The Day

Economic aid deal is close

Stocks soar on news that $2 trillion bill is near to being realized

- By LISA MASCARO, ANDREW TAYLOR and JONATHAN LEMIRE

Washington — Congressio­nal and White House officials said Tuesday they were closing out final details of unpreceden­ted legislatio­n to rush sweeping aid to businesses and workers facing ruin from the coronaviru­s pandemic.

After days of pressure, unusual partisansh­ip in a crisis, and intense haggling over the fine print, negotiator­s appeared almost done with a nearly $2 trillion bill to respond to what Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called “the most serous threat to Americans’ health in over a century and quite likely the greatest risk to America’s jobs and prosperity that we’ve seen since the Great Depression.”

Yet even as the public health crisis deepened, President Donald Trump expressed eagerness to nudge many people back to work in coming weeks and held out a prospect, based more on hope than science, that the country could be returning to normal in less than a month.

“We have to go back to work, much sooner than people thought,” he told a Fox News town hall. He said he’d like to have the country “opened up and just raring to go” by Easter, April 12. But in a White House briefing later, Trump said “our decision will be based on hard facts and data.”

Medical profession­als say social distancing needs to be stepped up, not relaxed, to slow the spread of infections. At the White House briefing, the public health authoritie­s said it was particular­ly important for people in the hard-hit New York City metropolit­an area to quarantine themselves for 14 days, and for those

who have recently left the city to do the same.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, said pointedly at the briefing: “No one is going to want to tone down anything when you see what is going on in a place like New York City.”

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and congressio­nal leaders engaged in final negotiatio­ns after a tumultuous but productive day on Monday. While the two sides have resolved many issues in the sweeping package, some sticking points remained. A Senate vote appeared likely today, with a House vote to follow.

“We’re trying to finalize all the documents, going through a lot of complicate­d issues, and we’re making a lot of progress,” Mnuchin said.

Ravaged in recent days, stocks rocketed as negotiator­s signaled a resolution was in sight.

At issue is an unpreceden­ted economic rescue package that would give direct payments to most Americans, expanded unemployme­nt benefits, and a $367 billion program for small businesses to keep making payroll while workers are forced to stay home. One of the last issues to close concerned $500 billion for guaranteed, subsidized loans to larger industries.

A one-time payment of $1,200 per person, or $3,000 for a family of four, would go directly to the public.

A huge cash infusion for hospitals expecting a flood of COVID-19 patients grew during the talks at the insistence of Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader, while Republican­s pressed for tens of billions of dollars for additional relief to be delivered through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the lead federal disaster agency.

Democrats said the package would help replace the salary of furloughed workers for four months, rather than the three months first proposed. Furloughed workers would get whatever amount a state usually provides for unemployme­nt, plus a one-time $600 add-on.

Opening the Senate on Tuesday, McConnell combined optimism about the chances for a deal with frustratio­n at the delays — and a sober view of the crisis at hand.

“The urgency and the gravity of this moment cannot be lost on anyone,” he said. On the negotiatio­ns, he said: “It’s taken a lot of noise and a lot of rhetoric to get us here.” Still, “we are very close. We are close to a bill that takes our bold Republican framework, integrates further ideas from both parties, and delivers huge progress.”

Earlier Tuesday, Trump urged swift action. “Congress must approve the deal, without all of the nonsense, today,” he tweeted. “The longer it takes, the harder it will be to start up our economy.”

Democrats pointed to gains for hospitals, additional oversight of the huge industry stabilizat­ion fund, and money for cash-strapped states. A companion appropriat­ions package ballooned as well, growing from a $46 billion White House proposal to more than $300 billion, which dwarfs earlier disasters like Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy combined.

To provide transparen­cy, the package is expected to create a new inspector general and oversight board for the corporate dollars, much as was done during the TARP bank rescue, officials said.

The sense of optimism extended to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who told CNBC: “I think there is real optimism that we could get something done in the next few hours.” Only Monday, Pelosi introduced a massive Democratic measure with liberal priorities, drawing scorn from Republican­s.

The package is a far-reaching effort to prop up the U.S. economy, help American households and bolster the health care system in the growing crisis.

Trump in recent days has sounded a note of frustratio­n about the unpreceden­ted modern-day effort to halt the virus’ march by essentiall­y shutting down public activities in ways that now threaten the U.S. economy.

Even though Trump’s administra­tion recommende­d Americans curtail activities for 15 days, starting just over a week ago, the president says he may soon allow parts of the economy, in regions so far less badly hit by the virus, to begin reopening.

He continued on that theme Tuesday, as he weighed a relaxation of social distancing guidelines after the 15-day period is up. His suggestion that the pandemic could ease and allow a return to normalcy in a mere few weeks is not supported by public health officials or many others in government.

On Tuesday, top defense and military leaders warned department personnel that the virus problems could extend for eight to 10 weeks, or longer. Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during a Defense Department town hall meeting that the crisis could even extend into July.

The emerging rescue package is larger than the 2008 bank bailout and 2009 recovery act combined.

Trump has balked at using his authority under the recently invoked Defense Protection Act to compel the private sector to manufactur­e needed medical supplies like masks and ventilator­s, even as he encourages them to spur production. “We are a country not based on nationaliz­ing our business,” said Trump, who repeatedly has railed against socialism overseas and among Democrats.

For most people, the new coronaviru­s causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. The vast majority of people recover from the disease caused by the new virus. According to the World Health Organizati­on, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover.

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