WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump said Monday he may take executive action to impose a moratorium on evictions with talks on a new coronavirus relief plan stalled in Congress.
The White House is also exploring whether the president can act on his own to extend enhanced unemployment insurance payments that, like an eviction moratorium, were part of stimulus legislation enacted in March but now have expired.
“They’re not interested in unemployment, they’re not interested in evictions, which is a big deal,” Trump said of Democrats in remarks to reporters at the White House. “People are going to be evicted. But I’m going to stop it, because I’ll do it myself if I have to.”
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, wrapped up another meeting at the Capitol Monday with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer.
Pelosi called the session “productive,” and Schumer said “there is a desire to get something done” quickly.
The two sides are trying to close the gap between the $3.5 trillion Democratic plan passed by the House in May and the $1 trillion package of aid Senate Republicans introduced last week.
It wasn’t immediately clear how Trump would be able to accomplish either stopping evictions or extending unemployment aid without Congress acting, and the president offered no details.
Talks to break an impasse have become increasingly urgent with millions of jobless Americans left without additional aid, and the Senate scheduled to leave for an extended break on Friday. The expired $600-a-week supplemental unemployment and moratorium on evictions have become a focus as the coronavirus pandemic continues to surge across the country and economic data shows the economy still staggering.
Pelosi has rejected breaking off the unemployment aid or the eviction halt as separate pieces of legislation without an agreement on a comprehensive package of economic measures.
Meadows said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that he’s “not optimistic that there will be a solution in the very near term.”
Pelosi on Monday accused Republicans of focusing on ways to cut aid to the economy when much more stimulus is needed, pointing to spiking numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths as well the sustained high numbers of people filing claims for unemployment.
“It’s absolutely essential that we reach agreement,” she said on CNN. “We have an emergency. A building is on fire, and they are deciding how much water they want in the bucket.”
Adding to complications for the discussions, Trump has revived talk of cutting or suspending the payroll tax, something that lawmakers in both parties have rebuffed. Informal White House adviser Stephen Moore, in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece published Sunday, called on Trump to use executive action to suspend collection of the payroll tax, which funds Social Security and Medicare.
If the IRS were to stop collecting the payroll tax temporarily, companies and their employers would still be on the hook for that money unless Congress then forgave those tax liabilities before they came due.
The stimulus plan that passed the House in May, Democrats extended the $600 weekly supplemental pay through January. Senate Republicans argue such an amount discourages work and have presented several proposals to cut it to as little as $200 per week for two months and then cap it at 70% of wages.
A recent University of Chicago study found 68% of jobless workers eligible for benefits receive more in unemployment payments than they previously earned. But a Yale University study published last week found no evidence that the extra unemployment benefits discouraged people from returning to work.
Pelosi on CNN suggested she’s willing to discuss proposals floated by some Democrats in the House and Senate that would gradually shrink the unemployment aid as the jobless rate falls.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell plans to force votes as soon as Tuesday on various Republican plans to extend the unemployment payments. None are likely to pass, as some GOP senators are opposed to any additional stimulus spending and Democrats are unified behind their leadership in pushing for a comprehensive bill.
Besides the question of aid for the unemployed, roadblocks to a broader agreement include McConnell’s plan to shield employers against lawsuits stemming from COVID-19 infections, and Democrats’ drive to provide $1 trillion in aid to state and local governments.
Although the Senate is scheduled to take its August break after Friday, McConnell could keep the chamber in session past that deadline. The House went on its break, but Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said lawmakers would get called back to vote if there is an agreement.
