Democratic leaders have refused to compromise on a new round of federal coronavirus aid. Instead, they ramped up pressure on White House officials and Republicans to accept the terms of their package by blaming the GOP.
“We are concerned because we think that this administration and the Republicans do not understand the gravity of the situation and, hence, have not taken the actions to stop the spread of the virus to open the economy, have our schools open safely, and have us return to some normalcy,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday after a second week of nearly fruitless negotiation with the Trump administration.
Democrats haven’t compromised on much of anything, according to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. He told reporters the two parties are “trillions” apart from a final deal.
Mnuchin warned that if significant progress is lacking by the end of the week, the Trump administration may take executive action on extending unemployment insurance and other provisions to provide federal help in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Trump made the threat himself in a Thursday tweet before traveling to Ohio to tour a plant.
“Upon departing the Oval Office for Ohio, I’ve notified my staff to continue working on an Executive Order with respect to Payroll Tax Cut, Eviction Protections, Unemployment Extensions, and Student Loan Repayment Options,” Trump tweeted.
Pelosi said she’s optimistic a deal can be reached, but the Democratic proposal is more than triple the cost of a $1 trillion plan the Senate GOP introduced in July.
Democrats have so far reduced their $25 billion request to bail out the U.S. Postal Service pension system and are now asking for $10 billion.
But they have quadrupled their initial funding request for schools and universities from $100 billion to $400 billion, arguing that more money is needed, though many public schools are not planning to open until 2021.
The two parties are also far apart on how much to provide in enhanced federal unemployment benefits.
Republicans are refusing to support another round of $600 weekly payments, which they say provides more money than most workers make on the job, making it harder for businesses to rehire.
Pelosi told reporters on Thursday that she isn’t budging and argued the GOP is acting in a heartless manner.
“These families are crying out for the $600. They’re nickel-and-diming the economic security of children’s families,” Pelosi said. “We have said we are going to have the $600.”
Senate Democrats, meanwhile, blocked a voice vote several times on a GOP measure that would have extended unemployment benefits for a week at the $600 rate.
“The Senate Republicans have spent much of this week offering this one-week extension of the $600 unemployment insurance supplement,” Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, said. “They have done this as an alternative to spending the week doing real negotiating, which is what I and many Senate Democrats have been calling for, not just for days, but for weeks and weeks. Literally months.”
Sen. Rob Portman, an Ohio Republican, said Democrats need to compromise on the benefits, which should be lowered as people return to work. Portman cited a University of Chicago study that said the $600 amount provides nearly 70% of workers more than they were making while on the job.
“Hopefully, the Democrats will get off their $600 because that is not a path that is going to work,” Portman said.
Most lawmakers left town at the end of the week after leaders in both the House and the Senate warned them they would be summoned back to the Capitol if a deal is reached.
White House officials continued talks with Democratic leaders in the Capitol but appeared pessimistic. While Republicans have bumped up their proposal to an undisclosed amount, Democrats are at the same time increasing their price tag.
“At this point, they are still $3.4 trillion and going north,” Meadows said.
