Senate negotiators near agreement on keeping rebates in coronavirus stimulus package

March 21, 2020 3oliver

In a major victory for President TrumpDonald John TrumpOn The Money: McConnell introduces third coronavirus relief proposal | Democrats seek bigger stimulus with less aid for business | Washington scrambles to prevent unemployment spike Hillicon Valley: Twitter targets coronavirus misinformation | Facebook bans sanitizer, virus test ads to prevent price gouging | DHS defines critical jobs during outbreak | Remote working apps surge Overnight Defense: ‘Tens of thousands’ of National Guard troops could be activated for coronavirus response | Hospital ships could take week to deploy | Trump says military to help Americans stuck in Peru MORE, Senate negotiators are nearing a deal to provide $1,000 cash rebates in the phase-three stimulus deal and match the cost of the program with a major expansion of unemployment benefits.

The emerging deal being hammered out by Senate negotiators would provide one round of $1,000 checks to eligible adults at a cost of approximately $250 billion and match that with a similarly costly expansion of unemployment benefits — in the ballpark of $250 billion, according to two sources familiar with the talks.

As a result, the entire cost of the stimulus package is expected to swell well above the $1 trillion proposed by Trump, possibly to more than $1.2 trillion. The projected cost of the package is not yet certain as negotiators are waiting for a cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), said a person familiar with the talks.

The total cost of expanding unemployment benefits remains uncertain until the CBO issues a budgetary projection, negotiators said.

The partisan disagreement over whether to provide direct economic assistance in the form of rebate checks or unemployment insurance was a major sticking point heading into the talks.

The progress both sides made on the issue signals that a deal is possible this weekend, even though negotiators failed to meet Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellDemocratic leaders criticize GOP stimulus bill as too pro-business Walmart to give cash, early bonuses to hourly employees amid coronavirus outbreak GOP senators raise concerns over smaller checks for lower earners MORE‘s (R-Ky.) Friday midnight deadline to get a deal in “principle.”

Treasury Secretary Steven MnuchinSteven Terner MnuchinSenate GOP plan provides massive tax-relief, loans for business Overnight Energy: Trump prepares to buy 30M barrels of oil amid industry slump | Coronavirus offers reprieve from air pollution | Energy regulators split on delaying actions amid outbreak GOP plan provides ,200 in cash assistance amid coronavirus MORE initially proposed providing two rebate checks of $1,000 to eligible individuals at a cost of roughly $500 billion to boost the economy in the midst of the coronavirus crisis; however, senate Republicans shaved down that amount, instead proposing a single payment of $1,200 to eligible adults and $500 for claimed dependents.

But Senate Democrats objected and said the relief to individuals would be best distributed through the unemployment benefits system.

“One-time payments are not what people need. What people need is a paycheck. They need ongoing income until this is done. That’s what they need,” Sen. Debbie StabenowDeborah (Debbie) Ann StabenowDemocrats call for pollution reduction requirements in any aid for airlines, cruises Overnight Energy: 18 states ask Trump to withdraw major environmental rollback | Senators grill deputy EPA pick at confirmation hearing | Senators look to recess to calm energy bill fight USDA watchdog to review forestry grant that went to logging group MORE (Mich.), a member of the Democratic leadership team, told reporters Friday morning.

By 10:30 p.m. Friday, negotiators were sounding more optimistic about the possibility of a deal.

“I think we made good progress,” Sen. Ron WydenRonald (Ron) Lee WydenDemocratic leaders criticize GOP stimulus bill as too pro-business On The Money: McConnell introduces third coronavirus relief proposal | Democrats seek bigger stimulus with less aid for business | Washington scrambles to prevent unemployment spike Senate GOP plan provides massive tax-relief, loans for business MORE (Ore.), the senior Democrat on the Finance Committee, said after nearly 11 hours of negotiations with Republicans.

But Wyden warned that negotiators need to vet the emerging deal with members of their respective conferences.

“Both sides now have issues that they have to go back and check with [their colleagues,]” Wyden said.

White House legislative affairs director Eric Ueland said negotiators “are much closer at the end of today than we were when we started this morning.”

Ueland said negotiators “made tremendous progress today on unemployment insurance.”

He also said that the Democratic proposal to significantly ramp up unemployment insurance benefits requires “some technical work that needs to be done overnight,” and added that the CBO “needs to give us some answers on dollars and cents.”

As the disagreement over direct rebate checks and expanded unemployment benefits nears resolution, another major sticking point has emerged on the question of providing financial assistance to the states.

A Republican source familiar with the talks said Democrats are demanding a “very high” number for financial assistance to the states, a reflection of Senate Democratic Leader Charles SchumerCharles (Chuck) Ellis SchumerDemocratic leaders criticize GOP stimulus bill as too pro-business Stimulus plan hinges on McConnell, Schumer repairing toxic relationship Democrats call for pollution reduction requirements in any aid for airlines, cruises MORE’s (D-N.Y.) desire to provide assistance to his home state, where more than 7,000 people have been diagnosed with coronavirus.

The Democratic governors of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania wrote a letter to Trump, Schumer, McConnell and Speaker Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiDemocratic leaders criticize GOP stimulus bill as too pro-business House Democrats eyeing much broader Phase 3 stimulus Frustration mounts at Trump’s reluctance to use emergency production powers MORE (D-Calif.) Friday requesting direct cash assistance of $100 billion “for our region alone.”

They said the money would be needed to “account for the devastating impact of COVID-19 on our four state budgets.”

“We do not have the luxury of waiting for federal reimbursement — we need a cash infusion now,” they wrote.

A Republican source said the Democratic request for state aid was well in excess of the $100 billion requested by those four states and had created an impasse in the talks.

The Democratic request for a massive infusion of financial aid to states caught GOP lawmakers somewhat by surprise; they had fully anticipated giving ground to Democrats on boosting unemployment benefits, which was a key piece of a $750 billion Democratic stimulus plan Schumer unveiled earlier in the week.

Schumer’s $750 billion stimulus proposal, unveiled to the press on Monday and Tuesday, made no mention of a $100 billion-plus injection of federal aid to the states.

Instead, it was broken down into a $400 billion emergency appropriation to fund programs designed to support a pandemic response and $350 billion to bolster the social safety net designed to help working class Americans.

The initial Democratic proposal would have allocated the $400 billion in pandemic response funds to paying for hospital beds, ventilators, masks and other protective equipment; child care services; and low-interest loans and loan forgiveness.

Democrats proposed spending an additional $350 billion on expanding unemployment insurance, increasing federal Medicaid contributions to states, increasing contributions to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and canceling monthly student debt payments.

Jordain Carney contributed to this report.