Sen. Josh Hawley said the federal government should prepare to cover 80% of U.S. workers’ wages up to the national median during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Because the government has taken the step of closing the economy to protect public health, Congress should in turn protect every single job in this country for the duration of this crisis. And Congress should help our businesses rehire every worker who has already lost a job because of the coronavirus,” the Missouri Republican wrote Wednesday in a column for the Washington Post. “Beginning immediately, the federal government should cover 80 percent of wages for workers at any U.S. business, up to the national median wage, until this emergency is over.”
“Further, it should offer businesses a bonus for rehiring workers laid off over the past month. The goal must be to get unemployment down — now — to secure American workers and their families, and to help businesses get ready to restart as soon as possible,” the senator added.
The median salary the average U.S. worker received at the end of 2019 was $48,672, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Hawley slammed “old ideas” such as “tweaking the tax code.” President Trump last month proposed a cut to the payroll tax in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The senator’s proposal is similar to one put forward by Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, both of whom pushed congressional leaders to put forward a bill giving people recurring cash payments until the end of the crisis. The Democratic proposal would go further by giving cash to both workers and those without a job.
“Simply put — people need more money in their pockets, and sending monthly payments to workers and families is the fastest and most direct way to address that need,” the pair said in a letter signed on by other Democratic lawmakers. “Now is not a time for timid solutions. In the face of an unprecedented moment in economic history and public health, we need to offer bigger, bolder and far more aggressive policies.”
The idea also bears hallmarks to those being implemented in some European countries, including the Danish government promising to cover 75% to 90% of salaries for businesses that do not lay off the employees.
At the end of last month, Trump signed a $2 trillion emergency coronavirus spending bill. The package provides checks for millions of people along with loans to small and big businesses.
Lawmakers have been in talks for another round of relief efforts. On Thursday, Democratic lawmakers blocked a small-business package, which contained $250 billion in federal funding and demanded that Republicans bring forth a bill with a larger scope and cost.
