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A lot of people were counting on getting additional unemployment benefits from the federal government. President Trump did authorize a six-week extension that started in August, but that’s expired. Is Congress close to giving you another $600?
Here’s the bottom line. Democrats in Congress did pass a bill that would give you another $600 a week through January. But the plan has been bottled up in the Republican-controlled Senate. Then, Trump, on Twitter, called for a stop to negotiations on the broader stimulus relief plan until the November 3 presidential election. Negotiations between Democrats and Republicans have stalled in the gridlock of Congress.
Trump then split out a second round of stimulus checks and called on Democrats to do that separately. He’s also mentioned a few other aspects of the plan since calling for the halt. However, he has not brought up extra unemployment benefits as part of those tweets. In addition, some top Republicans previously expressed concern that $600 – which was the amount initially granted when the pandemic first occurred – gave people an incentive not to work.
Thus, it’s seeming less likely that the benefits will be extended until after the election, if at all, and, as long as Republicans retain control of Congress, it’s probably unlikely that the amount they would support would be $600. When Trump authorized the six-week extension, he did so in the amount of $300. Some states did kick in an extra $100.
Here’s what you need to know:
Trump Has Focused His Rhetoric on Stimulus Checks & Other Things
GettyU.S. President Donald Trump.
President Donald Trump tweeted this on Oct. 7: “If I am sent a Stand Alone Bill for Stimulus Checks ($1,200), they will go out to our great people IMMEDIATELY. I am ready to sign right now. Are you listening Nancy?”
He was referring to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Pelosi did reveal recently that Democratic and Republican negotiators are “making progress.” They’ve come closer in compromise amounts proposed. The other problem is that neither side has been able to agree on the overall cost of a second relief plan, with Democrats wanting more money than Republicans do. However, Trump’s call to split out the checks on their own could take care of that.
However, Trump then said he was stopping negotiations.
Republicans wanted a plan around $1.5 trillion, which was less than Democrats wanted, according to CNBC. However, Trump said Pelosi had rejected that and he wrote on Twitter that he had “instructed my representatives to stop negotiating until after the election.”
The president later tweeted, “The House & Senate should IMMEDIATELY Approve 25 Billion Dollars for Airline Payroll Support, & 135 Billion Dollars for Paycheck Protection Program for Small Business. Both of these will be fully paid for with unused funds from the Cares Act. Have this money. I will sign now!”
Pelosi Responded That the President Was ‘Putting Himself First’
GettyU.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The president’s tweets caused another war of words.
According to CBS News, Pelosi responded to the president’s tweets, saying, “Today, once again, President Trump showed his true colors: putting himself first at the expense of the country, with the full complicity of the GOP Members of Congress,” Pelosi said. “Walking away from coronavirus talks demonstrates that President Trump is unwilling to crush the virus.”
According to CNBC, September’s job report was weak, driving need for another stimulus package.
Forbes reported that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Mnuchin were resuming talks on October 1. “We’ll have to see. If we have an agreement, we’re going to pass that agreement, then we’re done until after the election,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said then, according to Forbes. Trump’s tweets came after that point, though.
Pelosi sounded optimistic on Sunday, October 4, when she made the rounds on talk shows. Here is what she said, according to the CBS News transcript.
Well- well we are making progress. Well we were trying to get that done in the House, but the Republicans object- objected. But what I said to the airline executives in a public statement is, don’t fire people. You know, that relief is on the way. So, and it will be retroactive. So let’s keep them employed because, separate from other industries, when you’re fired- when you’re let go in the airline industry, it takes months or years to be recertified, reclassified all of that, security clearances and the rest. Not like if somebody has another kind of a job, they leave, they come back. So that’s- that makes a difference. But also–
There is an updated House plan on the table. It passed the House but would need support of the Republican-controlled Senate. According to the House Committee on Appropriations, the updated Heroes Act “provides additional direct payments, cushioning the economic blow of the coronavirus crisis with a more robust second round of economic impact payments of $1,200 per taxpayer and $500 per dependent.” The new Democratic plan would also give people $600 a week in extra unemployment benefits. T
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