Emergency Coronavirus Measure Introduced by House Democrats
Emergency Coronavirus Measure Introduced by House Democrats
(Bloomberg) -- House Democrats introduced their multibillion-dollar response to the economic dislocations caused by the coronavirus outbreak, legislation that would provide emergency paid sick leave, enhanced unemployment benefits, and free coronavirus testing.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to have the chamber vote on the bill Thursday, a day after President Donald Trump announced his own plan to try to contain the virus and deal with the economic impact.
Democrats said their plan was focused on the effects on workers who might face layoffs or loss of income if they get sick. It also would expand eligibility for food stamps, school lunches, infant feeding programs to aid those affected by the virus or the economic downturn and temporarily significantly increase federal spending on state Medicaid programs.
While the House plans to act Thursday, the Senate is unlikely to consider any legislation on the coronavirus outbreak before Congress goes on a week-long break.
The spread of the coronavirus is squeezing the U.S. economy. Stocks have whipsawed this week, and Trump’s brief address on Wednesday night appeared to give little confidence to investors that the U.S. is tightening its grip on the deadly virus.
The new emergency paid leave benefit would give workers up to two-thirds of their average monthly earnings -- capped at a $4,000 benefit per month -- for up to three months, provided their employers or states aren’t paying for that leave. Workers will have to have taken at least 14 emergency leave days related to COVID-19 to qualify.
The Social Security Administration would administer the program, and applications for payments would be made online, by phone or by mail, rather than in person.
The bill also would require private health insurance to cover virus testing without copays and to eliminate fees for patients covered by Medicare, Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program and the Indian health service. The plan would directly pay laboratories for tests of the uninsured through a new federal fund.
The House bill would increase the federal reimbursement to states to encourage them to expand Medicaid eligibility to more low-income individuals. A temporary higher Medicaid match for states was also part of President Barack Obama’s stimulus package in 2009 to stem the financial crisis. It’s a fast way to get more money to states and gives them more incentives to expand Medicaid coverage.
The plan also would provide increased funding to the states for unemployment insurance and offers incentives for states to reduce barriers to receiving benefits.
‘Terrible Choice’
“We cannot fight coronavirus effectively unless everyone in our country who needs to be tested knows they can get their test free of charge,” Pelosi said in a statement. “We cannot slow the coronavirus outbreak when workers are stuck with the terrible choice between staying home to avoid spreading illness and the paycheck their family can’t afford to lose.”
A Trump administration official said the House measure addresses some of the issues the president wants to address but ignores some key requests by the White House. The official, who wasn’t authorized to speak on the record, accused Democrats of using the bill to push their partisan priorities.
Pelosi spoke by telephone twice on Wednesday with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to discuss the legislation, her spokesman Drew Hammill said on Twitter.
Other coronavirus-response measures are expected to be put forward later, possibly related to economic stimulus and infrastructure projects, a House aide said.
Trump on Wednesday said the U.S. will significantly restrict travel from Europe to the U.S. for the next 30 days and laid out a series of fiscal measures to deal with the economic fallout from the rapid spread of a disease he labeled a “foreign virus.”
--With assistance from Billy House, Laura Litvan, Josh Wingrove, Alexander Ruoff and Steven T. Dennis.
To contact the reporters on this story: Erik Wasson in Washington at ewasson@bloomberg.net;Laura Davison in Washington at ldavison4@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Laurie Asséo
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.