Important weeks ahead for next COVID relief bill
A sunset view of the Ottauquechee River in Woodstock, Vermont. (Gareth Henderson Photo)
Work continues on the Biden administration's COVID-19 relief plan, and U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is hoping for significant progress in the next two weeks.
The $1.9 trillion proposal could help the U.S. return to full employment in a year, Yellen told CNBC on Thursday. She said a plan of that size is needed to weather the economic storm of the pandemic. Some Republicans, who proposed a $618 billion package Democrats rejected, fear "overheating the economy" and causing inflation.
“Inflation has been very low for over a decade, and you know it’s a risk, but it’s a risk that the Federal Reserve and others have tools to address,” Yellen told CNBC. “The greater risk is of scarring the people, having this pandemic take a permanent lifelong toll on their lives and livelihoods.”
The administration's current proposal would provide $1,400 direct payments to most Americans and would begin gradually increasing the U.S. minimum wage to $15 per hour. The bill also has significant funding for vaccine distribution and COVID-19 testing, and it contains state and local funding that governors of both parties have been requesting for months.
The minimum wage increase, enhanced unemployment insurance and an expanded child tax credit in particular have drawn criticism from GOP lawmakers, Business Insider reports. COVID-related unemployment benefits start expiring on March 14.
Conversations continue between the Biden administration and some Senate Republicans about the relief bill, though the White House proposal has won no Republican support in Congress so far, according to ABC News.
Maryland’s Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, who met with President Joe Biden last week, warned the president against passing the relief bill with only Democratic support — which the majority could do. According to ABC, Hogan told Biden doing that may complicate future work on major issues like infrastructure or rebuilding the economy.
"I said to him, just because you can do something doesn't mean you should," Hogan told ABC News on Sunday. "And I said that I thought that it was good for his agenda over the next four years if he started out by getting some Republicans on board in a bipartisan way."
House leadership is hoping for a relief bill vote in that chamber by the end of next week.
According to a recent CBS News/YouGov poll, 83% of Americans approve of Congress passing a new economic relief package.
— Gareth Henderson
