July 30, 2020
By: Staff Report
WASHINGTON, D.C.- Nothing was accomplished today for millions of Americans who are struggling financially.
“It makes it the pending business for next week,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) told reporters on Thursday. “And we can keep talking and hopefully making progress because no progress is being made anywhere else.”
“I don’t have a lot of confidence right now,” said Senator Doug Jones (D-Al.), “The problem is going to be, as I understand it, McConnell is going to start playing these political games again and putting things up for a vote. That’s gonna be a real problem. That’s crazy. It’s appalling the way that this has come down.”
“We’re nowhere close to a deal,” White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told reporters on Wednesday afternoon. “It means enhanced unemployment insurance provisions will expire.”
The additional benefits from the CARES Act expire tomorrow, Friday July 31, and the final payment with the extra $600 went out this past weekend. This means unemployed or underemployed Americans will receive much smaller benefits in their unemployment checks next week.
As states, like Florida, are seeing increases in COVID-19 cases and deaths, fully opening up the states, is not something that’s going to happen anytime soon. With mandatory masks orders in place and the phase-2 reopening plan frozen in time, small businesses are struggling to keep the lights on.
A few Republican senators are pitching a last-minute proposal, that would extend the unemployment benefits as a gap measure while Senators start a game of ping pong with further stimulus.
“Unemployed workers should not be left in limbo while Congress continues to negotiate the next relief package,” U.S. Senator Mitt Romney said in a statement. “Our solution extends the supplemental benefits for three months and incentivizes states to update their UI processing systems. We should act with urgency to help the millions of Americans who are on the verge of losing these additional benefits.”
President Donald Trump would also support approving short-term legislation to allow more time for talks if the parties fail to strike an agreement before Friday.
“We’re not accepting that,” Pelosi told reporters after the meeting, saying she wants a “comprehensive” bill.
The GOP released their bill, The American Workers, Families, and Employers Assistance Act, and you can read it in its entirety below.