After his meeting with the Congressional Republicans, United States President Donald Trump said that "good things" are coming to Americans in the second COVID-19 stimulus relief package, Monday.
However, despite Trump's optimism, fresh challenges arose due to the new divisions between the White House and the Senate GOP. These problems are caused by the worsening crisis yet also expiring emergency relief.
The senate has been ready to roll out the second stimulus package worth $1 trillion in just a few days, according to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.But the release of the relief aid has been complicated by some of the administration officials who interjected other priorities, including criticizing more testing money for the virus.
Meanwhile, Trump said in the meeting that there has already been a lot of progress in terms of relief aid. He also acknowledged the sudden rise in cases and COVID-19 death in the country, saying that it is unfortunate that something very tough is once again happening, ABC 27 reported.
With the cases of COVID-19 once again worsening in the states, Congress is left with little choice but to draft another form of relief package for Americans. The sudden rise of cases has again prompted businesses that ere just getting back to shut down. Many schools are still not fully opened and jobs are also scarce. This is all happening as the $600 unemployment benefit is set to expire.
Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called out the attempts by the White House to block the money allocated for testing. She said that doing so is going beyond ignorance. She also emphasized how crucial it is that the country be able to end the spread of the virus.
On the other hand, USA Today reported that Trump's meeting with the congressional republican leaders, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said that distribution of the second round of checks is being put into consideration, as well as the payroll tax cut. However, he stated that these could still change since the relief measure is still being drafted.
McCarthy also did not go into the specifics of the provisions, but it can be recalled that Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell has proposed to limit the number of those who will receive the check to people with an annual income of $40,000 or lower.
McConnell was also asked about the possibility of a payroll tax to be included in the Senate bill, but he refused to give any specific information about the provision. Instead, he said that they will be having a follow-up discussion at the White House to further discuss a common approach to the issue. He also added that they would need to approach the Democrats to discuss.
If the payroll tax cut will be included in the package proposed by the Republicans, this would be a big change for the GOP lawmakers since they have been very insistent on refusing the president's call for it. Trump has repeatedly argued that the payroll tax cut will help boost economic growth.
"I think it's an incentive for companies to hire their workers back and to keep their workers," Trump told reporters.
Related article: $600 Unemployment Benefits to End in Days: Mitch McConnell, Republicans Encourage People to Work
