Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that he will meet with Republican congressional leaders on Friday to discuss a targeted stimulus bill that could pass Congress before the end of the year.
“We are going to come up with a plan to sit down with [Speaker Nancy] Pelosi and [Senate Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer and try to get a targeted bill done for the people that really need it, and hopefully, the Democrats will work with us,” he said in an appearance on CNBC on Friday.
Mnuchin will meet with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California, as well as White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.
The crux of the plan would be to repurpose the $500 billion that Mnuchin rescinded from various loan programs that the Federal Reserve oversaw, according to Mnuchin.
“We’re saying to Congress, ‘Go spend this money and help small businesses and people that really need it,’” he said, adding that Congress has already appropriated those funds, so the repurposing would not add to the deficit.
Mnuchin said the loans are no longer needed for their original purpose, which was to shore up corporations hurt by the pandemic.
“We don’t need this money to buy corporate bonds. We need this money to help small businesses that are still closed or hurt through no fault of their own or people who are going to be unemployed, and unemployment is running out,” he said.
Extended unemployment benefits are scheduled to expire on Dec. 31. The Paycheck Protection Program, which allowed employers to keep workers on the payroll, has already ended.
Mnuchin would like to renew both of those programs with the money from the Fed.
“Let’s use this money for things in parts of the economy that need it,” he said.
On Thursday, Mnuchin sent a letter to Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors Jerome Powell requesting that he return to the Treasury the unused funds for lending programs under the CARES Act.
Mnuchin noted that the facilities expire on Dec. 31, meaning the funds could be repurposed in the New Year.
“The law is very clear. The intent was this part of [the lending programs] expire in December. Let’s use the money for other things,” he said.
