Democrats’ new stimulus plan may pay $2K per person to spark economy

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday she is prepared to unveil a stimulus bill written by Democrats that would increase federal aid to states and cities, expand nutritional benefits and Medicaid funding, and provide monthly payments to individuals.

The bill is expected to meet opposition in the Republican-led Senate, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has called for a pause on coronavirus relief legislation after three bills and more than $3 trillion in federal aid that has been delivered in past months.

A proposed payroll tax cut by the Trump administration faces headwinds from both parties controlling Congress as lawmakers and the White House grapple with the fallout of the global pandemic that has left more than 70,000 Americans dead and a crippled economy.

Pelosi outlined the House plan during a news conference Thursday where she touched on components of the next legislative package that could include $2,000 in monthly payments to individuals to help stimulate economic growth.

“We need the money in the pockets of the American people,” Pelosi told reporters.

The bill is being finalized and is expected to cost more than $1 trillion, with money for coronavirus testing, tracing and treatment and stabilizers for programs and the U.S. Postal Service.

Aiming to help states, cities

Although the Senate is in session this week, the House not expected to return until next week, when the new spending bill is expected to be unveiled.

Rank-and-file Democrats in the House have embraced a second sweeping relief package to help states and cities cope with plummeting revenue and increased burdens of services needed during the crisis.

Reps. Steven Horsford and Susie Lee, both Nevada Democrats, joined Western state lawmakers from Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico on a conference call to highlight the plight of small cities in an expansive region where distances create a different set of obstacles.

The congressional district represented by Horsford includes 54,000 square miles and stretches from North Las Vegas to Pahrump to Ely. He said local and tribal governments “have lost a tremendous amount of revenue” because of the coronavirus.

Horsford said the state of Nevada alone could see a fiscal year shortfall of between $1 billion to $2 billion.

Lee pleaded for aid to smaller cities under 500,000 population, which were cut out of the funding formula in the last stimulus bill. Lee noted that the federal government had historically helped states following natural disasters.

“This has been a hurricane that has hit the entire country,” she said.

States are asking for $500 million, and smaller cities have requested $250 million to offset revenue loss from taxes and other financial streams.

Pelosi and Democrats have pledged to help.

Asked about the debt, Pelosi said she was concerned but the extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. She said Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told her that with interest rates low, she should “think big, and that’s what we are doing.”

She noted that Republicans recently passed a tax cut that added $2 trillion to the national debt that largely benefitted the nation’s most wealthiest citizens and large corporations.

Plan for stimulus payments

In the upcoming bill, Democrats are expected to give Americans another round of payments that could total $2,000 a month per individual.

Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., whose congressional district includes the Strip, said additional funds were needed to help those who face economic hardships and to stimulate the economy.

Pelosi said the relief bill being written would help working families and first responders by providing assistance and coronavirus testing sought by governors, regardless of party affiliation.

Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., told KNPR that the bill would have $25 billion to ramp up testing, a measure he said was necessary to reopen the country.

McConnell has argued overall against federal relief for states, characterizing it as a bailout for some that have mismanaged public employee pensions and other programs.

But his stance has softened as Republican governors from Maryland, New Hampshire and other states have sought funding following outlays to fight the coronavirus while continuing to provide essential services.

McConnell said Thursday that the “nation has poured unprecedented resources into defending American’s health and blunting the damage to our economy. The Senate will continue to work on this front.”

He said relief would include legal protections for health care workers, small businesses and other institutions “against the trial lawyer feeding frenzy as they work hard to keep serving their neighbors.”

Contact Gary Martin at gmartin@reviewjournal.com or 202-662-7390. Follow @garymartindc on Twitter.