Trump Wants a Deal on Relief Bill

By Michael Rainey

White House Says It Wants a Deal on Covid
Relief

Appearing before a House panel investigating the federal
response to the coronavirus pandemic, Treasury Secretary Steven
Mnuchin told lawmakers Tuesday that the White House is ready to
renew the stalled negotiations over the next relief bill.

"Let me say, I very much agree with you and those other experts
that more fiscal response is needed," Mnuchin
said. "The president and I want to move forward
with more fiscal response. I'm prepared to sit down with the
Speaker at any time to negotiate." He told Financial Services
Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) that he would call House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) as soon as the hearing was over.

The size of the relief package is still very much an issue,
however. Mnuchin said he did not support the $2.2 trillion package
proposed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), which was offered as
a compromise position. Republicans have offered $1.3 trillion, but
have shown no interest in going higher, and may not have solid
internal support for any additional relief spending.

Still, Mnuchin highlighted the areas where the two sides appear
to agree. "I believe a bipartisan agreement still should be
reached," Mnuchin said, "and would provide substantial funds for
schools, testing, vaccines, PPP for small businesses, continued
enhanced unemployment benefits, child care, nutrition, agriculture,
and the U.S. Postal Service, along with liability protection for
universities, schools, and businesses."

Senate eyes "skinny" bill. Senate Republicans hope to
introduce a slimmed-down $500 billion coronavirus relief bill next
week, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said Tuesday. The
bill will be "more targeted" than the $3.4 trillion package
Democrats approved in the House, Meadows said, and would be
constructed to pass on its own or serve as a starting point for a
larger deal.

Meadows said he met with President Trump and Treasury Secretary
Steven Mnuchin Monday and that the president told them "to get as
creative as we can within the confines of the law to put forth as
much money as we can so we can keep this economy going."

Pelosi has repeatedly rejected the idea of passing a "skinny"
relief bill, though, and Senate Democrats are expected to prevent
the GOP bill from getting a vote absent some kind of deal in place
with the speaker.

A major stumbling block. Meadows said aid for state and
local governments is "probably the biggest stumbling block" for the
next round of negotiations. Pelosi has requested $915 billion in
aid to help avoid layoffs of public workers including teachers,
firefighters and police officers. But Republicans have rejected
anything like that level of assistance for what they portray as
spendthrift, Democratic-led states and cities.

Even so, Mnuchin told lawmakers that the White House would back
some kind of funding for states and local governments. "Nobody
thinks the right outcome is zero," Mnuchin said.

70% of Americans Support Coronavirus
Payments

Although lawmakers and the Trump administration have been unable
to agree on the next coronavirus relief package, which could
potentially include stimulus checks, most Americans think the
federal government should issue another round of economic impact
payments.

In a
survey conducted between August 3 and August 11,
70% of respondents said they supported the payments, while just 17%
said they did not. The proposal received majority support from
those in both political parties and independents, as well as from
those in all age groups (see the chart below).

Aske about the size of the checks, most said they should be $900
or larger.

In a separate set of questions, Gallup asked about
unemployment insurance payments and their effect on people’s
willingness to return to work. Respondents were shown different
levels of supplemental benefits payments, ranging from $150 per
week to $450 per week, and asked whether they would return to their
previous jobs. Similar to numerous other studies that examined the
effect of the $600 per week supplement paid by the federal
government until the end of July, the Gallup researchers found that
the level of unemployment support had little effect on their
interest in returning to work.

"The survey results may not indicate how people might actually
behave under the different circumstances, but to the extent they do
predict behavior, they suggest relatively few workers would choose
to stay home due to greater federal assistance rather than head
back to work," Gallup said.

Number of the Day: $400 Billion for Health Care

The health care sector has received more than $400 billion in
aid from the federal government since the coronavirus crisis began,
according to data gathered by the Committee for a Responsible
Federal Budget.

"The rush to shore up the finances of the health industry during
the pandemic points to an irony in U.S. health care," says James C.
Capretta of the American Enterprise Institute, who
wrote about the situation Tuesday. "The nation’s
provider network is already the most expensive in the world, and
yet it does not do all that we wish it would for patients or
society. ... A better approach would redirect what can be saved
from a more efficient system into improved public health measures,
including a more equitable distribution of services across society.
The pandemic has demonstrated once again that this agenda is as
urgent as ever."

Investigators Flag Billions in Questionable
Small Business Loans

The Paycheck Protection Program lent more than $1 billion to
small businesses that violated the rules of the program, a House
investigative committee said Tuesday.

In a
preliminary report, investigators said the PPPP
"helped millions of small businesses and non-profit organizations
stay afloat during the coronavirus crisis, but a lack of oversight
and accountability from the Treasury Department and Small Business
Administration (SBA) may have led to billions of dollars being
diverted to fraud, waste, and abuse, rather than reaching small
businesses truly in need."

Problematic issues identified by the investigators include:

  • More than 10,000 loans worth a total of over $1 billion
    that went to companies that received multiple loans from the PPP,
    in violation of the rules.
  • More than 600 loans worth nearly $100 million made to small
    businesses that have been debarred or suspended from doing business
    with the government.
  • More than 350 loans worth nearly $200 million made to
    contractors that have had problems with performance or
    integrity.
  • More than 11,000 loans worth nearly $3 billion made to
    companies whose information doesn’t match other federal
    databases.
  • Hundreds of loans with missing information.

Republicans on the committee released their own
report on the PPP Tuesday, which praises President
Trump’s "swift action" and declares the program a "resounding
success."

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