Bipartisan leaders in the House and Senate said they hoped to pass a $2 trillion emergency relief package quickly, but they must first convince rank-and-file lawmakers to support it.
A group of GOP senators are already seeking changes to the bill.
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Sens. Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott of South Carolina, Ben Sasse of Nebraska, and Rick Scott of Florida say the bill incentivizes laying off workers. They want changes they said would fix a drafting error allowing people to collect more in unemployment insurance than they are paid.
“The way the current federal unemployment benefit formula is structured, the bill will create a perverse incentive to sever the employer/employee relationship,” a GOP aide said. “This threatens dangerous supply chain problems in critical industries. Sasse, Scott, and Graham are working on an amendment to fix this by making sure that the maximum unemployment benefit is 100% of someone’s salary so that people get the benefits they need and supply chains keep running.”
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, and Minority Whip Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican, said Wednesday that Congress must act quickly to help the nation deal with the coronavirus and the resulting economic and health crisis it has caused.
Bipartisan Senate leaders, who drafted the deal, want to move quickly.
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said he wanted to pass the bill out of the Senate on Wednesday.
“We have before us an imperfect bill, but a necessary one,” Schumer said. “Despite its flaws, it is far better than where we started, and it’s time to pass it,” Schumer said.
Scalise urged quick passage.
“In this historic moment, the House must rise above partisanship and move to immediately take up the CARES Act,” Scalise said. “The American people are counting on us for quick, decisive action, and I’m confident we’ll come together at this time and rise to meet this challenge.”
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, said Wednesday top House Democratic lawmakers were reviewing the text, and she did not say when the House would try to pass the measure.
Hoyer, her top lieutenant, said he was reviewing the bill and would provide lawmakers 24 hours before it is considered on the House floor.
House leaders favor a voice vote that would not require all sitting 430 members of Congress to return to the Capitol. But the bill can only pass without a roll-call vote if no lawmakers object. Any lawmaker can block a unanimous consent agreement, which will make it difficult to pass the legislation without summoning back the full House.
Leaders in both parties acknowledged the urgent need for a relief package to get signed into law to help individuals out of work, healthcare facilities, and businesses coping with a worsening crisis.
“We must take bold action now, and House Democrats will do our part,” Hoyer said. “I will be conferring with the speaker and other House leaders to determine the best way for the House to consider the legislation the Senate passes.”
