Millions to lose unemployment benefits amid Trump’s opposition to virus-aid bill

A legislative package containing pandemic aid remains in limbo as Donald Trump presses for larger direct payments to Americans.

Donald and Melania Trump about to board Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland for the flight to Florida. Picture: AFP

A sweeping legislative package containing pandemic aid for businesses and families and funding for the US government remained in limbo on Sunday as President Donald Trump continued to press for larger direct payments to Americans.

The delay could result in millions of people experiencing a suspension of unemployment benefits and a possible shutdown of the federal government on Tuesday.

Congress is scheduled to return early this week, although it is unclear whether legislators can reach a compromise that would address the President’s objections. The measure passed with enough votes to override a potential presidential veto, but it was unclear whether Mr Trump’s opposition would persuade any Republicans to reconsider.

On Saturday (Sunday AEDT), Mr Trump renewed his criticism of the legislation, calling on legislators to increase the direct coronavirus relief payments to $US2000 for individuals from $US600 per adult and per child, the current level in the bipartisan bill. He also targeted the $US1.4 trillion government funding bill that was attached to the legislation, casting it as reckless spending at a time when federal resources should be focused on the economic recovery in the US.

“I simply want to get our great people $2000, rather than the measly $600 that is now in the bill. Also, stop the billions of dollars in ‘pork,’” Mr Trump wrote on Twitter.

The president hasn’t said whether he intends to veto the legislation. Last week, a copy of the bill was flown to Mar-a-Lago, the private Florida club where Mr Trump is spending the holidays, in case he decides to sign it.

President-elect Joe Biden criticised Mr Trump for not signing the legislation. “It is the day after Christmas, and millions of families don’t know if they’ll be able to make ends meet because of President Donald Trump’s refusal to sign an economic relief bill approved by Congress with an overwhelming and bipartisan majority,” Mr Biden said on Saturday. “This abdication of responsibility has devastating consequences.”

The 5593-page year-end package, which passed both chambers of congress with bipartisan support, was the product of months long negotiations on Capitol Hill. White House officials signalled to senior congressional leaders that Mr. Trump would sign off on the bill, but the President publicly objected last week once it was approved by the House of Representatives and the Senate, frustrating legislators and raising the prospect of a government shutdown.

Senior Republicans have said they don’t think there is enough support in the GOP to increase the direct payments to the level Mr Trump is demanding. On Thursday, House Republicans blocked Democrats’ effort to pass legislation approving the $US2000 stimulus cheques by unanimous consent.

Two pandemic-related unemployment programs will end on Saturday. The first provides unemployment benefits for gig and contract workers and others who don’t generally qualify for jobless aid. The second provides up to 13 weeks of additional payments to individuals who exhausted other programs that pay benefits, such as regular state unemployment benefits. In early December, roughly 14 million people were receiving benefits through those pandemic-relief programs, representing nearly three-quarters of those currently receiving jobless benefits.

A Brookings Institution report issued December 3 found approximately 10 million workers would lose unemployment compensation on Dececember 26. Nearly four million more workers would be in danger of losing their benefits within weeks of that date, largely because they have been unemployed so long they will have exhausted eligibility in other programs.

The bill extends the maximum number of weeks a person can claim unemployment benefits to 50 weeks. It would provide an additional $US100-a-week subsidy for workers who have both wage and self-employment income but whose basic unemployment benefits don’t take into account their self-employment income. It would also give unemployed Americans a supplemental benefit of up to $US300 a week, a cut from the previous $US600 a week that was approved in April, and ended in the summer.

The bill would extend until the end of January 2021 the federal eviction prohibition and provide $US25bn of assistance to tenants in arrears on their rent. It also contains billions of dollars to help airlines, small businesses, entertainment venues and farms, as well as money to help Americans get vaccinated from the virus.

Government funding will run out at 12.01am on Tuesday (4pm Tuesday AEDT). Legislators are set to return to Washington early this week to override Mr Trump’s veto of defence-policy legislation. The House will also vote on a bill to increase the amount of cheques in the aid bill to $US2000. The bill will likely pass the House, though Republican Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell hasn’t said whether it will get a vote in the Senate, where it would face GOP opposition.

Some of Mr Trump’s allies have encouraged legislators to use their time in Washington this week to reach a compromise. Republican senator Lindsey Graham said that he spent time with Mr Trump on Friday and that he believes the president is “more determined than ever” to increase direct payments to $US2000 and rollback Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Mr Trump has argued that social-media giants like Facebook and Twitter are using that section of the law to suppress conservative voices on their platforms.

“Both are reasonable demands, and I hope congress is listening. The biggest winner would be the American people,” Senator Graham wrote on Twitter on Friday of the president’s two priorities.

Mr Trump hasn’t detailed specific objections to the spending portions of the year-end package, but allies said he was frustrated with funding for foreign allies and international programs that is included in the bill. He has raised similar concerns with past spending legislation. Funding for foreign programs is common in such appropriations bills and supported by legislators from both parties.

Should Mr Trump decide not to sign the bill before the Tuesday deadline, the government would shut down. Non-essential government employees across the country wouldn’t come into work, and if the gridlock continued, they would miss pay cheques. Some legislators have called for congress to pass a short-term spending bill to avoid that, though it is unclear what the president would support.

Mr Trump arrived at Mar-a-Lago on Wednesday night, and has since visited his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, including on Christmas. He hasn’t had any public events in recent days.

The coronavirus pandemic continued to rage in the US, with experts raising concerns about increasing hospitalisation in many parts of the country. More than 330,000 people have died in the US as a result of the virus, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

The Wall Street Journal