House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said it could be possible to pass the $2 trillion coronavirus relief package without calling back all 430 sitting members if some lawmakers are first allowed to debate the bill before holding a voice vote.
McCarthy, a California Republican, said Wednesday he did not believe the measure could clear the House by unanimous consent, which is the fastest way to pass legislation and doesn’t require a debate first.
“I don’t think this could pass on unanimous consent,” McCarthy said. “I do believe a voice vote would allow people who first have to have a debate and time.”
House leaders want to avoid summoning back the full House for a roll-call vote, even though they have discussed plans that would limit the number of people in the chamber at any time. They are also eager to find a way to pass the relief measure quickly, which would provide expanded unemployment insurance, direct cash payments to workers, small business aid, money for healthcare facilities, and a loan program for big businesses such as airlines and hotels.
It’s the largest federal aid package in history and would normally require days of debate and possible amendments, but lawmakers in both chambers want to pass it as quickly as possible. The House adjourned for a district work period earlier this month, and as the coronavirus spread, lawmakers have grown more opposed to returning for a vote. Remote voting is not permitted under the rules.
Lawmakers would have to board planes and trains to travel back to Washington, risking further spread of the coronavirus. Two House lawmakers have announced they are infected with the virus while dozens of others are in quarantine because they were exposed to it or are showing symptoms.
In addition, Trump administration health officials have asked anyone traveling from New York City to remain in quarantine at their destination for 14 days, which could prevent more than a dozen House lawmakers from going out in public even if they returned to Washington.
Party leaders are working to determine if they can prevent everyone in their respective caucuses from blocking the bill or calling for a roll-call vote.
“Think of the size of the bill you are asking members to vote on,” McCarthy said. “They need to have their constituents have the ability to have their voices be heard, whether they are for or against it, and why they stand where they do.”
Party leaders will have to convince their left and right flanks not to object to a non-roll-call passage of the bill. Some liberal Democrats oppose the $500 billion loan program for big companies, which they have called a corporate slush fund. Republicans typically call for offsets, a way to pay for the legislation. The emergency relief package has no offsets.
The Republican leadership team is conducting a “remote whip operation” to see if it is possible to pass the bill either by unanimous consent or voice vote, a Republican leadership aide said.
The Senate was planning to pass the bill Wednesday and is working out a last-minute objection from a group of Republican lawmakers who want to make sure unemployment insurance doesn’t disincentivize work by offering higher pay than what workers were earning on the job.
