Senate Adjourns For Summer Vacation Without Deal to Help Millions of Unemployed

The Senate adjourned for summer recess on Thursday without reaching a deal on the next phase of coronavirus relief, CNBC reports.

Negotiations between Democrats and Republicans have stalled. Democrats passed a bill in May that would have extended the federal unemployment benefit at $600 per week but Republicans are aiming to drastically slash that number.

Trump announced a legally dubious executive order that would provide $300 per week in federal aid to some, but not all, unemployed workers but it’s unclear if states will be able to implement the system anytime in the near future.

Meanwhile, the federal benefits have expired and any deal would likely require weeks of work for states to implement.

About 28 million people are currently collecting unemployment benefits, but state systems only provide about 40% of past wages.

Stall on state aid:

Democrats also included $1 trillion in aid for states and cities hit hard by the economic crisis.

Democrats are currently pushing for $900 billion in aid to states and cities and $60 billion in food assistance.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said there would be no deal until Republicans added at least $1 trillion to their $1 trillion proposal. Democrats approved a $3 trillion relief package in May.

A deal is now unlikely until September, when the Senate returns following Labor Day.

Other issues remain:

The two sides are also talking about extending the federal eviction moratorium, which protects about 12 million households.

Trump claimed that he extended the moratorium through an executive order but the order did no such thing. It simply urged officials to “consider” whether certain evictions are “reasonably necessary.”

The two sides are also expected to approve another round of $1,200 stimulus checks if they ever reach a deal.

 

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