Congress Returning to DC; Leaders Will Weigh More Relief

In the coming week, U.S. senators return to Washington, D.C., and Speaker of the House Pelosi said she will call House representatives back the week of May 11. Other than that, it’s been a quiet week in the nation’s capital.

Senate Leader Mitch McConnell’s top priority will be to confirm Trump Administration appointments and nominees to the Federal judiciary. Meanwhile, Speaker Pelosi has appointed Democratic members to a special Coronavirus Oversight Committee that will investigate how money was spent and decisions made during the crisis. The oversight is likely to raise the ire of President Donald Trump, adding to the challenge of finding bipartisan bills in the coming weeks.

Congress and the White House will need to decide the right balance weighing more relief by replenishing the various programs created by the CARES Act, so-called Phase 4, or moving on to economic stimulus in order to jumpstart the economy and get people back to work. Additionally, Leader McConnell has said giving liability protection to businesses against Coronavirus lawsuits is “a red line” for Senate Republicans in any Phase 4 package.

On the relief side, the top priority may be one more round of funding for the small business Payroll Protection Plan (PPP) if demand continues to outpace supply. The House is likely to look at another stimulus check, whether or not to add to the unemployment supplement period, and of course aid to state and local governments is already identified as a top issue with a partisan divide.

On the stimulus side, the House and White House have long argued for a big infrastructure proposal, while the White House may resurrect the President’s initial idea of cutting the payroll tax. First, however, the threshold issue of balancing relief vs stimulus needs to be hashed out.

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Congress Returning to DC; Leaders Will Weigh More Relief
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