Pelosi Confronts Moderates-Liberals Rift on ‘Big and Bold’ Aid
Pelosi Confronts Moderates-Liberals Rift on ‘Big and Bold’ Aid
(Bloomberg) -- Some moderate House Democrats facing re-election in tightly contested districts are pushing back against demands from party’s progressive wing for an expansive new coronavirus relief package and urging compromise with Republicans to get the bill through Congress quickly.
Democrats are debating a host of proposals for the next round of aid, including extending jobless benefits and providing more cash payments to individuals.
They’re also arguing over whether to pass a Democrats-only measure before starting talks with the GOP-controlled Senate and White House. Some moderates are showing an openness to Republican ideas such as tax breaks and liability protection for businesses.
The swing-district Democrats, who are key to the party’s House majority, are influential with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who said Thursday she’s not drawing hard lines on what the next relief package must include. She said House Democrats could present and vote on their plan as soon as next week, while also describing it as a starting point for negotiations with President Donald Trump’s administration and Senate Republicans.
“This bill should be singularly focused on addressing the Covid health and economic crisis and it should in all ways be bipartisan,” Florida Democrat Stephanie Murphy said. “There are so many people suffering in my community, they cannot suffer because of partisan games.”
Progressive House Democrats advocate using the next bill to promote plans for guaranteed income, higher auto-emission standards and bolstered health care. They seek to showcase those priorities even if it means the House passes a bill with no bipartisan support. New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a high-profile progressive, voted against the last stimulus bill, saying it didn’t provide enough direct aid to individuals.
That’s opened to door to attacks by Republicans, who have preemptively accused Democrats of trying to use the relief plan to enact a liberal wish list of policy proposals that have nothing to do with the coronavirus pandemic.
Focused on Covid
Moderates want a smaller bill and are more sympathetic to Republican demands for liability protection for businesses and to limit unemployment insurance once state economies reopen to encourage a return to work.
“If it can’t get bipartisan support and doesn’t address coronavirus-related issues, it shouldn’t be in the bill,” said Murphy, whose Orlando-area district was narrowly won by Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Oklahoma Democrat Kendra Horn echoed those sentiments. President Donald Trump carried her Oklahoma City-area district by double digits.
“We can’t get caught in pet projects or ideological spats that turn into political footballs that keep us from actually taking a step forward,” Horn said. “Our support and our relief need to be tied to the effects of Covid.”
No ‘Political Message’
Democratic lawmakers have until Friday to submit their views to leaders, and the earliest release of a draft bill isn’t expected until Monday.
“The first thing that’s going to be necessary is for us to have a package on which we have agreement in the Democratic caucus. We’re getting very close to having that,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said this week.
Hoyer acknowledged the moderates’ concerns, though, in saying the House approach should not just be a wish list.
“We want to see a bill that’s signed. We just don’t want a political message,” said Hoyer.
Pelosi -- who has emphasized that the first four coronavirus bills were bipartisan agreements -- has said the next package must be “big and bold” but also told members to be realistic during a conference call this week.
House Democrats are in broad agreement that the package should have aid for states and localities facing severe revenue shortfalls due to the economic lockdown, and that it should include funds for health care and voting by mail in November.
Disincentive to Work
More contentious are plans to extend the current $600 per week boost in unemployment insurance to the end of this year. Some economists argue that in states where this gives workers more money than they earned in their pre-virus jobs, it would delay the economic recovery by creating a disincentive to return to work.
The $2.2 trillion stimulus bill passed in March authorized one-time $1,200 payments to individuals making less than $75,000 per year, with $500 extra for each child. Progressives have argued for increasing this to $2,000 and making it a quarterly sum until the end of the recession.
House Progressive Caucus Co-Chair Pramila Jayapal is advocating a government paycheck guarantee for salaries up to $100,000.
This may go too far for moderates like Horn.
“I think I understand where many of the business owners are coming from,” she said. “Universal basic income, the problem with that is it is not targeted” to the effects of the Covid pandemic.
Murphy said the bill instead should focus on fixing problems with the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program, which provides forgivable loans to companies that keep employees on staff. Murphy also wants to expand a separate employee retention tax credit to encourage businesses to retain workers so they can keep their employer-sponsored health insurance.
Horn said she wants to expand the PPP program to let businesses spend more than 25% of their loan on fixed overhead costs such as rent.
Liability Protection
Pelosi, looking for consensus in her caucus, has discussed linking expansions in unemployment insurance to economic metrics. The speaker also has spoken in favor of expanding food stamp funds, as favored by progressives, and revising the PPP loan rules, as favored by the moderates.
The speaker told reporters Thursday that the House plan for the virus bill is a starting point for talks with Republicans, in any case.
“Don’t draw any lines in the sand. We’re not,” said Pelosi.
While Pelosi argued against Trump’s demand for capital gains and payroll tax cuts in the next bill, some moderates say they could see a deal with Republicans including liability protections for businesses sought by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
McConnell said he’s open to some aid to states, but that any future bill must have limits on lawsuits against businesses and health-care workers by people who may have been exposed to the virus. Companies need such protection to encourage them to reopen and spur the recovery, he said.
Horn expressed support for the idea. “We also need to ensure that good actors and businesses that are doing their best to meet the standards have some protection. I think there is a middle ground,” she said.
Murphy said she’s open to a conversation on liability in connection with clearer government workplace standards to protect workers from the virus.
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