'We're not going to use taxpayer money to pay people more to stay home': Mnuchin promises to scale back unemployment benefits in new $1 trillion coronavirus package as he reveals next round of $1,200 checks will be sent out in August
Steven Mnuchin and Mark Meadows will return to Capitol Hill Sunday afternoon to continue negotiations over the most recent $1 trillion coronavirus relief bill, which they claim will include a cut back on unemployment benefits and another round of stimulus checks.
Meadows, President Donald Trump’s Chief of Staff, and Mnuchin, his Treasury Secretary, said Saturday that the next legislation will scale back unemployment benefits to up to 70 per cent of their normal wages in an effort to incentivize individuals to go back to work.
"We're not going to use taxpayer money to pay people more to stay home,” Mnuchin told reporters outside the Capitol following a meeting with lawmakers Saturday, referencing the $600 bonus for those left without a job during the pandemic.
“I think workers and Americans understand the concept that you shouldn't be paid more to stay home than to work,” Mnuchin reiterated during an interview with Fox News’ Chris Wallae Sunday morning.
“The fair thing is to replace wages,” he continued.
Mnuchin also vowed there will be a second round of $1,200 stimulus checks sent out in August.
The duo is hoping to negotiate with Senate Republicans over the specifics of the bill to gain a solid position before talks with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Pelosi wouldn’t say Sunday morning whether she would accept a proposal that did not include the boosted unemployment benefits.
“You don’t go into a negotiation with a redline but you do go in with your values,” the California Democrat told CBS News’ Margaret Brenner during an interview on Face the Nation Sunday.
She also said the $600 figure was agreed upon because it was simple, in contrast to the Republican proposal of 70 per cent of wages, which she said would be much more difficult to figure out and organize.
While speaking to reporters at the Capitol on Saturday, Mnuchin explained: “We were in an emergency last time, so we instituted this quickly.”
He also acknowledged that Republicans knew this was a ‘fundamental issue’ when it made it into the previous relief package.
'In certain cases, people were paid more to stay home than they were to work,' the Treasury secretary lamented. 'And I think that's something the American public understands.'
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said Sunday that the Republican bill will not extend the $600 in unemployment benefits.
'The original benefits will not [be extended],' Meadows told ABC News' This Week host George Stephanapoulos. 'The original unemployment benefits actually paid people to stay home, and actually a lot of people got more money staying at home than they would going back to work.'
The $600 per week unemployment benefits end this week, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says Republicans have no intention of renewing it in the next coronavirus relief bill
Mnuchin (left) and Chief of Staff Mark Meadows (right) told reporters at the Capitol Saturday the next Republican coronavirus legislation will seek to scale back unemployment benefits
'We're not going to use taxpayer money to pay people more to stay home,' Mnuchin said, adding: 'In certain cases, people were paid more to stay home than they were to work'
Mnuchin told Fox News Sunday's Chris Wallace that the administration gave up on getting a payroll tax cut into the legislation because 'in our conversations with Pelosi and Schumer, it was very clear that the Democrats were not going to give us a payroll tax cut'
Meadows detailed to ABC News' This Week host George Stephanapoulos Sunday that the new benefits would give people up to 70 per cent of the wages they were making before they lost their job
The new package will comes as coronavirus cases continue to surge in the U.S. in recent weeks
Some of Republicans' biggest complaints about the last sweeping stimulus bill is that it incentivizes people to stay home and collect a check rather than go back into the workforce.
Mnuchin and Meadows detailed that the new legislation would transition to a 'wage replacement' unemployment insurance system.
'We talked about approximately 70 per cent wage replacement,' Mnuchin said – meaning those who lost their job or are unable to work in the midst of the pandemic would be given up to 70 per cent of their usual earnings.
Mnuchin detailed that Republicans will roll out the next coronavirus relief package on Monday, also promising that along with the aide will be another round of $1,200 direct checks for Americans in August.
He also assured following meetings with Meadows that the bill has backing from the White House.
Mnuchin also detailed in an interview with Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace that the administration swiftly gave up on trying to get in a payroll tax cut because it was clear Democrats would not budge on the issue.
'Well, in our conversations with Pelosi and Schumer, it was very clear that the Democrats were not going to give us a payroll tax cut,' Mnuchin told Wallace Sunday morning. 'So that's something the president will come back and look at later in the year –'
Wallace cut into Mnuchin's answer, pushing him on if there was Republican support for the measure Trump has been pushing.
'There are other Republicans that supported it, and let me just say – again, we know we need bipartisan support. We have tax credits that we put in here to incentivize people to get back to work and small businesses to hire people. We have the direct payments,' he said.
Mnuchin also assured: 'As you know, the direct payments are much quicker way of effectively giving everybody a tax cut and it's much quicker than the payroll tax cut.'
Meadows and Mnuchin met with Republicans and GOP staff on Capitol Hill to salvage the $1 trillion proposal – and the secretary told reporters there one of Trump's biggest concerns is extending but reducing the expiring unemployment benefits.
Mnuchin called the $600 weekly aid 'ridiculous' and a disincentive for people to go back to work.
'We want to move forward quickly. The bill will be introduced Monday and we're prepared to act quickly,' Mnuchin said of the bill, adding the president would 'absolutely' support the emerging Republican package.
'This is all about kids and jobs,' he continued. 'This is our focus and we want to make sure something gets passed quickly so that we deal with the unemployment and all the other issues.'
Mnuchin also vowed Saturday that the next round of $1,200 coronavirus stimulus checks will be sent out in August
Mnuchin (right) said Republicans are 'moving quickly' to get the $1 trillion measure passed after he and Donald Trump's Chief of Staff Mark Meadows (left) met with GOP lawmakers at the Capitol
Trump's push for another coronavirus aide bill comes as he has continued to slip in public polls, especially over his handling of the pandemic.
But the president has denounced the poll numbers as 'fake,' assuring he has a high amount of enthusiasm for his reelection in November.
'The Trump Campaign has more ENTHUSIASM, according to many, than any campaign in the history of our great Country - Even more than 2016,' Trump tweeted Sunday morning. 'Biden has NONE!'
'The Silent Majority will speak on NOVEMBER THIRD!!!' he touted. 'Fake Suppression Polls & Fake News will not save the Radical Left.'
Mnuchin's optimistic assessment of the new legislation came before Democrats weighed in publicly on the updated proposal, which remained only a starting point in negotiations with House and Senate Democratic leaders.
He said he recently called House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer ahead of shuttle negotiations next week on the broader deal.
Since the COVID-19 threat hit the U.S., Mnuchin has acted as the liaison between the White House and Congress, specifically with Democrats.
But while Mnuchin, who is friendly with Democrats and has donated to them in the past, is making efforts in Congress – Trump continues to bash Pelosi, and other opposition leadership, for their responses to coronavirus.
'Crazy Nancy Pelosi said I made a mistake when I banned people from infected China from entering the U.S. in January,' Trump reminded in a tweet Sunday.
'Tens of thousands of lives were saved, as she danced in the Streets of Chinatown (SF) in late February,' he continued. 'Biden agreed with her, but soon admitted that I was right!'
Trump is pushing for another sweeping relief package with stimulus checks attached as his poll numbers continue to slip in regards to his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. But he instead deflects to touting the 'enthusiasm' for his reelection
The White House and Senate Republicans are racing to regroup after plans to introduce another $1 trillion rescue bill collapsed Thursday amid GOP infighting over its size, scope and details.
The original bill measures were expected to bring $105 billion to help schools reopen in the fall, new money for testing and benefits for businesses – including a fresh round of loans, tax breaks and a sweeping liability shield from COVID-related lawsuits.
But as Republicans struggled over the details, the White House team downplayed the differences with the GOP senators as overblown and said Trump was focused on providing relief.
'The president has been very clear. He wants to make sure that the American people have what they need during this unprecedented time,' Meadows said, 'to make sure not only the money is there but the programs.'
The expiration of the $600 weekly jobless benefits boost had been propelling the Republicans to act. Democrats already approved their sweeping $3 trillion plan from Pelosi two months ago. But with millions of Americans about to be suddenly cut off from the aid starting Saturday, they were bracing to prevent social and economic fallout.
The White House floated plans to cut the additional aid back to $100 a week, while Senate Republicans preferred $200, with general agreement about phasing out the flat boost in favor of one that ensures no more than 70% of an employee's previous pay.
Mnuchin also said the $1,200 direct payments would be based on the same formula from the earlier aid bill. Individuals making $75,000 or less, for example, received the full amount and those making more than $75,000 received less than $1,200 depending on their income. Individuals earning above $100,000 did not qualify for the payment.
'We´ll get the majority of them out in August and those will help people,' Mnuchin said.
The administration officials said the overall package remained at $1 trillion, apparently on par with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's original draft.
Democrats had warned time was running out, saying Republicans were in disarray.
Unemployment levels skyrocketed as coronavirus hit the U.S. and states were forced to go on lockdown – effectively closing for months all restaurants, gyms, movie theaters, shops, malls and other brick and mortar public commerce
Millions of Americans were left either laid off, furloughed or temporarily laid off and instead began collecting the increase unemployment benefits of $600 extra per month upon the passage of the first emergency relief package
The jobless benefit officially expires July 31, but due to the way states process unemployment payments, the cutoff was effectively Saturday. Other aid, including a federal eviction moratorium on millions of rental units, also expires at month's end.
The GOP plan was not expected to come to a vote but serve as a counter-offer to Democrats. That strategy enabled McConnell, who did not have full support from his GOP majority, to avoid having to endure a failed outcome. But it also gave Democrats some leverage in insisting on their priorities as part of any final deal.
The path ahead remained uncertain, but both sides were scrambling to reach a deal.
McConnell, who spent time over the weekend in his home state of the Kentucky, said Friday he hoped a package could be agreed on 'in the next few weeks.'
'We're not going to use taxpayer money to pay people more to stay home': Mnuchin promises to scale back unemployment benefits in new $1 trillion coronavirus package as he reveals next round of $1,200 checks will be sent out in August
!['We're not going to use taxpayer money to pay people more to stay home': Mnuchin promises to scale back unemployment benefits in new $1 trillion coronavirus package as he reveals next round of $1,200 checks will be sent out in August]()
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July 27, 2020
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