WASHINGTON – Nearly every state in the U.S. will be reopening to some degree by the end of this week, yet Congress has no agreement for anything in a fifth stimulus package. The impasse falls, predictably, along party lines: Senate Republicans say lawmakers should be focused on reopening not relief; Democrats say they want to help keep people inside and help cushion the financial impact of the virus.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi admitted Wednesday she has yet to have any discussions with the other party or the Trump administration about another relief plan. The San Francisco Democrat said she had not been approached by anyone in the administration nor anyone from the Republican Senate leadership regarding negotiations.
Another Democratic leader, Los Angeles Representative Maxine Waters, said she believes talks between parties could start soon, but as of right now, it seems each side is still gathering intelligence from their own party. House Democrats are consulting with Senate Democrats in regard to what their constituents need.
The Democrat-backed HEROES Act includes money to state and local governments, protections for immigrants, and $1,200 stimulus checks for adults and children.
San Bernardino Democrat Pete Aguilar is on the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and pays close attention to the minority groups in California. He also is the Vice-Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, which is responsible for allocating funds during this time.
Aguilar said he knows each party will have its own priories and ‘wish lists,' but that he hopes the Senate will pick up the HEROES Act soon and start negotiations, for the people’s sake.
“The prior four bills were done in a bipartisan way and in order for this to get done we understand that we’re going to have to have bipartisan support,” Aguilar said. “But we can’t be held hostage by Mitch McConnell’s whims so we’re going to continue to work, to advocate for this essential funding because we know public sentiment supports strong, robust funding for states and counties and our local cities and we encourage folks to make their voices heard.”
Republicans, like Bakersfield’s Kevin McCarthy, said Democrats are “politicizing” the stimulus bill and “prioritizing illegal immigrants.”
GOP leadership said there are several sticking points to what they want in the next relief bill. This includes infrastructure, payroll tax cuts, and a plan to fix the PPP Loan program to allow more flexibility for how businesses can spend their money.
Newly elected Republican Mike Garcia said he wants to safely reopen his district as soon as possible rather than pass more relief bills now.
“I think there’s still some money from the original $3 trillion that needs to be fully realized and put out on the streets,” Garcia said. “We need to see the effects of that before we do anything crazy, which is how I would characterize the last phase brought forth by Speaker Pelosi. We need to look at the effects of those first four phases and really help small businesses and large corporations turn the lights back on and get people employed again.”
Another key component for Republican senators is to protect businesses from frivolous lawsuits related to the coronavirus. The Senate has vowed to block the HEROES Act. This week House members are home in their districts while the Senate conducts business on the floor unrelated to the coronavirus.