Washington — The Senate is set to make its second attempt Monday to move forward with a massive stimulus package to provide economic relief to American workers and industries battered by the coronavirus outbreak.
The upper chamber reconvened at noon for a series of three procedural votes after Senate Democrats on Sunday blocked the yet-to-be-finalized deal from advancing, roiling negotiations between senators and Trump administration officials that took place over the weekend.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are urging the Senate to act with urgency as more states place stringent limitations on residents to limit the spread of the coronavirus, including by ordering businesses deemed nonessential to close.
“This is not a juicy political opportunity. This is a national emergency,” McConnell said during remarks on the Senate floor before the votes.
McConnell accused Democrats of making 11th-hour demands that derailed progress on the package, including tax credits for solar energy and wind energy and new emissions standards for airlines, which are set to benefit from the stimulus package.
“Are you kidding me?” the Kentucky Republican said, adding that Democrats decided their requests are “more important than Americans’ paychecks and the personal safety of doctors and nurses.”
McConnell continued to place blame on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who joined discussions over the legislative package Sunday morning.
“The speaker of the House flew back from San Francisco, and suddenly, the Senate’s serious bipartisan process turned into this left-wing episode of ‘Supermarket Sweep,’ unrelated issues left and right,” he said.
McConnell urged Democrats to unify with their Republican colleagues, warning the country “doesn’t have time for these political games.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, taking to the Senate floor after McConnell, cast a grim outlook for the second procedural vote, calling it “irrelevant” and saying negotiations are continuing steps from the Senate chamber.
“Democrats will not stop working with our Republican counterparts until we get the job done,” he said.
Discussions on the nearly $2 trillion stimulus package — likely to be the largest in history — continued into the night and the morning, and Schumer told reporters the goal was to craft a bipartisan compromise on Monday. Mnuchin and Eric Ueland, the White House legislative affairs director, met with Schumer at the Capitol in the morning.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House Legislative Affairs Director Eric Ueland walk to a meeting with Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer in his office on Capitol Hill on Monday, March 23, 2020. Andrew Harnik / AP
It’s unclear when a vote on final passage of the measure could take place, but McConnell had been pushing for the Senate to approve the stimulus package as early as Monday. The first two of three procedural votes set for Monday require 50 votes to pass, and the third vote requires 60.
In the run-up to Sunday’s failed procedural vote, Republican senators had expressed optimism about a bipartisan compromise, which includes cash payments of $1,200 to American workers making up to $75,000; $350 billion in loans and grants for small businesses; and $50 billion in loans for airlines.
But Democrats said the package lacked adequate funding for hospitals and health care workers and gave too much money to large corporations without oversight. All 47 Senate Democrats voted together in blocking the measure from advancing Sunday.
The failed vote incensed Senate Republicans, some of which took to the Senate floor to express their frustration.
Immediately following the vote, a visibly angry McConnell blamed Pelosi for upending progress on the deal and urged Democrats to “step up” to help American workers and businesses.
“We’re fiddling here, fiddling with the emotions of the American people, fiddling with the markets, fiddling with our healthcare, the American people expect us to act tomorrow,” McConnell said Sunday. “And I want everybody to fully understand if we aren’t able to act tomorrow, it’ll be because of our colleagues on the other side continuing to dicker when the country expects us to come together and address this problem.”
Adding to the uncertainty on Capitol Hill was the revelation that Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky had tested positive for the coronavirus and would be self-quarantining.
The announcement led two other GOP senators, Mike Lee and Mitt Romney, both of Utah, to self-quarantine after coming into contact with Paul. Senators Cory Gardner and Rick Scott of Florida were already self-quarantining after possible exposure to the virus, meaning five senators in total had to miss Sunday’s vote.
The stimulus package under discussion in the Senate is the third part of a multi-pronged legislative response to the coronavirus. Earlier this month, Congress passed a $8.3 billion emergency supplemental package, and last week, President Trump signed into law a coronavirus relief bill that provides free testing and paid leave for certain workers.
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