Debate begins in Congress on 5th coronavirus relief bill

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers are on a collision course to craft a fifth coronavirus relief package as deaths continue to mount, and the economy remains battered due to crippled businesses and closures.

Republican and Democratic congressional leaders said there will be another relief bill, but the House and Senate leaders are at odds over what to put into another package to address a surge in cases, health care needs, unemployment and mounting business losses.

Lawmakers return this week to Capitol Hill to begin negotiations.

States and cities have weighed in, demanding Congress address local shortfalls resulting from the lack of a uniform federal response to the pandemic when it hit.

“Due to COVID-19, state and local governments need robust and direct federal funding to help rebuild the economy and maintain essential services,” said Gov. Steve Sisolak, a Democrat, in a letter to the Legislature this week.

Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said in an op-ed in The Washington Post that states were left to sink or swim by President Donald Trump, who offered no federal response to address the pandemic and provide the needed testing and treatment supplies.

“An undertaking as large as the national testing program required Washington’s help,” Hogan said. “We expected something more than constant heckling from the man who was supposed to be our leader.”

But Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, praised Trump and Vice President Mike Pence during a Phoenix news conference this month.

“Whatever we have asked for and needed — whether it was increased testing or further support on contact tracing, personal protective equipment from face guards to gowns — the answer has been yes, and with urgency, in addition to helping clarify some federal guidance that will help our hospitals here on the ground with support and resources,” Ducey said.

States hurting

States, which have shut down businesses in order to slow the spread of the disease, have had to confront an economic slowdown as a result, as well as costs related to fighting COVID-19.

Nevada alone is eyeing a $1.2 billion budget shortfall, forcing Sisolak to call a special session of the Legislature to weigh job cuts and slash program spending.

A Democratic House version of a fifth relief bill included nearly $1 trillion for states and cities. It is part of a $3 trillion package that is likely to see little traction in the Republican-led Senate.

“If we don’t invest the money now, it’ll be much worse,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told a news conference.

She said the congressional response “is about the survival of our economy.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he expects to drop legislation as early as this week that will become the starting point of negotiations with Senate Democrats and the House.

The delay in Senate action has angered Democrats in both chambers.

“The House passed the Heroes Act back in May and it’s shameful that it’s taken this long for the Senate to start negotiating,” said Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev.

Titus said, “McConnell has been twiddling his thumbs while families in Las Vegas and across the country are struggling to put food on the table.”

Liability protection sought

McConnell is looking at a package that would total far less than the House plan, with Senate Republicans pinning the cost at roughly $1.2 trillion.

Republicans want liability protections in the package to shield businesses, schools, universities, hospitals and other institutions against lawsuits.

“Unless you’re grossly negligent or intentionally engaged in harmful behavior you shouldn’t have to be penalized by getting sued on top of everything else so that’ll be in there, I guarantee it,” McConnell said, according to The Washington Post.

While McConnell said he wants to ensure unemployment benefits are plentiful, some Republicans want to eliminate the $600-per-week extra unemployment benefit created by Congress. That benefit is set to expire July 31.

The benefit is likely to become a major sticking point in negotiations. Republicans think the amount creates a disincentive for low-wage employees to return to work. Democrats argue it is needed to keep families solvent as unemployment remains in double digits.

Dealing with unemployment

Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., said the state unemployment rate after the pandemic closed businesses topped 28 percent, with Nevada losing 250,000 jobs in three months.

Recent statistics show Nevada’s unemployment at roughly 15 percent, a still staggering amount of unemployed workers in a state where tourism is the top industry.

The loss of gaming taxes and revenues from closing businesses in Nevada has delivered a hard hit to not only the state, but cities and counties that provide residents with essential services like emergency medical care.

Legislators are trying to find savings as budget shortfalls threaten services across the state.

Nevada Democrats in the House voted to include funds for cities with populations of fewer than 500,000 people, which were left out of the first relief bills that sent money to states and big cities.

Henderson and Boulder City were two of those cities that missed out on relief funds, said Rep. Susie Lee, D-Nev., who along with other Democrats in the delegation want funds to help smaller cities pay for costs incurred in fighting the coronavirus and deliver essential services.

McConnell, though, has scoffed at the price tag in the House bill to bail out cities and states, again.

“We shouldn’t lightly add more to the national debt, but I’m predicting that we will have one more rescue package, which we’ll begin to debate and discuss next week,” McConnell said during a news conference in his home state of Kentucky, according to Bloomberg News.

Another source of contention is direct payments to American families struggling to meet daily needs with reduced income. Democrats, like Horsford, have proposed another round of $1,200 stimulus checks.

Republicans have not ruled out another round of direct payments but have touted a lower threshold, dropping the individual amount for eligibility from $75,000 per year to $40,000 annually.

In addition, the window for applying for Paycheck Protection Loans for small businesses ends in August. Lawmakers in both parties favored the program administered by the Small Business Administration. The program was designed to keep employees on the payroll and businesses open.

Despite major policy differences, McConnell said he was optimistic Congress could pass a fifth relief bill and send it to the White House. Whether the two parties can reconcile their differences and pass a consensus bill remains a large hurdle.

Senate Republicans will be forced to negotiate with Democrats to achieve the 60 votes necessary to avoid a filibuster and move the legislation to the floor for a final vote.

And lawmakers will be on the clock, with just weeks remaining before they break for their August recess.

Contact Gary Martin at gmartin@reviewjournal.com or 202-662-7390. Follow @garymartindc on Twitter.