Republicans Roll Out $1 Trillion Coronavirus Relief Plan

By Yuval Rosenberg

Republicans Roll Out $1 Trillion Coronavirus Relief Plan

After struggling for days to coalesce around a plan, Senate
Republicans on Monday released a $1 trillion coronavirus relief
package, dubbed the HEALS Act, an acronym for Health, Economic
Assistance, Liability Protection and Schools.

The proposal — which arrives as a host of emergency programs
signed into law last spring, including enhanced unemployment
insurance benefits, are expiring — will serve as a starting point
for what are expected to be difficult negotiations with Democrats,
who in May passed a $3 trillion relief package in the House.

The rollout comes after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows reportedly spent the
weekend on Capitol Hill negotiating the text of the plan with
Senate aides. At the same time, the White House, in an
acknowledgment that Congress may still be weeks away from a vote on
a coronavirus package, continued over the weekend to suggest the
idea of a
narrower bill that would include only unemployment
insurance, school funding and a liability shield.

“To give a sense of the optimism on the GOP side right now,
White House officials spent much of the weekend floating
a less ambitious Plan B option -- before their
Plan A even sees the light of day,” CNN’s Phil Mattingly
says. “Republicans are, just on Monday, releasing
their opening bid, which President Donald Trump's administration is
already moving away from in order to pitch a scaled-back proposal
Democrats have already rejected. This is, to say the least, not an
ideal way to kick off long-delayed bipartisan talks.”

Some key provisions in the GOP proposal:

Unemployment benefits: Republicans propose to cut the
$600 per week federal benefit provided by the CARES Act and replace
it with a system that provides 70% of wages, with a cap. States
would be given two months to set up systems capable of making that
calculation, which could be a serious challenge for technologically
deficient employment offices. During the transition period,
unemployed workers would receive a flat $200 per week in extra
relief, which, when combined with state-level insurance payments,
would approximate the 70% wage replacement target.

The National Association of State Workforce Agencies has
expressed concerns about the GOP’s proposed unemployment system,
saying it would take anywhere from eight to 20 weeks to implement.
Democrats, and many economists, warn that cutting the $600 payments
will hurt workers and the broader economy. Democrats have instead
proposed extending the $600 payments through January or tying the
level of emergency payments to state unemployment levels.

Stimulus payments: The GOP defends its push to cut
emergency unemployment benefits in part by providing for another
round of $1,200 stimulus checks for American adults earning less
than $75,000 per year, following the model of the first round
provided by the CARES Act, though with a new allowance for adult
dependents.

School aid: The package calls for $105
billion for schools, with $70 billion designated for K-12, $30
billion for higher education, and $5 billion for governors to use
as they see fit.

Coronavirus testing: This was an area of dispute
between the White House and Senate lawmakers. In the end, the
package would provide another $16 billion for grants to
states to cover the cost of testing, in addition to the $9 billion
in uncommitted funds left over from the CARES Act, for a total of
$25 billion.

Liability shields: Businesses, schools, health care
providers and nonprofits that are reopening would receive legal
protection from lawsuits related to coronavirus illnesses and
deaths.

Small business: The Paycheck Protection Program would be
extended with more funding and change its rules to allow hard-hit
small businesses take out a second loan.

Evictions: The bill would extend the moratorium on
evictions established by the CARES Act.

Vaccines: Republicans would add $26 billion for research
and distribution of coronavirus vaccines.

Tax breaks: Republicans want to provide a higher level
write-offs for business meals; an enhanced employee retention tax
credit; and deductions for employer purchases of
coronavirus-related supplies such as personal protective
equipment.

FBI headquarters: The bill includes nearly $1.8 billion
for a new FBI headquarters building in Washington, D.C., across
from the street from the Trump International Hotel. Sen. Richard
Shelby (R-AL) said the Trump administration requested this
provision. Asked what it had to do with coronavirus relief, Shelby
said, “That's a good question.”

Why Negotiations Will Be Much, Much Harder This Time

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader
Chuck Schumer (D-NY) are set to meet with Mnuchin and Meadows this
evening to begin formal talks.

The two sides are trillions of dollars apart, and miles apart
ideologically on some key issues. CQ Roll Call’s Shawn Zeller

notes that the politics of a deal will be harder
now, with the election drawing near, than they had been in March,
when the CARES Act passed with bipartisan support.

As dissatisfaction with Trump’s handling of the pandemic
continues to
run high, Zeller reports that the publication’s
Capitol Insiders Survey of 126 congressional aides this month
“found that nearly two-thirds of Democratic staffers thought the
virus would benefit their side, politically, in November. Only 6
percent of the GOP respondents thought it would help theirs.”
Zeller adds that Democratic aides surveyed earlier this month said
by a 51-36 margin that they preferred to find areas of compromise
than try to look for an edge in the elections.

Still, the reality — and public perception — of the
pandemic may stiffen Democrats’ resolve in rejecting the Republican
proposal, which they say falls far short of what’s needed.
“Democrats don’t sound like a party willing to accept the GOP
proposal,” Zeller writes. “But are they willing to take nothing,
then, if Republicans refuse to move their way, and if it means
millions of constituents will suffer?”

Republicans are in a pickle, though, as some members push
for more aid and others object to another round of deficit spending
on top of the trillions already provided for coronavirus relief.
“There is significant resistance to yet another trillion dollars,"

said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). “The answer to these
challenges will not simply be shoveling cash out of Washington, the
answer to these challenges will be getting people back to work. And
as it stands now, I think it’s likely that you’ll see a number of
Republicans in opposition to this bill and expressing serious
concerns.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham said this weekend that Republican opposition
to another round of aid runs deep. “Half the Republicans are going
to vote no to any phase four package. That’s just a fact,” he
said.

Republicans face serious risks, though, if they’re seen to
be taking away the lifeline keeping millions of Americans afloat.
“McConnell and Trump know it’s likely that voters will blame Trump
if the economic hole deepens,” Zeller writes, “and that a
Democratic takeover of the White House, and the Senate, may
result.”

Explaining Trump’s Approach to the Coronavirus Pandemic

The Washington Post’s Ashley Parker and Philip Rucker write that
one question hangs over President Trump as the country
grapples with the pandemic and the president looks to bolster his
re-election prospects: “Why not try harder to solve the coronavirus
crisis?” They report that both Trump allies and opponents “agree he
has failed at the one task that could help him achieve all of his
goals — confronting the pandemic with a clear strategy and
consistent leadership.”

The answer to the question, they report, hinges on a
combination of Trump’s personality and the information he
receives:

“People close to Trump, many speaking anonymously to share
candid discussions and impressions, say the president’s inability
to wholly address the [coronavirus] crisis is due to his almost
pathological unwillingness to admit error; a positive feedback loop
of overly rosy assessments and data from advisers and Fox News; and
a penchant for magical thinking that prevented him from fully
engaging with the pandemic.”


Read more at The Washington Post.

Drugmakers Pull Out of White House Meeting:
Report

Politico’s Sarah Owermohle
reports that President Trump’s planned meeting
with top pharmaceutical company executives Tuesday has been
canceled after industry lobbying groups refused to send any
members:

“Drugmakers and Trump were slated to discuss an executive
order, signed Friday but not yet released, that would order health
officials to release a plan linking Medicare payments for certain
medicines to lower costs paid abroad. The provision, known as a
most-favored-nations rule, has been lambasted by the drug industry
and some patient groups that say it would curb innovation and
reduce drug access. … The drug lobbies PhRMA and BIO were reluctant
to send representatives from their member companies — many of them
multibillion-dollar manufacturers of the world’s best-selling
medicines and vaccines — after conflicting reports last week about
whether the White House would include the rule and little
information to date about what the new rule would look like, three
people familiar with the discussions said.”

Quote of the Day

“I think politically, the main objective will be to have
something he can call a plan, but it will be smaller than a plan.
Just something that he can talk about. But it’s almost
inconceivable that anything can be delivered legislatively before
the election.”

– Drew Altman, president and CEO of the
Kaiser Family Foundation focused on health policy, in a
Politico piece that reports that President Trump
“is suddenly talking about health care again,” with White House
aides touting an upcoming speech in which the president will lay
out his health care vision.

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