House Democrats pass partisan COVID bill; relief talks drag
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats controlling the House narrowly passed a $2.2 trillion COVID-19 relief bill Thursday night, a move that came as top-level talks on a smaller, potentially bipartisan measure dragged on toward an uncertain finish. An air of pessimism has largely taken over the Capitol.
The Democratic bill passed after a partisan debate by a
214-207 vote without any Republicans in support. The move puts lawmakers
no closer to actually delivering aid such as more generous weekly
unemployment payments, extended help for small businesses and especially
troubled economic sectors such as restaurants and airlines, and another
round of $1,200 direct payments to most Americans.
Passage of the
$2.2 trillion plan came after a burst of negotiations this week between
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi,
D-Calif. The Trump administration delivered concessions Wednesday,
including a $400 per week pandemic jobless benefit and a markedly higher
overall price tag of $1.6 trillion, but that failed to win over Pelosi.
“This
isn’t half a loaf, this is the heel of the loaf,” Pelosi said in a
televised interview Thursday. Pelosi spoke after the White House
attacked her as “not being serious.”
The ramped-up negotiations
come as challenging economic news continues to confront policymakers.
The airlines are furloughing about 30,000 workers with the expiration of
aid passed earlier this year, and a report Thursday showed 837,000 people
claiming jobless benefits for the first time last week. Most of the
economic benefits of an immediate round of COVID relief could accrue
under the next administration, and failure now could mean no significant
help for struggling families and businesses until February.
The
vote was advertised as a way to demonstrate Democrats were making a good
faith offer on coronavirus relief, but 18 Democrats abandoned the party
and sentiment remains among more moderate Democrats to make more
concessions and guarantee an agreement before Election Day. Republicans
controlling the Senate remained divided.
Talks between Mnuchin and
Pelosi were closely held and the Speaker told reporters that no deal
would come on Thursday. Mnuchin’s offer of a $400 per week jobless
benefit put him in the same ballpark as Democrats backing a $600
benefit. Mnuchin’s price tag of $1.6 trillion or more could drive many
Republicans away, however, even as it failed to satisfy Pelosi.
“We
raised our offer to $1.6 trillion,” White House Press Secretary
Kayleigh McEnany told reporters Thursday. “It’s one that she is is not
interested in.”
Mnuchin and Pelosi spoke by phone Thursday, but
the speaker was publicly dismissive of the latest White House plan.
Discussions are continuing, Pelosi said.
The White House plan,
offered Wednesday, gave ground with a $250 billion proposal on funding
for state and local governments and backed $20 billion in help for the
struggling airline industry.
Details on the White House offer
were confirmed by congressional aides, speaking on condition of
anonymity to discuss closed-door discussions.
As the talks dragged
on, House leaders announced a Thursday evening vote on their
scaled-back “HEROES Act,” which started out as a $3.4 trillion bill in
May but is now down to $2.2 trillion after Pelosi cut back her demands
for aiding state and local governments. The legislation came after party
moderates openly criticized her stance.
White House Chief of
Staff Mark Meadows has drawn a line in the sand and warns that Trump
won’t approve legislation that approaches a $2 trillion threshold. But
there’s plenty of wiggle room in numbers so large, and the revenue
picture for many states is not as alarming as feared when Democrats
passed more than $900 billion for state and local governments in May.
Pelosi said Thursday that the administration is still far short on aid to state and local governments and in other areas.
“Some
of you have asked, ‘Isn’t something better than nothing?’ No,” Pelosi
told reporters, citing the “opportunity cost” for provisions sought by
Democrats but potentially lost in any rush to agreement.
At issue
is a long-delayed package that would extend another round of $1,200
direct stimulus payments, restore bonus pandemic jobless benefits, speed
aid to schools and extend assistance to airlines, restaurants and other
struggling businesses. A landmark $2 trillion relief bill in March
passed with sweeping support and is credited with helping the economy
through the spring and summer, but worries are mounting that the
recovery may sputter without additional relief.
Pelosi has
largely assumed a hard line so far. But she’s never had a reputation for
leaving large sums of money on the table and her tactical position —
facing a White House and Senate controlled by Republicans — is not as
strong as her demands might indicate.
The White House also seems
far more eager for a deal than Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Any compromise that could pass both the House and Senate is sure to
alienate a large chunk of the Senate GOP. McConnell expressed support
for the talks and another bill but isn’t leaning into the effort. But
some of his members appear worried that the deadlock is harming their
reelection bids.
“I’d like to see another rescue package. We’ve
been trying for months to get there,” McConnell told reporters Thursday.
“I wish them well.”
Even if Pelosi and Mnuchin were able to reach
a tentative agreement on “top line” spending levels, dozens of details
would need to be worked out. A particularly difficult issue, Pelosi told
her colleagues earlier in the day, remains McConnell’s insistence on a
liability shield for businesses fearing COVID-related lawsuits after
they reopen their doors.
The latest Democratic bill would revive a
$600-per-week pandemic jobless benefit and send a second round of
direct payments to most individuals. It would scale back an aid package
to state and local governments to a still-huge $436 billion, send $225
billion to colleges and universities and deliver another round of
subsidies to businesses under the Paycheck Protection Program. Airlines
would get another $25 billion in aid to prevent a wave of layoffs.