Confident that they’ll beat 74-year-old President Donald Trump Nov. 3, Democrats walked away from a watered down $650 billion Republican relief bill far less than Democrats wanted at $2.2 trillion. With lawmakers recessing until after the Nov. 3 election, it’s doubtful the public will get another cornavirus AKA SARS CoV-2 or Covid-19 relief bill anytime soon. Democrats passed the $3.2 trillion Heroes Act May 31, a massive wish list, hoping to bail out cities, counties and states around the country. When Republicans bristled at another whopping relief bill, Democrats continued to dig in, unwilling to compromise. Only recently, it looked like 57-tear-old Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin was close to getting Democrats to agree to a $1.5 trillion dollar relief package to extend expanded unemployment benefits and help small businesses through the Covid-19 crisis.
Failing in the Senate on a party-line 52-47 vote, Democrats refused to play along with 78-year-old Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) final offer, unwilling to add to the already $28 trillion national debt. “It’s sort of a dead end street, and very unfortunate, “ said Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Ks.), resolved to the stalemate. “But it is what it is,” Roberts said, not willing to cater of Democrats demanding five-times the size of the relief package. Whether lawmakers are willing to go back to the table before the election is anyone’s guess. What’s known for sure is that there’s no direct payments in the works to financially strapped U.S. citizens. Getting $1,200 checks from the government last April was welcomed relief to many citizens reeling from government shutdowns. Recent economic news adding 1.4 million jobs in August and reducing the nation’s unemployment rate to 8.4%, discouraged the deal.
Seeing light at the end of the tunnel with the U.S. economy, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle don’t see the necessity of another massive bailout bill. When the $3.2 trillion CARES Act passed March 31, no one knew what to expect with the U.S. economy. Better economic news lately provided less reason for a larger stimulus bill, despite demands by House Democrats for Republicans to offer more money. Democrats argue that cities, counties and states around the country have sustained massive budget shortfalls because of the Covid-19 crisis, cutting vital services to state residents. Bailing out cities, counties and states would have been welcomed relief to local governments currently out of cash. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the latest rejection on party lines would prompt McConnell back to the bargaining table, something that would benefit both sides.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Democrat had to reject McConnell’s proposal because it didn’t go far enough. “But [Thursday’s] bill is not going to happen because it is so emaciated, so filled with poison pills, so particularly designed,” Schumer said, hoping it will prompt McConnell back to the table. Neither side wants to got into the Nov. 3 election knowing it did nothing for working people. McConnell blasted Democrats for pushing a liberal wish list, not dealing with basic protections for unemployed workers or schools. McConnell tried to target his bill to address small businesses and more payroll protection. “Today every senator will either say they want to send families the relief we can agree to or they can send families nothing,” McConnell said, telling House Democrats that they’re not going to get everything they’re asking for.
Republicans think that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) rejects McConnell’s offer because they want to keep the coroanvirus crisis front-and-center. “What is of overwhelming importance to Democrats is keeping coronavirus alive as a political issue,” said Sen. John Thune (D-S.D.). “They’d rather have no bill, zero funding and a political weapons than have a bill and allow Republicans to say we helped Americans,” attesting to Democrats bravado heading into the election. Democrats have former Vice President and nominee Joe Biden running on Trump’s response to the Covid-19 crisis. National polls show that voters are frustrated with the way Trump has handled the coronvirus global pandemic. Anything that can up the misery level for voters helps their cause in November. Democrats are too wed to their campaign strategy to give voters any coronaviurs relief.
Running out of cash to keep the government running, Pelosi wants to get Trump to accept a continuing budget resolution [CBR], to keep the government running through the end of the year. If Biden’s polls in battleground states continue to slide, Pelosi may signal to McConnell she’s ready to get back to the table. As it stands now, keeping the focus on the Covid-19 crisis gets the best results with voters. McConnell could easily up the ante, doubling the amount he’s offering, making concessions for cities, counties and states, something Pelosi demands. When you consider Pelosi already dropped her $3.4 trillion demand down to $2.2 trillion, she thinks she’s been more than generous to the GOP. What Nancy doesn’t get is that printing another trillion dollars doesn’t help long-term economic recovery. At some point economists will have to deal with exploding budget deficit deficits and national debt.
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