WASHINGTON:
US lawmakers urgently negotiating a US$1 trillion emergency package to salvage
an economy ravaged by the coronavirus missed a Republican-imposed deadline to
reach an agreement by the end of Friday (Mar 20).
Senate
Republicans were seeking a rapid deal in order to hold a final vote Monday on a
Bill aimed at allocating vast sums of federal dollars to American households as
well as for industries that help form the backbone of a suddenly teetering
economy.
But Democrats
have been pushing for stronger worker protections and more substantial outlays
for families devastated by the crisis, and the party's top Democrat Chuck
Schumer said the Republican package was "inadequate" for millions of
Americans facing dire straits.
Negotiations
stalled despite Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell setting a Friday night
deadline.
Senators said
they would work through the weekend, and if a deal is struck Saturday then a
first procedural vote is likely Sunday.
Negotiators
held talks with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and other administration
officials to thrash out a compromise over the massive federal intervention.
McConnell's
proposal includes onetime "recovery rebates" of up to US$1,200 for
most adults, and hundreds of billions of dollars in loan guarantees to
industries hit by the crisis, including airlines, and to small businesses.
"That
would allow a bipartisan package focused on immediate challenges to pass the
Senate Monday" before it goes to the House of Representatives, McConnell
said.
The top
Democrat in Congress, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, joined some of the
negotiations by phone. Afterwards, she said McConnell's proposal "puts
corporations ahead of working people."
"As
written, it is a non-starter," she said in a letter to Democratic
colleagues.
Schumer,
warning that more dramatic assistance would be necessary, called for a
beefed-up worker support plan.
And he said
McConnell's bid insufficiently addresses the chronic shortage of intensive care
beds, ventilator machines, masks and other medical equipment.
Republicans
have signalled they could come back with an additional emergency funding Bill
after this Phase Three legislation passes Congress, but Schumer rejected that
approach.
"Later
is no good," he said.
"WE WILL DO IT"
The race to
approve a relief package came as New York and Illinois became the latest states
to order residents to stay at home, after California issued similar dramatic
containment measures.
The need for
rapid government intervention became more apparent as unemployment claims for
the week ending Mar 14 shot up well beyond consensus forecasts due to layoffs
from the coronavirus crisis.
President
Donald Trump said he spoke by phone with Schumer and that they had a "very
good" conversation.
"There's
tremendous spirit to get something done," Trump said.
The top
Republican priorities in the bill are "direct financial help" for
Americans, relief for businesses, stabilisation of the economy and job
protection, according to McConnell.
"Our
Bill recognises that a big structural national crisis requires a big,
structural response," McConnell said.
But Democrats
believe McConnell's measure leaves out critical provisions such as expanded
unemployment insurance beyond one-time payments, additional paid family leave
and paid sick leave, and prioritisation of financial aid to American workers
over corporations.
"None of
that is in (McConnell's) Bill," Schumer told reporters. "We're going
to fight hard to get them in."
Schumer
suggested a deal could be reached, despite chasms of disagreement.
"We're
going to have to work across the aisle ... to produce momentous legislation in
the span of a few days," he said. "We will do it, because we must do
it."
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