Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Deep Divisions Among Republicans Delay Stimulus Progress Another Week
Senate Republicans were forced to delay the rollout of a $1 trillion coronavirus relief package after differences between the White House and GOP leadership derailed the timing for unveiling the measure an embarrassing setback that could have serious consequences for millions of unemployed Americans. The main area of dispute was over extension of federal unemployment assistance for workers that have lost their jobs as the United States economy shut down during in response to the coronavirus pandemic. These $600-per-week payments begin to expire this week. Just on Thursday, the federal government announced that 1.4 million new unemployment claims had been filed in the past week. (Bresnahan and Levine, 7/23)
GOP senators expected to introduce the package of bills on Thursday after days of closed-door haggling among themselves and the White House and publicly struggling to get on the same page. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said key senators will instead unveil it Monday, pointing at the White House as the reason behind the delay. (Carney, 7/23)
Senate Republicans and the White House wasted a week at the worst possible time. Amid a series of crises with 30 million Americans unemployed and coronavirus cases spiking nationally White House officials and Senate GOP leaders couldnt even come to an agreement among themselves on a starting point for a new relief package, let alone begin bipartisan talks with Democrats. (Levine and Bresnahan, 7/23)
The nation got another dose of bad economic news Thursday as the number of laid-off workers seeking jobless benefits rose for the first time since late March, intensifying concerns the resurgent coronavirus is stalling or even reversing the economic recovery. And an extra $600 in weekly unemployment benefits, provided by the federal government on top of whatever assistance states provide, is set to expire July 31, though this is the last week recipients will get the extra funds. It is the last major source of economic help from the $2 trillion relief package that Congress approved in March. A small business lending program and one-time $1,200 payment have largely run their course. (Rugaber, 7/24)
Sensing the potential economic calamity of pulling back these benefits for up to 30 million people all at once, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin suggested Congress consider a smaller bill to keep these benefits in place while other details are negotiated on Capitol Hill. But Democrats and Republicans roundly dismissed that idea immediately. This terrible virus is still with us. It kills more Americans every day, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on the Senate floor late Thursday afternoon, hours after a planned rollout of the legislation was scratched at the last minute. (Werner, Min Kim and Stein, 7/23)
The 160 million Americans who got stimulus checks earlier this year would get another payment as soon as next month under a plan being negotiated by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. (Davison and Litvan, 7/23)
An additional $600 per week that has provided a vital financial cushion for unemployed Americans is set to expire next week. On Thursday, top Republicans said they had reached agreement on a proposal to replace a benefit that has helped millions of laid-off workers and been a boon to consumer spending amid a deep recession. Their plan would continue to offer larger-than-normal payments to workers filing for unemployment benefits. But it would significantly reduce the amount of money flowing each week to those without a job, at a time when 30 million people remain unemployed and the recovery from a pandemic recession is stuck in the mud. (Tankersley and Casselman, 7/23)
A forthcoming Senate Republican coronavirus proposal will mirror a March stimulus bill that included a one-time $1,200 stimulus check for some Americans, according to a top negotiator. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, asked how the direct payments will be structured in the soon-to-be-released GOP bill, said it would be exactly the same as the language in the $2.2 trillion bill signed into law in late March. (Carney, 7/23)
