Senate Republicans aligned with President Donald Trump will vote next week on a smaller economic stimulus bill for the coronavirus than that sought by rival Democrats, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnnell said Tuesday, signaling action on an initiative likely to fail again without support from the other side
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th October, 2020) Senate Republicans aligned with President Donald Trump will vote next week on a smaller economic stimulus bill for the coronavirus than that sought by rival Democrats, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnnell said Tuesday, signaling action on an initiative likely to fail again without support from the other side.
"When the full Senate returns on October 19th, our first order of business will be voting again on the targeted relief for American workers, including new funding for the PPP," McConnell said in a statement, referring to the Paycheck Protection Program. "Republicans do not agree that nothing is better than something for working families."
Congress passed four packages of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act in the second quarter of this year, dispensing roughly $3 trillion as PPP for workers, loans and grants for businesses and other personal aid to qualifying US citizens and residents.
Republicans and Democrats have been locked in a stalemate since on a successive package to the CARES, arguing over the size of the next relief, as thousands of Americans, particularly those in the airlines sector, risked losing their jobs without further aid. Trump, who stands for reelection on November 3, has accused US House Speaker and top congressional Democrat Pelosi of playing political football over the issue. Pelosi says any deal approved should be to the advantage of Americans, and not for Trump's political expediency.
Last week, Trump, after various about-turns on the issue, proposed a $1.8 trillion bill that still fell short of the Democrats' demand for $2.2 trillion. Pelosi and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have spoken on the phone at least twice since but have been unable to agree to a deal. Without the support of Democrats, the Senate vote on the stimulus led by McConnell will also fail the Senate filibuster test it must pass to become law.
"Tragically, the Trump proposal falls significantly short of what this pandemic and deep recession demand," Pelosi said in a letter to her Democratic colleagues, published on Tuesday. While she remained hopeful for a deal, she added that "significant changes must be made to remedy the Trump proposal's deficiencies. Updates will continue."
The United States leads the global case count for the coronavirus, with 7.8 million infections and more than 215,000 deaths, according to data monitored by Johns Hopkins University.
The US economy itself shrank at its fastest pace in history in the second quarter of 2020, contracting by 31.4 percent amid widespread lockdowns triggered by the pandemic. While economic data has been encouraging in recent months, recovery from the pandemic itself has remained spotty. On the jobs front, the United States gained 661,000 jobs in September, less than half than in August, as labor market recovery from the coronavirus pandemic slowed.
