Tag: Senate GOP

McConnell wants FBI money out of coronavirus bill

The Hill logoSenate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) says he wants the $1.75 billion in funding for a new FBI headquarters in downtown Washington removed from the GOP’s coronavirus relief package.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, McConnell said he hopes that provision and other “non-germane” items will be removed from the legislation before it’s sent to President Trump’s desk.

“I am opposed to non-germane amendments, whether it’s funding for the FBI building or, for example, in the House bill, whether it’s a tax cut for high-income earners in blue states or other non-germane amendments in the House bill like marijuana studies or aid to illegal immigrants,” McConnell told reporters after GOP senators met for lunch with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, who are involved in negotiations with congressional Democrats on the COVID-19 package. Continue reading.

New Senate GOP coronavirus bill includes unrelated White House demand for FBI headquarters money

Washington Post logo$1.75 billion provision is not connected to the pandemic response but reflects Trump’s ongoing interest in a new downtown FBI building.

Under intense White House pressure, Senate Republicans agreed Monday to allocate $1.75 billion in their coronavirus relief bill toward the construction of a new D.C. headquarters for the FBI.

But top Senate Republicans immediately began distancing themselves from the provision after it was made public, saying they weren’t sure why the White House repeatedly insisted on putting it in the bill.

In calling for a new “Washington, DC headquarters facility,” the provision reflects President Trump’s ongoing interest in building a new headquarters for the FBI downtown, rather than a secure campus in the suburbs that was envisioned before he took office. Continue reading.

Republican leaders release $1 trillion coronavirus stimulus proposal

Axios logoAfter days of intense debate, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and other Republican leaders rolled out a roughly $1 trillion proposal for the next round of coronavirus relief funding, which has the White House’s seal of approval.

Why it matters: The HEALS Act (health, economic assistance, liability protection, schools) is viewed as a GOP marker for broader negotiations, since both Democrats and some Republicans have expressed dissatisfaction with key aspects of the bill. It’s expected to change significantly in the coming days.

  • Washington leaders are hopeful they can pass a final bill by mid-August, though that timetable will be extremely difficult given the stark differences in opinion on the substance of the legislation.
  • The price tag is also expected to increase given that Democrats want a $4 trillion package, despite sharp opposition from deficit hawks like Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.). GOP leaders have begrudgingly admitted they’ll need to meet Democrats somewhere in the middle. Continue reading.

Trump’s secret police in Portland — and GOP lawmakers’ complicity — could have 2020 consequences: polling

AlterNet logoPresident Donald Trump’s brutal ongoing crackdown on protests in Portland, Oregon and his threats to send federal agents into other major U.S. cities in the coming days could have electoral consequences for not only Trump but also vulnerable Republican senators in key battleground states who are up for re-election this November, according to polling released Friday by MoveOn Political Action.

Public Policy Polling (PPP) this week surveyed registered voters in Arizona, Maine, and North Carolina, and found that majorities in all three states oppose Trump’s deployment of federal agents in Portland. Some critics have charged the president’s tactics are part of a ploy to sow chaos across the country in an effort to “steal” the election in November, when he is expected to face off against former Vice President Joe Biden. Voters also want Congress to intervene. Continue reading.

‘This whole house of cards is gonna collapse’: GOP shutters Senate with US on verge of economic catastrophe

AlterNet logoAs Senate Republicans headed home for the weekend without extending unemployment insurance benefits or approving other economic relief programs that could help millions of Americans weather the ongoing financial catastrophe of the coronavirus pandemic, progressives and congressional Democrats warned that disaster is on the horizon.

“This whole house of cards is going to collapse,” Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) warned during a press conference Friday afternoon.

As Common Dreams reported, the departure of the GOP-controlled Senate for the weekend without a resolution to the benefits questions earned the upper chamber’s leadership a harsh rebuke in a speech from Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who called the decision by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to recess until Monday unacceptable. Continue reading.

McConnell says stimulus deal could take ‘a few weeks,’ putting millions with expiring jobless aid in limbo

Washington Post logoThe temporary $600 weekly benefit expires next week, and Republicans are seeking a way to scale it back

With days to go before enhanced jobless benefits expire, the White House and Senate Republicans are struggling to design a way to scale back the program without overwhelming state unemployment agencies and imperiling aid to more than 20 million Americans.

The hang-up has led to an abrupt delay in the introduction of the GOP’s $1 trillion stimulus package. The White House and Democrats have said they want a deal by the end of the month, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) suggested Friday that reaching an agreement could take several weeks, a timeline that could leave many unemployed Americans severely exposed.

“Hopefully we can come together behind some package we can agree on in the next few weeks,” McConnell said at an event in Ashland, Ky. Continue reading.

GOP, Democrats debate scope of stimulus checks

The Hill logoRepublicans and Democrats are both interested in including a second round of stimulus checks in the next coronavirus relief bill, but they are looking at different parameters for the payments.

House Democrats passed legislation in May that would keep the same income limits as the payments that have already largely been distributed, while Republicans have suggested that they may provide for lower limits in a forthcoming proposal.

Under the law passed in March that established the first round of payments, individuals with incomes of up to $75,000 and married couples making up to $150,000 qualified for the full amount, with the amount reduced for those with higher incomes. Individuals with incomes above $99,000 and married couples with no children and incomes above $198,000 are not eligible for any payment. Continue reading.

Senate GOP starts to unveil coronavirus proposal amid deep discord

Steven Mnuchin, Mark Meadows and Richard Shelby also announced a deal Wednesday night on the spending portion of the new package.

Senate Republicans started unveiling pieces of their new coronavirus relief bill on Wednesday, but negotiators remain undecided on several key issues.

Republican leadership briefed Senate GOP aides on the proposed legislation Wednesday afternoon. The Republican initiative is expected to include a temporary flat payment for unemployment insurance for two months, although the exact amount of the federal contribution wasn’t finalized, according to sources on the call. Beefed-up $600 federal unemployment payments begin expiring at the end of this week, a deadline that has spurred GOP leaders into action.

But GOP leaders also didn’t reveal whether their proposal will include a payroll tax cut, a top priority for President Donald Trump. Several GOP sources said the payroll tax cut “was out,” but Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) declined to confirm that as he walked out the Capitol on Wednesday night. Continue reading.

Senate GOP struggles to finalize $1 trillion coronavirus bill

Washington Post logoOne influential senator floats fallback option for extending unemployment benefits if they fail to make a deal

Senate Republicans struggled to finalize a $1 trillion coronavirus relief bill Wednesday, confronting internal divisions and continued White House demands for a payroll tax cut that most lawmakers oppose.

Several lawmakers speculated openly that they might be unable to make any deal with Democrats at all, suggesting the possible need for a stand-alone extension of unemployment benefits that expire at the end of this month.

Lawmakers and aides emphasized that their intention was to negotiate and pass a deal with Democrats in the next several weeks. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is readying a bill as a starting point for talks that he had hoped to launch as early as Wednesday, though that timeline slipped to Thursday as internal negotiations bogged down. Continue reading.

White House considers drug pricing executive order, prompting GOP pushback

The Hill logoThe White House is considering one or more executive orders aimed at lowering drug prices that could come as soon as this week, prompting pushback from some GOP lawmakers and the powerful pharmaceutical industry.

One idea under discussion, sources say, is to link some U.S. drug prices to the lower prices paid overseas, an idea that is opposed by many Republicans, who see it as a price control that violates free-market principles.

The looming executive action comes a little more than three months from the election, on an issue that is key to voters. Democrats have been pounding Republicans on the issue of health care, pointing to a President Trump-backed lawsuit to overturn the Affordable Care Act, and executive action on drug prices could be a way for Trump to try to counter on the issue.