WASHINGTON _ The fate of a package of aid measures to assist households affected by the COVID-19 pandemic is up in the air as the House is having trouble passing "technical" changes by unanimous consent, and one GOP senator warned it can't pass in that chamber.
The bill drafted by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., "will not pass the Senate as it is written," Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said on "Fox and Friends" Monday.
The main issue for Cotton and other Republicans is concern voiced by small businesses about the bill's mandate to provide paid leave for workers forced to stay home due to quarantines, to care for family members or if their employers have shuttered temporarily.
Tax credits would be provided to defray the cost, but despite a commitment by Mnuchin to give firms the cash upfront, the small business lobby has come out in opposition. In addition, there's a concern that the measure's exemption for larger companies with more than 500 employees _ intended to keep tax credits from flowing to big firms already providing paid leave _ would still leave millions of workers without pay.
Other GOP senators arguing similar points in recent days include Rick Scott of Florida and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin.
"We're looking at that in the Senate," President Donald Trump said Monday of the 500-worker threshold, suggesting the measure would be amended and sent back to the House again. "I think they may make it even better."
Meanwhile, an 87-page "technical" amendment, in the form of a resolution correcting the bill that passed early Saturday morning, was circulating among lobbyists. Democratic aides didn't dispute the veracity of the document but noted it was subject to change.
And without being able to see the final changes, at least one GOP lawmaker who didn't like the bill to begin with was still in town ready to block any unanimous consent request. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, could be overheard on the floor complaining he hadn't been given a copy of the corrections, and if a later tweet was any indication, Gohmert wasn't going anywhere for the time being.
"We still do not have a final draft of the negotiated changes being called 'technical corrections,' and some of us believe that the newly worded laws should be finished before we pass them," Gohmert wrote.
Under the original House-passed bill, workers would receive up to 10 days of paid sick leave, though in the case of employees forced out of work to care for sick family members or children in schools that have closed, they'd receive two-thirds the regular rate of pay.
They'd also receive up to 12 weeks of job-protected paid leave, though after the second week pay could drop by one-third at employers' discretion.
Though the paid leave mandate would apply to businesses with 500 or fewer workers, those with less than 50 employees could apply for a hardship waiver to the Labor Department. But small businesses argue the process is too bureaucratic and cumbersome to quickly obtain relief.
The House's technical amendment that was circulating appears to tweak the requirements for paid leave, tightening eligibility in some areas _ though it wasn't clear if the changes would bring more Republicans on board.
The new language would limit paid family leave to occasions when an employee is unable to work _ either onsite or remotely, a change from the earlier bill _ due to the need to care for a son or daughter under age 18 if their school or place of care has closed. It also clarifies that paid leave cannot exceed $200 per day or $10,000 total.
In the earlier House bill, the conditions for paid family leave were broader including complying with an order or recommendation from a public official, or to care for another family member who has been exposed to the virus or is showing symptoms.
The new paid sick leave language also lays out a narrower list of qualifying circumstances, though it continues to allow sick leave for employees who experience symptoms and are seeking a diagnosis, or are caring for children if their school or place of care is closed.
The underlying bill, in addition to paid leave, would provide free COVID-19 testing for the uninsured, access to school means for children forced to stay home, extended unemployment insurance, liability protections for manufacturers of face masks and other protective gear and more.
House lawmakers are gone for the week _ and possibly longer. Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, D-Md., said on a conference call with Democrats on Monday that the chamber likely wouldn't return for votes until the next round of COVID-19 economic aid was ready to consider, according to a person on the call who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.
However, Hoyer did not rule out returning earlier if necessary for other reasons, according to a Hoyer aide. That suggests leaders are prepared to call members back to pass changes to the original stimulus bill if Gohmert or one of the other 40 House Republicans who voted against the bill object to making the changes by unanimous consent.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., panned House leadership from the Senate floor just after that chamber came into session for the week.
"As of this afternoon we're still waiting for the House to reach a decision on possible technical corrections and submit a final product to us here in the Senate," McConnell said. "We cannot consider the legislation until we get it, but I know that senators on both sides have spent the last several days carefully studying the House proposal."
Meanwhile, Senate and House leaders have begun soliciting input for a larger, broader economic aid package that could involve tax cuts for individuals and lifelines for several industries particularly hard hit by travel being curtailed.
U.S. airlines asked Congress on Monday for a package worth potentially more than $60 billion in grants, loans and tax relief, which would dwarf the $15 billion package enacted after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Cruise ships, hotels, movie theaters are others mentioned as possibly in line for assistance.
Trump's $800 billion-plus payroll tax is still in the mix, though Mnuchin has said the administration would be open to additional forms of direct tax aid. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, on Monday embraced a proposal floated by former Obama administration economic adviser Jason Furman earlier this month to send $1,000 checks out to all U.S. adults.
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., said he'd introduce a $750 billion package as early as Tuesday to address hospital capacity issues, expand unemployment insurance and Medicaid funding, fund emergency child care, aid small businesses and more.
Senate Finance Chairman Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, the point man for a big chunk of the next aid package, had this to say: "I'm currently looking at what we can do to relieve the strain on workers, the burdens on businesses small and large and the capacity deficits at rural hospitals."
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