Pelosi predicts House will pass Senate $2 trillion rescue bill,
— The Senate passed a mammoth $2.2 trillion economic rescue package steering aid to businesses, workers and health care systems engulfed by the coronavirus pandemic, an unprecedented resp o nse amid record new jobless claims and mounting evidence that the economy is in a recession.
The unanimous Senate vote late Wednesday came despite misgivings on both sides about whether it goes too far or not far enough and capped days of difficult nego- tiations as Washington confronted a national challenge unlike it has ever faced.
Thursday brought grim economic news as the government reported 3.3 million new weekly unemployment claims, four times the previous record, fresh evidence that the U.S. is sink- ing into recession as corona- virus isolation steps have led to business closures.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said in a tele- vised interview that the economy “may well be in a recession.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., swung behind the bipartisan agreement, saying it “takes us a long way down the road in meeting the needs of the American people.”
“We will have a victory tomorrow for America’s work- ers,” Pelosi said, praising the bill’s expansion of unemployment benefits. She encouraged companies battered by the pandemic to keep paying their workers, even those who are furloughed.
“Tomorrow we’ll bring the bill to the floor,” she told reporters. “It will pass. It will pass with strong bipartisan support.”
The measure is set for House passage today and President Donald Trump’s immediate signature.
The 880-page measure is the largest economic relief bill in U.S. history. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell appeared somber and exhausted as he announced the vote — and he released senators from Washington until April 20, though he promised to recall them if needed.
“Pray for one another, for all of our families and for our country,” said McConnell, R-Ky.
“The legislation now before us now is historic because it is meant to match a historic crisis,” said Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. “Our health care system is not prepared to care for the sick. Our workers are without work. Our businesses cannot do business. Our factories lie idle. The gears of the Amer- ican economy have ground to a halt.”
The package is intended as relief for a sinking economy in the face of an infection that’s killed more than 21,000 peo- ple worldwide.
“This is a unique situation. This is not a typical down- turn,” Fed chief Powell told NBC’s “Today” show. “What’s happening here is people are being asked to close their businesses, to stay home from work and to not engage in certain kinds of economic activity and so they’re pull- ing back. And at a certain point, we will get the spread of the virus under control and at that time confidence will return, businesses will open again, people will come back to work.”
Underscoring the effort’s sheer magnitude, the bill finances a response with a price tag that equals half the size of the entire $4 tril- lion-plus annual federal bud- get. The $2.2 trillion estimate is the White House’s best guess.
Trump said of the greatest public health emergency in anyone’s lifetime, “I don’t think its going to end up being such a rough patch” and anticipated the economy soaring “like a rocket ship” when it’s over.
The drive by leaders to speed the bill through the Senate was We d ne s day slowed as four conservative Republican senators from states whose economies are dominated by low-wage jobs demanded changes, saying the legislation as written was so generous that workers like store clerks might opt to stay on unemployment instead of return to their jobs. They set- tled for a failed vote to modify the provision.
Wednesday’s delays followed Democratic stalling tactics earlier in the week as Schumer held out for addi- tional funding for states and hospitals and other provisions.
The sprawl i ng measure is the third coronavirus response bill produced by Congress and by far the largest. It builds on efforts focused on vaccines and emergency response, sick and family medical leave for workers and food aid.
Senate passage delivered the legislation to the Democratic-controlled House, which is expected to pass it Friday. House members are scattered around the country. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said the measure would pass by voice vote without lawmakers having to return to Washington.
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy said Thursday his members were on board.
“We’ll have a debate, and then we’ll have a voice vote to bring it up and move it to the president’s desk,” he told Fox News Channel. He said that while Democrats inserted things in the bill that didn’t deal with coronavirus, “we will still get this package done for hospitals, workers, small businesses.”
“Every day matters, so we want to get this done quickly,” McCarthy said.
The package would give direct payments to most Americans, expand unemployment benefits and provide a $367 billion program for small businesses to keep making payroll while work- ers are forced to stay home.
It includes a heavily negotiated $500 billion program for guaranteed, subsidized loans to larger industries, includ- ing airlines. Hospitals would get significant help as well.
Six days of arduous talks produced the bill, creating tensions among Congress’ top leaders, who each took care to tend to party poli- tics as they maneuvered and battled over crafting the legislation. But failure was not an option.
“This is a proud moment for the United States Senate and the country, and we’re going to win this battle,” McConnell told reporters after the vote. “We’ve pivoted from impeachment to 100-to-nothing on this rescue package ... this is about as flawless as you could possibly be.” The vote actually was 96-0 because several members missed the vote out of concerns they have been exposed to the virus.
The bill would provide one-time direct payments to Americans of $1,200 per adult making up to $75,000 a year and $2,400 to a married couple making up to $150,000, with $500 payments per child.
A huge cash infusion for hospitals expecting a flood of COVID-19 patients grew during talks to an estimated $130 billion. Another $45 billion would fund additional relief through the Federal Emergency Management Agency for local response efforts and community services.
Democrats said the package would help replace the salaries of furloughed workers for four months, rather than the three months first proposed. Furloughed workers would get whatever amount a state usually provides for unemployment, plus a $600-perweek add-on, with gig workers like Uber drivers covered for the first time.
Businesses controlled by members of Congress and top administration officials, including Trump and his immediate family members, would be ineligible for the bill’s business assistance.
Schumer boasted of negotiating wins for transit systems, hospitals and cash-hungry state governments that were cemented after Democrats blocked the measure in votes held Sunday and Monday.