The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
House continues talks on testing, paid leave.
WASHINGTON — Democrats remain in negotiations with the White House over a second coronavirus response package Thursday that includes free coronavirus testing, paid leave for workers affected by the virus, expanded food assistance, expanded unemployment insurance and increased Medicaid funding for states.
House Democrats revealed their bill late Wednesday night and initially pushed for a vote Thursday. But House negotiations dragged on throughout the day with multiple calls between Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
Connecticut Democrats pushed strongly for passage of the package, led by Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3, who was in and out meetings with the top House members crafting the bill Wednesday and Thursday.
Pelosi said Thursday morning Democrats are "addressing" Republican concerns with the bill.
“Right now, we have to find our common ground, work together, to get this done as soon as possible,” Pelosi said. “There could be another bill shortly down the road.”
The Senate will return to Capitol Hill next week for a vote on the bill despite a scheduled recess.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called Democrats’ first proposal “off base.”
“It does not focus immediate relief on affected Americans,” McConnell said. “It wanders into policy areas that are not related to the pressing issues at hand.”
Focused on helping workers and businesses, the new legislation comes a week after Congress approved $8.3 billion in coronavirus spending to help health officials across the country tackle the epidemic.
The House legislation provides 14 emergency paid sick leave days to people without sick days from their employer and a longer leave benefit for those who need it. The leave would be accessible to people impacted by coronavirus — either because they’re sick or caring for the ill — until roughly March 2021. Applicants would be paid twothirds of their average monthly income (up to $4,000) during their leave of up to three months by the Social Security Administration.
The proposal is modeled off paid family and medical leave legislation championed by DeLauro.
“Today’s economic stimulus package is directly targeted at helping working people and families who are being affected by the worldwide coronavirus pandemic,” DeLauro said. “The CDC advises those who are sick to stay at home. Yet, 27 percent of private sector workers do not have paid sick days, especially in service industries. No one should face the impossible choice of caring for their health or keeping their paycheck or job.”
Republicans oppose the broad paid leave provision, which forces medical leave on all employers, said House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Ky. He said the fact that the Social Security Administration would administer the leave payments was a “glaring problem” because it might take too long to get the money to the workers.
Democrats have also proposed in the bill an immediate increase in federal Medicaid funding for states, which have born the brunt of much upfront spending on coronavirus response. The change would ensure the federal government pays a higher percent of state Medicaid costs.
In addition, the bill requires all private insurers, Medicaid and Medicare to cover coronavirus testing and related health care visits at no-cost patients. The government would also pay for free tests for the uninsured.
The legislation increases funding for food assistance programs, waves work requirements for food stamps and makes food assistance available to families whose children receive free or reduced price lunch at school when their schools are closed for more than five days. DeLauro and Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-5, pushed for legislation to help low-income families access food during the epidemic.
The bill also allocates $1 billion in 2020 in grants to states to pay out more unemployment benefits.
Democrats and the White House, in a flurry of negotiations this week, set aside a more controversial payroll tax proposal and industry-specific tax deferrals advocated for by Trump.
Sen. Chris Murphy, DConn., said he does not support broad tax breaks.
“Our focus needs to be on the workers, directly on people who are going to have to take time off work and I think the House bill gets it right,” Murphy said. “Down the line, we may need to talk about additional measures but right now our focus should be on the workers.”
Many Senate Democrats emerged concerned about the current virus response after a closed door briefing with doctor from Johns Hopkins Universities midday Thursday.
“I think the general worry is that we are very much behind schedule in terms of implementing the kinds of protocols that South Korea and others used to prevent this from becoming a true national disaster,” Murphy said. “There has been no leadership from the administration on social distancing protocols. It’s been left to states, localities and industry. Why South Korea, and to a certain extent China, was ultimately able to get ahead of this virus is because they took national measures.”
Trump addressed the nation Wednesday night and announced foreigners traveling from Europe to the U.S. will be banned for 30 days starting Friday. Americans will be allowed to return the country from abroad but may be subject to quarantine.