The proposal on the eve of Republicans’ unveiling of a larger aid bill amounts to a concession that the two parties are unlikely to reach a deal before benefits expire.
Top Trump administration officials proposed on Sunday potentially short circuiting free-ranging stimulus talks with Democrats to rush through a much narrower bill prioritizing an extension of federal unemployment benefits that are set to expire this week for millions of Americans.
Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff, said he would now like to see lawmakers act this week to extend and alter the unemployment program, give tax credits to businesses to help ease reopening costs and grant employers new liability protections — while setting aside a long list of other objectives, including Democrats’ priorities.
“Perhaps we put that forward, get that passed, as we can negotiate on the rest of the bill in the weeks to come,” Mr. Meadows said on ABC’s “This Week.”
The proposal, echoed by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in his own Sunday morning interview, was a last-ditch effort by Republicans to prevent the program from lapsing as signs mounted that the nation’s economy was once again weakening amid a resurgence of coronavirus cases. But as they prepared to roll out their own more expansive relief legislation on Monday, it amounted to a concession that Republicans, slowed by their own internal divisions, were unlikely to reach a deal on a comprehensive relief package with Democrats before millions begin losing a $600-a-week benefit that has helped contain the economic carnage.
With Democrats already on record in opposition to a piecemeal approach, a narrow fix is almost certainly dead on arrival. Republicans know that, suggesting their Sunday proposal may in part be anegotiating tactic laying the groundwork to blame the opposition party when the funds ultimately expire.
Democrats passed their own $3 trillion proposal — which also includes money to bail out states and cities, fully fund the $600 federal jobless benefit and infuse billions more into the nation’s health care system — in May and view the time pinch now as a problem of Republicans’ making that only gives them more leverage in shaping a final bill.
“We’ve been anxious to negotiate for two months and 10 days,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Sunday on the CBS program “Face the Nation.” She said Congress could not leave town for its annual August recess until a deal was struck and noted that she spent the weekend waiting to hear from the other party and begin talks.
