week for four months. The package extends how long Americans can receive the payments.
❚ Republicans wanted to put aside $75 billion for hospitals and medical providers. Democrats wanted far more but were able to leverage their votes to double the amount to $150 billion.
The stimulus measure provides states and local governments on the front lines of the pandemic response with another $150 billion in aid. That is far more than what Republicans wanted but not as much as the $200 billion Democrats requested.