PHASE 3: PROFIT ... The Senate hasn’t even passed their second coronavirus package yet, and work is already underway on a third package to juice the economy. Some GOP lawmakers think they can pass legislation as soon as this week. It seems incredibly ambitious, but Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) raised this point: “I don’t think we can assume that we can keep reconvening the Senate every week like we did this week,” he told reporters. “With what might happen to airlines or travel schedules, with individual members having to go into quarantine or being exposed — I don’t think we can operate as if we can just bring the Senate and House back whenever we want.”
Senior administration officials met with several senators Monday and are planning to pitch the broader GOP conference on a third coronavirus relief bill today. Officials want to prop up small businesses, hotels and airlines, which are seeking a $60 billion bailout. “We’ll be looking for support for small and medium-sized businesses, we’ll be looking for support for certain industries that we’ve talked about that are particularly hard hit. I’ve talked about airlines, hotels, others. And we will be looking at a general stimulus,” Mnuchin told reporters, though he notably did not refer to the proposal as a “bailout.” Much more from Bres and Brianna Gurciullo: https://politi.co/39Sca6O.
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and other top Democrats are planning to unveil their own $750 billion-plus relief package today, while House Transportation Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) warned his colleagues that the financial toll on airlines could be “worse than 9/11.” Trump and the GOP’s proposal may even top the Democrats’ price tag, with the administration preparing a rescue package of at least $800 billion, report Nancy Cook and Ben White, and it is likely to include a mix of industry aid and tax cuts. “I’m not going to comment on the specific numbers right now. … But it’s a big number,” Mnuchin told reporters last night. The dispatch: https://politi.co/3d6JoBm.
Related reads: “Support grows for sending every adult a $1,000 coronavirus check immediately,” via Susan Ferrechio of the Washington Examiner: https://washex.am/2vrdnmz; and “Casinos ask Congress for emergency aid as coronavirus toll sweeps industry,” by WaPo’s Jeff Stein, Rachel Siegel and Jonathan O’Connell: https://wapo.st/2Ql3YnK.
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