Hang in there, America: Relief — some, anyway — should be on the way.
The Senate on Wednesday was thisclose to a $2 trillion rescue package that the White House fully backs. Yet lawmakers ran into a stumbling block over unemployment benefits.
It’s a whopper of spending, at a time when Washington is already running $1 trillion deficits. But the alternative could be economic collapse.
And negotiators came a long way. The package now includes such provisions as:
- $500 billion to allow the Fed to back $4 trillion in loans and stave off a debt crisis.
- $367 billion for small-business loans.
- $150 billion for state and local aid.
- $130 billion for hospitals.
- Broader eligibility for unemployment benefits and $600 more in payments.
- $3.8 billion for the MTA.
The heart of the bill: $1,200 checks for those making under $75,000 — and up to $3,400 per family.
Plus, the Senate version doesn’t include some grossly irrelevant goodies Democrats were demanding, like carbon-emission caps and wind and solar subsidies.
The late mess: Sen. Bernie Sanders threatened to hold up the bill unless it retains a provision that would let jobless workers collect more than they were making. Fix it, guys.
The package is far from perfect: Sen. Bernie Sanders was able to defend a provision that would let jobless workers collect more than they were making.
Upper-middle-class workers who are laid off won’t get that $1,200 check, even though lower-income workers who have kept their jobs will.
And Gov. Andrew Cuomo says the bill doesn’t give New York state government what it needs to get through, when the latest estimate suggests a revenue drop of up to $15 billion.
Now that the Senate has finished, the House needs to move fast. Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants to — but some members may resist.
Yet with the economy at risk, time is of the essence. This package is vital. Get it done fast — then see what else is needed.