“Federal coronavirus aid for airlines expires on Thursday with no renewal in sight, meaning massive layoffs for the industry aren’t far behind,” Axios reports.
“Airline workers aren’t alone on the unemployment line. Oil companies, tire manufacturers, book publishers and insurers are among those that have announced tens of thousands of layoffs. Federal aid through the CARES Act earlier this year delayed most layoffs — until now.”
Speaker Nancy Pelosi sounded very skeptical about a deal with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on a Democratic whip call, saying that Republicans and Democrats just don’t share the same values, Politico reports.
House Democrats delayed a vote on their own $2.2 trillion stimulus package to give more time for negotiations with the Trump administration, keeping alive hopes for a last-ditch deal, the Financial Times reports.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi decided to hold off on the vote after saying she was seeking “further clarification” on a new $1.5 trillion economic relief offer proposed on Wednesday by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
The economic collapse sparked by the pandemic is triggering the most unequal recession in modern U.S. history, delivering a mild setback for those at or near the top and a depression-like blow for those at the bottom, according to a Washington Post analysis.
Recessions often hit poorer households harder, but this one is doing so at a scale that is the worst in generations.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin failed to strike a coronavirus stimulus deal during a more than 90-minute meeting, CNBC reports.
“Retail bankruptcies, liquidations and store closings in the U.S. reached records in the first half of 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated industry changes, particularly the shift to online shopping,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Tens of thousands of airline workers will lose their jobs in a matter of days if Congress is unable to break through its gridlock, even though a majority of lawmakers support heading off the looming layoffs for an industry that’s been decimated by the coronavirus,” Politico reports.
“Airline unions have been pleading with Congress for months to extend the Payroll Support Program, a $32 billion program of airline payroll support grants given as part of the CARES Act, a condition of which required that airlines not involuntarily lay off workers until after Sept. 30. Without extending the program, which will require a $28 billion cash infusion, airlines say they will have to start laying off pilots, flight attendants, mechanics and more.”
Politico: “Pelosi and Mnuchin spoke Monday evening, according to Drew Hammill, Pelosi’s spokesman, and they plan to speak again Tuesday morning. If no agreement seems likely — and it hasn’t been despite months of on-and-off negotiations — Pelosi and House Democratic leaders will hold a vote on their own $2.2 trillion bill as soon as Wednesday and then go home, guaranteeing that Congress won’t send more help until after Election Day.”
Playbook: “Could a deal come together? Sure. It would require a massive capitulation on one side. We checked with a few very senior White House aides late Monday evening, and their view was if they are forced to negotiate off of Pelosi’s new, $2.2 trillion bill, this latest round of talks doesn’t stand much of a chance.”
“Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the White House will have to agree to ‘much more’ spending for a fresh round of stimulus if there is any hope of striking a deal before the election,” Bloomberg reports.
“Pelosi said she talked with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Sunday and plans to discuss the stimulus with him again on Monday. She held out hopes that they still can find a way to bridge the roughly $1 trillion gap between them on a plan to bolster the economy.”
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is readying a new, scaled-down package on coronavirus aid that would include assistance to airlines, restaurants and small businesses, the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Democratic aides said Mrs. Pelosi was aiming for a price tag of around $2.4 trillion, down from the $3.5 trillion bill that Democrats passed in May, but in the range of what Mrs. Pelosi has said she would be willing to move to in negotiations with the White House and Republicans.”
Joe Biden’s campaign released a letter signed by 13 winners of the Nobel Prize in economics who say that while their views are different, they all think his policies “will result in economic growth that is faster, more robust, and more equitable.”
Axios: “Before Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death Friday, most lawmakers and Hill staff believed there was little chance of passing a new stimulus package before the election. Now, they privately admit there’s virtually no shot.”
“Democrats and Republicans appeared even further away from a coronavirus relief deal on Thursday, despite mounting calls from rank-and-file lawmakers — and even President Donald Trump — for action,” Politico reports.
“With no mood for deal-making in either party, the House and Senate are leaving for the weekend with no progress on an agreement, casting further doubt that Congress can muster the political will to adopt another massive economic stimulus measure before the November election.”
“The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week to 860,000, a historically high figure that reflects economic damage from the coronavirus outbreak,” the AP reports.
“Before the pandemic hit the economy, the number signing up for jobless aid had never exceeded 700,000 in a week, even during the depths of the 2007-2009 Great Recession.”
“Senate Republicans on Wednesday brushed off calls from President Trump for a bigger coronavirus relief package, casting doubt on whether there is enough GOP support to move forward with additional economic stimulus measures just seven weeks before Election Day,” Politico reports.
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said that President Trump “is open to the compromise $1.52 trillion stimulus proposal from a bipartisan group of House lawmakers that was an effort to break a months-long deadlock over bolstering the U.S. economy amid the pandemic,” Bloomberg reports.
“The long-shot plan from a 50-member group of House Democrats and Republicans has a bigger total spending figure than the administration previously endorsed. It’s also higher than what Senate GOP leaders say would be acceptable to Republicans.”
President Trump urged Republican lawmakers to “go for the much higher numbers” in a pandemic relief package.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.