Trump Threatens Veto of Defense Bill

By Michael Rainey

Biden Backs Pelosi on Massive Stimulus Bill as
Former Treasury Heads Call for More Aid

Joe Biden is backing House Democrats in their effort to
negotiate a multi-trillion-dollar coronavirus relief bill,
according to a Biden representative Monday. “The President-elect
fully supports the Speaker and Leader in their negotiations,"
transition spokesperson Andrew Bates said.

The statement from the Biden team came in response to a
report Sunday in The New York Times that Biden’s
economic advisers – worried about both a double-dip recession
driven by the recent surge in coronavirus infections and the
difficulty House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) faces in reaching an
agreement on a roughly $2 trillion relief bill with Senate Majority
Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) – were pushing for a smaller
package.

“Many of the president-elect’s advisers have become convinced
that deteriorating economic conditions from the renewed surge in
Covid-19 infections and the looming threat of millions of Americans
losing jobless benefits in December amid a wave of evictions and
foreclosures require more urgent action before year’s end,” the
Times said. “That could mean moving at least part of the way toward
Mr. McConnell’s offer of a $500 billion package.”

The Biden team’s pushback makes it clear that the incoming
administration is sticking with its congressional allies, at least
for now. But it wouldn’t be a surprise to hear more about accepting
some kind of compromise deal in the coming weeks, especially if the
economic data take a turn for the worse, as many Biden advisers
fear.

Some Democrats are already talking about the need to pass any
relief bill they can get, even if it’s smaller than the one House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi is looking for. “I just hope that we can get
agreement,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) told CQ-Roll
Call. “It may not be everything that everybody wants but at least
if we can get some significant relief to people. And then we're
going to be here next year. If we need to do other things, we'll do
other things.”

Former Treasury secretaries call for more stimulus:
Although they didn’t specify a dollar figure, a bipartisan group of
former economic officials released a
letter Monday calling on lawmakers to pass a new
coronavirus stimulus package as soon as possible. Organized by the
Aspen Institute's Economic Strategy Group, the letter’s signatories
include former Treasury secretaries Henry Paulson, Timothy
Geithner, Robert Rubin and Larry Summers; former Fed chair Ben
Bernanke; and former White House economic advisers Jason Furman,
Austan Goolsbee, N. Gregory Mankiw and Douglas Holtz-Eakin.

“Amidst a resurgence in COVID-19 caseloads and continuing
economic devastation from the pandemic, we urge Congress to enact
legislation that focuses on the core measures necessary to provide
additional fiscal relief as quickly as possible and no later than
the end of this calendar year,” the group said, adding that the
“country and economy cannot wait until 2021.”

Fighting the pandemic is the single most important issue, the
letter said, and lawmakers should also provide additional
assistance for individuals and families, state and local
governments, and small businesses.

“The CARES Act that was passed with bipartisan support in March
2020 provided necessary

relief to millions of Americans and helped the economy rebound
more quickly than expected,” the groups said. “Our nation’s leaders
should act on another round of fiscal relief now.”

Trump Threatens to Veto Defense Bill

Despite reports last week that the White House was looking to
make a deal on the issue, President Donald Trump is threatening to
veto the National Defense Authorization Act if it includes a
provision that would require renaming military bases that honor
Confederate leaders, NBC News
reported Monday.

The NDAA – the annual bill that specifies the annual budget and
expenditures for the Department of Defense – has passed every year
for the past 59 years.

A veto is unlikely, though, since Sen. Mitch McConnell generally
avoids bringing a bill that can’t be signed into law to the floor
for a vote. "The president is not going to veto the defense bill
and I can say that with almost absolute certainty," House Armed
Services Chair Adam Smith (D-WA)
said last week. "And the reason is because Mitch
McConnell and Jim Inhofe are not going to send him a bill that he
says he's going to veto."

If McConnell refuses to force the issue and Trump sticks to his
guns, that leaves two options. Democrats could retreat and agree to
remove the renaming provision, despite the fact that it has
bipartisan support, while counting on President Biden to achieve
the same end through executive action later on. Alternatively, the
NDAA could simply wait for the next Congress, forcing lawmakers to
start from scratch on the must-pass legislation in January.

Most Americans Say the Country Needs More Covid
Aid

A substantial majority of Americans think more Covid-19 aid from
the federal government is needed, according to
new poll data from Pew Research.

In a survey of U.S. adults conducted from November 12 to
November 17, 80% of respondents agreed that another economic
assistance package is necessary, compared to 19% who said it was
not. And most (85%) of those who support a new round of aid said
the relief bill is needed as soon as possible, before
President-elect Biden is sworn into office.

“Sizable majorities across nearly all demographic and income
categories say more economic assistance is needed,” Pew said,
though there were notable partisan differences. While a majority of
Trump voters (61%) called for more aid, support was much higher
among Biden voters (94%).

There were significant differences according to income level, as
well, at least for Republicans. Only half (49%) of high-income
Trump voters supported more aid, compared to 78% of low-income
Trump voters. More than 90% of Biden supporters supported more aid,
at all income levels.

Ways and Means Chair Wants to Go Big on
Spending

According to Roll Call Monday, House Ways and Means Chairman
Richard Neal (D-MA) is hoping the incoming Biden administration
will be receptive to a massive legislative package that combines
coronavirus relief with new spending on green energy and
infrastructure.

Based on recent proposals from House Democrats, such a package
could total roughly $4 trillion over 10 years, with $2.4 trillion
for the pandemic and $1.5 trillion for infrastructure and
climate.

“I do think with a President Biden that stimulus linked to
climate change and linked to infrastructure go hand in hand,” Neal

told Roll Call’s Doug Sword. “Why don't we wrap
them into one big bill, and given the Fed’s determination to keep
interest rates low, we can do some borrowing.”

Convincing Mitch McConnell to support that kind of spending
wouldn’t be easy, but Neal thinks he can win bipartisan support, in
part by using tax credits and reforms to shape some of the spending
programs. “My belief is that the best way to attack climate change
is now going to have to be through tax incentives," Neal said. “I
think that if we used tax incentives on the climate side there
might be a more receptive audience given some of the intransigence
that we've witnessed.”

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