Grueling negotiations at the Capitol over the nearly $2 trillion coronavirus rescue package continued throughout the night Monday, and Congressional leaders said they expected to reach a deal Tuesday.
For 48 hours, Democrats stalled a critical relief bill that will help slow the economic crisis and provide much-needed supplies for overwhelmed hospitals, critics say.
Led by Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Democratic lawmakers demanded a “Christmas in March” bill that included solar panel tax credits, airline carbon emission taxes, and a massive wishlist.
The relief bill has exploded from an already sizable $1 trillion proposed by the White House, and what is going to be passed Tuesday is closer to $2 trillion — the largest spending bill in U.S. history.
One analyst compared the relief bill to a “phonebook” that was so bloated no one knows everything that’s written inside.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Schumer said they had spoken by phone with President Donald Trump during the long night of negotiations. While the two sides have resolved many issues in the sweeping package, some remain.
At midnight Monday, they emerged separately to say talks would continue into the night.
“We look forward to having a deal tomorrow,” Mnuchin told reporters after exiting Schumer’s office.
“The president is giving us direction,” Mnuhcin said. “The president would like to have a deal, and he’s hopeful we can conclude this.”
Moments later, Schumer agreed that a deal was almost within reach. “That’s the expectation — that we finish it tomorrow and hopefully vote on it tomorrow evening,” he said.
The massive package is a far-reaching effort to prop up the U.S. economy, help American households and bolster the health care system amid the growing crisis. Mnuchin said talks were expected to resume at 9:30 a.m. EDT.
Tensions flared Monday as Washington strained to respond to the worsening coronavirus outbreak.
As the U.S. braces for an onslaught of sick Americans, and millions are forced indoors to avert a spike that risks overwhelming hospitals, the most ambitious federal intervention in modern times is testing whether Washington can act swiftly to deal with the pandemic on the home front.
“It’s time to get with the program, time to pass historic relief,” said an angry Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell earlier in the day as he opened the chamber after Pelosi rushed to D.C. to halt the weekend deal at the last minute. “This is a national emergency.”
Fuming, McConnell warned Democrats — pointedly Pelosi — to quit stalling on “political games,” as he described Democratic efforts to steer aid towards pet projects.
Trump, who has largely been hands off from the negotiations, weighed in late Monday from the White House briefing room, declaring that Congress should vote “for the Senate bill as written,” dismissing any Democratic proposal.
“It must go quickly,” Trump said. “This is not the time for political agendas.”
The Republican president also sounded a note of frustration about the unprecedented modern-day effort to halt the virus’ march by essentially shutting down public activities in ways that now threaten the U.S. economy.
Even though Trump’s administration recommended Americans curtail activities starting a week ago, the president said: “We cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself. At the end of the 15-day period, we will make a decision as to which way we want to go.”
“Let’s go to work,” he said. “This country was not built to be shut down. This is not a county that was built for this.”
On the other side of the aisle, Pelosi assailed Trump’s fluctuating response to the crisis and said Republicans were being too generous to big businesses.
“He’s a notion-monger, just tossing out things that have no relationship to a well-coordinated, science-based, government-wide response to this,” Pelosi said on a health care conference call.
From his home, Democratic presidential rival Joe Biden criticized Trump for stopping short of using the full force of emergency federal authority .
“Trump keeps saying he’s a wartime president,” Biden said in an online address. “Well, start acting like one.”
On the economic front, the Federal Reserve announced Monday it will lend to small and large businesses and local governments as well as extend its bond-buying programs as part of a series of sweeping steps to support the flow of credit through an economy ravaged by the viral outbreak.
Central to the emerging rescue package is as much as $350 billion for small businesses to keep making payroll while workers are forced to stay home. The package also proposes a one-time rebate of about $1,200 per person, or $3,000 for a family of four, as well as extended unemployment benefits.
Hospitals would get about $110 billion for the expected influx of sick patients, said Mnuchin.
The urgency to act is mounting, as jobless claims skyrocket and financial markets are eager for signs that Washington can soften the blow of the health-care crisis and what experts say is a looming recession.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. The vast majority of people recover from the new virus. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover.
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The Associated Press contributed to this article