Now that President Trump has signed the “Phase 3.5” $484 billion pandemic aid package into law, which NAW strongly supported, the fight on Capitol Hill over the next relief bill is heating up. Congress has already pumped out nearly $3 trillion to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. In the brutal election year ahead, confrontation is inevitable over the next “Cares 2.0” relief bill which could perhaps be the final round of aid for the economy.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is gathering a long and expensive wish list from her fellow Democrats that would expand the social safety net as well as provide $500 billion to struggling state and local governments. She and other House Democrats want $2,000 monthly payments to individuals that automatically recur until the crisis is over, a government guarantee of people’s paychecks, government assistance for water utility bills, a bailout of the U.S. Postal Service, universal access to health insurance, and aid to undocumented immigrants.
In an interview on Wednesday, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said, “We have not seen the effects of all this money going out. The states are going to have money coming to them already. Let’s see what’s working, what needs more help. And let’s craft a bill based upon knowledge, data.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell hasn’t yet committed to another big aid package and previously indicated the Senate must be back in session before considering any new relief bill. He and other Senate Republicans also say they want to tap the brakes on the blistering pace of new deficit spending. However, some Senate Republicans, including Rob Portman of Ohio, have already said they want more state and local aid in the next package. So has President Trump, who before the November election faces the prospect of seeing states lay off millions of public sector workers or raising taxes in the middle of a steep recession because of the pandemic.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is gathering a long and expensive wish list from her fellow Democrats that would expand the social safety net as well as provide $500 billion to struggling state and local governments. She and other House Democrats want $2,000 monthly payments to individuals that automatically recur until the crisis is over, a government guarantee of people’s paychecks, government assistance for water utility bills, a bailout of the U.S. Postal Service, universal access to health insurance, and aid to undocumented immigrants.
In an interview on Wednesday, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said, “We have not seen the effects of all this money going out. The states are going to have money coming to them already. Let’s see what’s working, what needs more help. And let’s craft a bill based upon knowledge, data.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell hasn’t yet committed to another big aid package and previously indicated the Senate must be back in session before considering any new relief bill. He and other Senate Republicans also say they want to tap the brakes on the blistering pace of new deficit spending. However, some Senate Republicans, including Rob Portman of Ohio, have already said they want more state and local aid in the next package. So has President Trump, who before the November election faces the prospect of seeing states lay off millions of public sector workers or raising taxes in the middle of a steep recession because of the pandemic.
