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Negotiations between the White House and congressional Democrats over an economic relief package have stalled. White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has insisted that the package cost no more than $1 trillion, while Democratic leaders have said they could down from the $3.4 trillion cost of the House-passed Heroes Act to about $2 trillion.
The Senate Republican economic relief plan, which costs about $1.1 trillion, leaves out several key measures that President Trump, various Republican senators and governors, or both have indicated they support.
These policies include further fiscal relief for states and localities that face huge budget shortfalls due to COVID-19 and its economic fallout as well as rental and food assistance. And, the plan includes substantially less in supplemental unemployment benefits than the President endorsed in the executive actions he announced on August 8.
These provisions, supported by Republican senators and the President, would cost close to $2 trillion.
There is no pathway to a robust package that meets these well-understood needs and garners bipartisan support and that costs just $1 trillion.
Reaching a bipartisan agreement soon is essential. The President’s recent executive actions cannot come close to accomplishing what’s needed to combat the virus, strengthen a reeling economy, and address the serious and growing hardships that tens of millions of people face.
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