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For most Americans, the beginning of the pandemic feels like a lifetime ago. If you remember, back in March Congress signed off on the CARES Act. That law, on top of other provisions, afforded most Americans a one-time $1,200 payment.
This money was to help the average American in the midst of the pandemic that led to millions of people losing their jobs. However, in the intervening five months, there has been radio silence from Washington on a follow-up bill.
At the beginning of August, some other provisions from the CARES Act expired. This included a hold on evictions and an extra $600 per week in federal funding for state unemployment. After these provisions were gone, President Donald Trump signed executive orders that were meant to replace them.
However, Trump’s version of unemployment benefits only covered half of what the CARES Act did. Furthermore, those executive orders haven’t even been put into action yet.
Needless to say, many Americans are clamoring for another relief bill to help them financially survive the pandemic. People have been scrambling for any help: Tyson Food coupons, online sales, and the like.
Already, in the absence of the CARES Act’s provisions, many American families are struggling to put food on the table. Millions of people are still out of work due to the pandemic, and the US is facing a historic economic downturn.
Talks between the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives and the Republican-controlled Senate have been making progress. Early on, Republicans only wanted a bill that spent $1 trillion, while Democrats proposed HEROES bill would authorize $3 trillion in spending. After Dems agreed to $2.4 trillion and Republicans said they were comfortable at $2 trillion, pundits saw some momentum towards another bill.
“We have said again and again that we are willing to come down [and] meet them in the middle,” Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi told reporters.
“That would be $2.2 trillion. When they’re ready to do that, we’ll be ready to discuss and negotiate. I did not get that impression on that call”. Speaker Pelosi referred to a recent call with White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. During that call, the two seemed to be at an impasse. However, many commentators believe the two sides are closer than they’d like to admit on a bill.
Both parties stand to gain a great deal of political goodwill from successful negotiations. The question is, who will give more to get back in the public’s good graces?
