WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Trump administration will offer Democrats “a very reasonable response” to their COVID-19 aid plan in an effort to strike an 11th-hour compromise deal, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Wednesday.
The White House offer will be “very similar” to a $1.5 trillion proposal floated by the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, Mnuchin said in an interview with CNBC. But Democrats have been seeking at least $2.2 trillion in new pandemic relief.
Mnuchin said he plans to discuss the proposal with Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday afternoon. “I say we’re going to give it one more serious try to get this done,” he said. “I think there’s a reasonable compromise here.”
The plan by the Problem Solvers, unveiled two weeks ago, includes automatic triggers based on hospitalization rates and vaccine development that could allow for an additional $400 billion in aid — bringing the total package to about $1.9 trillion.
The plan would offer expanded unemployment benefits, about $500 billion in aid to state and local governments, and another round of $1,200-per-adult tax rebate checks, among other things.
The bipartisan proposal also could reduce the total amount of aid by $200 billion if better-than-expected progress in combating the virus is made.
The last-ditch effort to salvage a deal from months of partisan stalemate came even as the Democrat-controlled House prepared for a possible vote later Wednesday on their own $2.2 trillion aid package — with only three days remaining before Congress is scheduled to leave town for a monthlong recess.
The bill written by House Democrats was listed on Wednesday’s floor schedule, and the Rules Committee began considering amendments before recessing subject to the call of the chair.
But party leaders said it was possible they wouldn’t go ahead with the vote if Pelosi and Mnuchin can work out a bipartisan solution. A decision won’t be made until after those two speak, according to House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries of New York.
“We’ll be prepared to move forward thereafter,” Jeffries said. “House Democrats are united around the legislation that could be on the floor as early as this afternoon and will remain united until we get something done.”
Jeffries pointed out that the Problem Solvers plan could provide nearly $2 trillion at the high end, which is much closer to the Democrats’ position. Mnuchin’s apparent embrace of that proposal, Jeffries said, “actually brings us much closer to an agreement than we’ve ever been.”
Both parties have been itching for a new round of pandemic relief before lawmakers go home to campaign for reelection. And political pressure for a deal has been steadily mounting.
Gross domestic product declined in the second quarter at an annualized rate of 31.4 percent, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. Disney announced plans to lay off 28,000 workers from its theme parks.
But negotiators have struggled for months over the size and shape of a new aid package, particularly over aid to state and local governments. Democrats say robust aid is needed to avoid mass layoffs, while Republicans say they don’t want to bail out poorly managed states.
Mnuchin said the White House would offer “some more money” for state and local aid. He also pushed for “reasonable liability protection, both for schools and small businesses” to protect against pandemic-related lawsuits. That provision, which Democrats have opposed, has been a top priority for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Mnuchin said he hoped to have “an understanding on an overall package” by Thursday. While more work would then be needed to get a concrete deal, he said, such an understanding could persuade airlines to postpone their plans for mass layoffs if they get some assurance that additional aid is on the way.
The Treasury also announced it had concluded loans for seven major passenger airlines, including American Airlines and United Airlines.
“Let’s see if we can get a compromise agreement with the speaker, something that works, and then we’ll continue to work with both sides to work on all the exact language and the policies,” Mnuchin told CNBC.
The House bill contains $25 billion for passenger airlines to keep workers on their payrolls, plus another $3 billion for cargo carriers. White House officials have said they support similar provisions, which have been introduced in the Senate as standalone legislation.
Senior House members of both parties, meanwhile, expressed frustration with the state of aid talks as they prepared a bill that would serve as the vehicle for the Democrats’ relief package, which Republicans vowed to oppose.
“The majority is again choosing to go it alone on a road to nowhere,” Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., said at the Rules hearing. “This will be nothing more than fiddling while Rome burns.”
Democrats said they had no choice but to prepare their own legislation because Republicans have refused to compromise. “If Republicans continue to refuse to meet us halfway, we will once again have to act alone,” said House Appropriations Chairwoman Nita M. Lowey, D-N.Y.
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