On Thursday, Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, stated that the White House will not let Party differences derail second stimulus package negotiations. Just hours later, the President states that he is willing to raise the White House’s stimulus bill proposal.
The current stimulus bill proposed by the White House has a price tag of $1.8 trillion. The stimulus package passed by the Democrats has a price tag of $2.2 trillion. The gap is huge, but it looks like the lawmakers are getting desperate to pass a bill before the November presidential elections.
In an interview with Fox Business, Donald Trump said that he is absolutely willing to negotiate higher price tags. He further blamed Speaker Pelosi for delaying the second stimulus package. The president also added that the delay will hurt Nancy Pelosi in the upcoming elections.
Additionally, President Trump also expressed disappointment over Treasury Secretary Mnuchin’s negotiation performance. Taking a dig, he said that Mnuchin has not brought anything home yet, indicating the stimulus package non-negotiation.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin Says Both Parties Agree On The Importance Of COVID-19 Testing And Tracing
One of the main points of contention between the two parties is that Democrats want to significantly increase funds for COVID-19 testing. While interviewing CNBC, Steven Mnuchin seemed to be ceding ground.
Mnuchin said that they have agreed to channel $178 billion for healthcare in the stimulus bill negotiations. He also added that they agree to allocate $75 billion specifically to COVID-19 contact tracing.
Furthermore, he elaborated that both the parties basically see eye to eye in healthcare funds, save for some tiny issues. He added that the issue is getting overblown.
Speaker Pelosi Says White House Stimulus Bill Proposal Is Insufficient
After the White House revealed their $1.8 trillion stimulus package, the House Democrats criticized it saying that it was insufficient.
While the White House seems eager to pass a second stimulus bill, several Republicans are resisting giving in to the Democratic Party.
Mitch McConnell indicated that he will not agree to any stimulus package with a price tag bigger than $1.9 trillion. Additionally, he has indicated that the $500 billion stimulus bill proposed by the Republican Party is more appropriate for the circumstances.
The news follows the Labor Department’s unemployment claims. They reported that the American labor market is slowing down even further. Moreover, top banks have also expressed the urgent need for a stimulus package in order to avoid a deeper recession.
On 10th October, the number of people applying for unemployment increased to an astounding 898,000. This is the highest level of unemployment on record since 22nd August.
Trump had tweeted that he had put a stop to stimulus package negotiations in October. Soon, the course reversed.
