House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin sounded upbeat Thursday on progress toward fresh aid to Americans amid the coronavirus pandemic, as lawmakers were weighing competing relief packages.
Pelosi, a California Democrat, said that a bipartisan group of lawmakers is making “great progress” on a deal, and that Congress should not break for the holidays without new legislation.
As MarketWatch has reported, there’s some optimism that a bipartisan $908 billion aid proposal might check enough boxes for Democratic and Republican lawmakers to deliver relief to struggling Americans as several end-of-year deadlines near.
Read: Here’s what’s included in the $908 billion bipartisan relief proposal
“I think they’ve made great progress,” Pelosi told reporters about the group. But the California Democrat added she needed to see the text of the legislation.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy also sounded positive on Thursday about the chances for a deal.
“I think next week will be the week we get it done,” the California Republican said during a CNBC interview.
Yet there was also some pessimism about a quick deal, as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s staff has reportedly told other congressional leaders that the bipartisan coronavirus negotiators will be unlikely to satisfy Senate Republicans.
Politico reported McConnell’s staff informed House and Senate leadership staffers that the group’s attempts to combine $160 billion in state and local aid and a temporary liability shield probably won’t fly with most of the GOP.
A spike in weekly jobless claims added to urgency to strike an agreement. Thursday, the government reported that jobless claims leaped by 137,000 to 853,000 in the week ended Dec. 5, a nearly three-month high.
See: Jobless claims surge to 3-month high, as coronavirus surge triggers more layoffs.
“These numbers are deeply disappointing — and, in the context of unemployment benefits expiring for millions on Christmas Eve, they are also deeply disturbing,” said Rep. Don Beyer, the Virginia Democrat who is the incoming chairman of the congressional Joint Economic Committee.
Analysts expect a COVID relief package by the end of the year. But lawmakers are still wrangling over liability protections for businesses that continue to operate during the coronavirus pandemic.
Earlier this week, McConnell, the Kentucky Republican, said he would stop demanding a liability shield for businesses in any aid package, if Democrats ended their push for more funding for state and local governments. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat, rejected that offer.
The White House has offered a $916 billion package to Pelosi that would send $600 direct payments to most Americans. Yet it would cut a $300 a week unemployment benefit favored by bipartisan Senate negotiators. Pelosi has called the unemployment-insurance cut “unacceptable.”
Mnuchin on Wednesday defended the Trump administration’s proposal to send one-time relief checks to millions of Americans rather than pouring more money into federal unemployment benefits, Politico reported. The Treasury chief called it a better way to get aid to struggling households.
Ahead of a congressional hearing on Thursday, Mnuchin told Bloomberg News: “We had a very productive call yesterday with a lot of people, so I think we’re making a lot of progress.” He added there would be more discussions Thursday.
U.S. stock DJIA, -0.23% SPX, -0.13% indexes were lower Thursday, ahead of a decision by a Food and Drug Administration committee on a coronavirus vaccine approval, as well as amid the stimulus talks in Washington.
December 11, 2020 at 12:18AM
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/pelosi-sees-great-progress-on-bipartisan-covid-relief-talks-11607620714
Pelosi, Mnuchin sound upbeat notes on fresh COVID relief - MarketWatch
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