Senate Democrats are rushing to finish negotiations with the Trump administration on a massive $1.6 trillion-plus emergency rescue package as the coronavirus spreads and markets continue to dive.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke late into Sunday evening about the terms of the legislation and met again Monday morning, along with White House legislative affairs director Eric Ueland, to restart talks.
Upon leaving Schumer’s office, Mnuchin appeared optimistic.
“We look forward to a big vote today,” Mnuchin said. “We knocked off a bunch of things on the list already, and we’re closing out issues.”
The slew of meetings and conversations comes after a vote to move forward on the GOP’s package failed Sunday evening on the Senate floor, with Democrats denying Republicans the 60 votes needed. Democrats are arguing that the Republican proposal does not do enough to prioritize workers over corporations.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will hold the same procedural vote Monday at noon, after originally planning for the vote at 9:45 a.m. shortly after the markets opened.
One of the outstanding issues for Democrats is the $500 billion “Exchange Stabilization Fund,” which is designed to assist industries that have been hit hard by the coronavirus, including $58 billion for airlines and cargo. The GOP proposal would mostly prevent companies that accept the money from buying back their own stock.
But that restriction could be waived by the Treasury Secretary — a source of significant contention for Democrats, who object to provisions that allow Mnuchin to withhold the names of the companies that receive federal money — as well as the amount — for up to six months at his discretion.
Democrats are also arguing that the package doesn’t do enough to prevent layoffs and that a two-year time frame on executive compensation limits is not enough.
In addition, Democrats are pushing for unemployment provisions to last four months instead of three and include independent contractors, hundreds of billions for both hospitals and a “State Stabilization Fund” to assist states with loss of revenue and expanded provisions for more worker protections.
A senior Republican aide said that Democrats were trying to add a host of unrelated measures to the coronavirus package, including expanding collective bargaining power for unions, increased fuel emission standards for airlines and more wind and solar tax credits.
Republicans argue that the proposal they put forward is bipartisan, and already includes significant concessions on unemployment insurance and $75 billion for hospitals. In addition to those provisions, the proposal allocates $350 billion for small businesses, and would cover an estimated 58 million U.S. workers and more than 30 million small businesses, according to Senate Small Business Committee Chairman Marco Rubio (R-Fla.).
The GOP package also includes $1,200 in direct cash payments to individuals, including to Americans with no taxable income. The payments would be phased out for individuals who earn more than $75,000.
The negotiations come as the coronavirus has hit close to home for the Senate, with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) becoming the first senator to test positive. In addition to Paul, Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) are all under self-quarantine. Meanwhile, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said Monday that her husband has contracted the virus.
McConnell chastised Democrats Sunday evening for blocking the proposal from moving forward and accused Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) of interfering in the negotiations.
McConnell, Schumer, Pelosi, Mnuchin and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) met in McConnell’s office on Sunday, but Pelosi left the meeting saying that the House would draft its own bill.
The White House has called for final passage of the package by Monday, but it’s unclear if that goal remains feasible.
Source: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/23/senate-coronavirus-rescue-package-143799
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