Tag: economic relief bill

Nancy Pelosi owns Fox News’ Chris Wallace: ‘Clearly you don’t have an understanding of what is happening here’

AlterNet logoHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) faced off against Fox News host Chris Wallace on Sunday over the failure to negotiate a COVID-19 financial relief bill.

In an interview on Fox News Sunday, Wallace suggested that there is an upside to executive actions taken by President Donald Trump in lieu of a financial relief bill because some people will get protections from evictions “rather than getting nothing at all.”

For her part, Pelosi quoted a Republican senator who said that the president’s executive action is “constitutional slop.” Continue reading.

Here’s what is actually in Trump’s four executive orders

Washington Post logoThe details on payroll taxes, unemployment and evictions are not as generous as he made them sound.

President Trump took the unusual — and highly controversial — step Saturday of attempting to provide additional economic relief to millions of Americans on his own, without the approval of Congress.

At his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., Trump announced he was postponing payroll taxes through the end of the year, extending the unemployment “bonus” at $400 a week (down from $600), helping people “stay in their homes” and waiving student debt payments through the end of 2020. The details, however, are not as generous as he made them sound.

He is ordering a payroll tax deferral, not a cut, meaning the taxes won’t be collected for a while but they will still be due at a later date. On housing, he instructs key officials to “consider” whether there should be a ban on evictions. He also insists that state governments pick up the tab for some of the unemployment aid. Continue reading.

Coronavirus talks collapse as negotiators fail to reach deal

The Hill logoBipartisan talks aimed at finding a deal on a fifth coronavirus bill collapsed on Friday, all-but-guaranteeing Congress and the White House will not be able to reach a compromise despite a steady uptick in cases and lingering economic aftershocks.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows met for less than two hours with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi(D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) as part of a Hail Mary effort to revive the negotiations on a fifth coronavirus bill, which already appeared to be on life support.

But they emerged with no progress. Instead, the GOP negotiators and Democratic leadership traded blame over the impasse, and the administration officials said they will recommend President Trump move forward with executive orders as soon as this weekend. Continue reading.

White House, Democrats fail to reach agreement on virus relief bill, and next steps are uncertain

Washington Post logoParties meet for more than three hours but say they remain far apart on key issues

White House officials and Democratic leaders ended a three-hour negotiation Thursday evening without a coronavirus relief deal or even a clear path forward, with both sides remaining far apart on critical issues.

“We’re still a considerable amount apart,” said White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows after emerging from the meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. President Trump called into the meeting several times, but they were unable to resolve key issues.

Pelosi called it a “consequential meeting” in which the differences between the two parties were on display. Continue reading.

Republicans struggle to break logjam on coronavirus relief

Democrats seek to extend a $600-per-week federal benefit into 2021, while Republicans want to dramatically scale back the payment.

Senate GOP leaders and the White House have shown no clear plan to break a deadlock with Democrats over a new coronavirus relief package, said Republican senators and Trump administration officials.

A week of closed-door talks between Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on one side and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on the other have yielded little progress. At the same time, a $600-per-week federal unemployment benefit has lapsed, as has a federal eviction moratorium, threatening the financial outlook of millions of Americans.

Faced with this deadlock, President Donald Trump said on Monday he is considering issuing executive orders extending the eviction moratorium or possibly delaying collection of the federal payroll tax, although it’s not clear what authority he has to do so. And when Trump could issue these presidential orders is also unclear. Continue reading.

‘Progress’ but no deal as coronavirus talks head into next week

The Hill logoTrump administration officials and Democratic leaders negotiating a new coronavirus relief package said they made “progress” during a rare Saturday meeting but aren’t yet close to a deal.

“We’re not close yet, but it was a productive discussion. Now each side knows where they’re at,” Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters after the meeting.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin added that the meeting, which at more than three hours was the longest yet for negotiators, was the “most productive we’ve had to date.” Continue reading.

GOP under mounting pressure to strike virus deal quickly

The Hill logoRepublican lawmakers faced with slipping poll numbers and economic indicators acknowledge they are under pressure to reach a quick deal with Democrats on a new coronavirus package.

Armed with more leverage, Democrats will likely not agree to any deal unless it is closer to the $3.4 trillion bill the House passed in May. Republican officials don’t see any advantages to drawing the battle out.

GOP senators say there are several significant factors that weigh in favor of reaching a deal soon. They include the expiration of the $600-a-week federal enhancement to state unemployment benefits, the expiration of the federal moratorium on evictions, the recent wave of new coronavirus infections in Sun Belt and Midwestern states, the fast-approaching start of the school year, and a wave of potential small-business closures predicted for the weeks ahead. Continue reading.

‘This whole house of cards is gonna collapse’: GOP shutters Senate with US on verge of economic catastrophe

AlterNet logoAs Senate Republicans headed home for the weekend without extending unemployment insurance benefits or approving other economic relief programs that could help millions of Americans weather the ongoing financial catastrophe of the coronavirus pandemic, progressives and congressional Democrats warned that disaster is on the horizon.

“This whole house of cards is going to collapse,” Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) warned during a press conference Friday afternoon.

As Common Dreams reported, the departure of the GOP-controlled Senate for the weekend without a resolution to the benefits questions earned the upper chamber’s leadership a harsh rebuke in a speech from Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who called the decision by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to recess until Monday unacceptable. Continue reading.

GOP, Democrats debate scope of stimulus checks

The Hill logoRepublicans and Democrats are both interested in including a second round of stimulus checks in the next coronavirus relief bill, but they are looking at different parameters for the payments.

House Democrats passed legislation in May that would keep the same income limits as the payments that have already largely been distributed, while Republicans have suggested that they may provide for lower limits in a forthcoming proposal.

Under the law passed in March that established the first round of payments, individuals with incomes of up to $75,000 and married couples making up to $150,000 qualified for the full amount, with the amount reduced for those with higher incomes. Individuals with incomes above $99,000 and married couples with no children and incomes above $198,000 are not eligible for any payment. Continue reading.

Senate GOP starts to unveil coronavirus proposal amid deep discord

Steven Mnuchin, Mark Meadows and Richard Shelby also announced a deal Wednesday night on the spending portion of the new package.

Senate Republicans started unveiling pieces of their new coronavirus relief bill on Wednesday, but negotiators remain undecided on several key issues.

Republican leadership briefed Senate GOP aides on the proposed legislation Wednesday afternoon. The Republican initiative is expected to include a temporary flat payment for unemployment insurance for two months, although the exact amount of the federal contribution wasn’t finalized, according to sources on the call. Beefed-up $600 federal unemployment payments begin expiring at the end of this week, a deadline that has spurred GOP leaders into action.

But GOP leaders also didn’t reveal whether their proposal will include a payroll tax cut, a top priority for President Donald Trump. Several GOP sources said the payroll tax cut “was out,” but Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) declined to confirm that as he walked out the Capitol on Wednesday night. Continue reading.