If you’ve been following the development of this last round of stimulus funding, you know that things recently went south unexpectedly.
This is especially the case with another round of stimulus checks.
There was a lot of back-and-forth for months about whether or not the checks would go out and then all of a sudden all major parties involved seemed to be in clear agreement as to not only whether or not more checks should go out but the exact dollar amount and eligibility criteria.
It was honestly somewhat of a shock to see all sides agree on that issue and it looked like checks would be going out around this time.
Unfortunately, that did not happen and now some are even questioning whether or not stimulus checks will ever go out again.
And now there is a strong push developing within the Democratic Party to try to prioritize getting stimulus checks and other measures passed.
In fact, multiple letters have been sent to the House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi to get her to spur action.
Rep. Cindy Axne (D-Iowa) sent a letter to Pelosi asking her to “bring up a simplified, straightforward COVID-19 relief package.”
In this letter, the representative calls for extended unemployment benefits through the end of 2020, an eviction moratorium, continuation of the Payroll Protection Program, and another stimulus check.
She acknowledged that there were many ideas that were agreed-upon in the Senate and she expressed belief that they can “pass these measures in a COVID relief package in short order, further closing the gap of differences still to hammer out between our House Majority and the Administration.”
She also highlighted some truth about the Democrats proposal known as the Heroes act by basically stating that it was just too aspirational.
“Finally, I must insist that the next package does not include special favors and handouts. The Heroes Act included many important policy provisions that would have helped everyone – but it also included handouts that had nothing to do with helping Americans during this crisis.
By including things like tax breaks that overwhelmingly benefit the wealthy, $100 million for chartered fishing, expanded PPP eligibility for big oil and pharmaceutical lobbying groups, we fail to demonstrate the focus the American people ask of us.”
117 House Democrats (members of the New Democratic Coalition) also sent a letter to Mrs. Pelosi.
In this letter, they urged Pelosi to take on the USPS issue and also to think about legislation that would provide $600 in weekly unemployment benefits.
The main difference is that they would like to see these unemployment benefits extended “through the duration of the national COVID-19 public health emergency, provide for unlimited unemployment coverage weeks through January 2021, and then continue providing enhanced compensation and additional coverage weeks determined by national and state total unemployment rates.”
Blue Dog Coalition, comprised of 26 fiscally-responsible Democrats, also sent a letter to Pelosi calling for stimulus negotiations to resume this weekend and asking for enhanced unemployment benefits and stimulus checks among other things.
So as you can see, there is a strong push among different pockets of Democrats who would like to see negotiations resume and see specific provisions passed such as those related to unemployment benefits and stimulus checks.
So why isn’t Nancy Pelosi moving on these items?
She doesn’t believe that the timing is right.
In response to these ideas she stated, “we must consider their timing and strategic value. They cannot come at the expense of addressing the priorities of the Heroes Act — particularly support for our heroes in state and local government and education, who are in crisis.”
From the beginning of negotiations, Pelosi has been firm in her negotiating stance but with mounting pressure from Democrats, one has to wonder if she will begin to reconsider her stance on some of these issues.
Some experts have cited that the proposed amounts for things like unemployment benefits and local government aid are far beyond what is needed and so if that is the case hopefully rational minds will prevail and get something passed.
Because at this point, it’s starting to look like Pelosi is a little bit too attached to a wish list that doesn’t necessarily foster a swift and proportional resolution to the issues facing millions of Americans.
Related
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Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, and CNBC. Read my bio.
