After this Friday talks between Democrats in Congress and the White House ended without an agreement on the second economic relief package for COVID-19President Donald Trump said that if a deal is not reached, he will take executive action to extend unemployment benefits to millions of Americans affected by the pandemic until the end of the year.
In a press conference from one of his golf courses in Bedminister, New Jersey, the president explained that the executive action would also include the suspension of the salary tax until the end of this year, the extension of the moratorium on evictions for non-payment of rent and the suspension of the payment of student loans indefinitely.
When talking about unemployment benefits, one of the most disputed points with Democrats, Trump did not specify how much this extra benefit would be, which was previously $ 600 a week.. Democrats want to keep this amount, but Republicans have opposed it, suggesting reducing it to 200 per week.
The extent of Trump’s authority to take these steps is unclear. Its executive orders would be vulnerable to legal challenges, as it is Congress, not the executive, that is responsible for allocating these funds.
“They will probably sue me. But we’ll see, “he said when questioned by a reporter.
Negotiations on Capitol Hill between Congressional Democrats and the White House on the new economic rescue package to alleviate the financial crisis of COVID-19 ended without an agreement on Friday.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, said that the government did not accept a last minute proposal of Democrats to cut the aid package from $ 3.4 trillion to $ 2.4 trillion. The Republican proposal is $ 1 trillion.
“We lowered 1 billion if you add 1 billion. And they responded with an absolute no,” Pelosi said at a press conference before the outcome of the talks was known, accompanied by the minority leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin declared: “Unfortunately, we made no progress today.”
With the talks collapsing, he said President Donald Trump is now likely to take executive action to tackle home evictions and student loan debt.
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said: “This is not a perfect answer, we will be the first to say that, but it is all we can do, and all the president can do within the limits of its Executive power “.
Mnuchin, who represents the government in the negotiation, said earlier than the Democratic proposal to add $ 1 trillion to the package “not even in discussion”.
This Friday’s meeting was the last opportunity to extend benefits and aid to the unemployed and businesses affected by the economic impact caused by the coronavirus.
The $ 600 weekly aid for those who lost their jobs during the pandemic is one of the points that separates Democrats and Republicans. The former push for the extension of the benefit until the end of the year, while the Government’s plan is to reduce the amount to $ 200.
[Se termina el apoyo económico de 600 dólares semanales para los desempleados]
The negotiations also face the vacations scheduled by the senators and members of the Lower House, who will not be next week. Although congressmen can be called to participate in a session if necessary.
The self-imposed goal by Democratic and government negotiators was to reach an agreement before the end of this week, to vote on the proposal next week, due to the end of financial aid from the first aid package, which has left 25 million people who lost their jobs to the coronavirus without the weekly benefit. This Saturday also expires the aid program for small businesses.