Biz Insider: 'Unacceptable': Democrats reject new White House proposal that would slash weekly unemployment benefits in exchange for one-off $600 stimulus checks [feedly]

'Unacceptable': Democrats reject new White House proposal that would slash weekly unemployment benefits in exchange for one-off $600 stimulus checks
https://www.businessinsider.com/democrats-reject-white-house-proposal-containing-stimulus-checks-2020-12?utm_source=feedly&utm_medium=webfeeds

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer conducting a news conference to discuss coronavirus-relief legislation on November 12.

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

• Democratic leaders are rejecting a new coronavirus relief package unveiled Tuesday by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
• The White House proposal calls for new $600 direct payments to Americans but would fund them by taking money from a proposed boost in unemployment benefits.
• "That is unacceptable," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a joint statement.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Democrats are rejecting a White House proposal to fund new a new round of direct payments to Americans by slashing money for the unemployed.

On Tuesday evening, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin proposed a new $916 billion COVID-19 stimulus package that would offer relief funding to state and local governments in exchange for "robust liability protections" for businesses, protecting them from employee lawsuits over the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace.

Mnuchin's proposal, welcomed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, also includes money for a round of one-off $600 payments - the funds coming, in part, by slashing a proposed $300-a-week boost in unemployment benefits.

"That is unacceptable," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a joint statement.

The Democratic lawmakers noted that a bipartisan stimulus package called for providing $180 billion in new funding for unemployment insurance, a figure that would be slashed to $40 billion under the White House offer.

A $3 trillion spending package passed by House Democrats in May calls for $1,200 direct payments.

"While it is progress that Leader McConnell has signed off on a $916 billion offer that is based off of the bipartisan framework, the president's proposal must not be allowed to obstruct the bipartisan congressional talks that are underway," they said.

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