Congress seeks to approve new economic stimulus in the US 1:07
(CNN) ––
In the midst of a stalemate over the new stimulus package to deal with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told lawmakers Tuesday that he believes "there is still it must reach a bipartisan agreement ”in order to deliver more aid.
The remarks came during his testimony before the House of Representatives subcommittee investigating the federal response to the COVID-19 crisis.
“We will continue to work with the Senate and House on a bipartisan basis for a phase four relief package.
I believe that a bipartisan agreement must still be reached, "said Mnuchin during the hearing of the Select Subcommittee for the Coronavirus Crisis.
He also added that he hopes the agreement will provide funding for schools, screenings, vaccinations, child care and other key priorities.
Talks for new stimulus fell through on Capitol Hill in early August, and Democrats and Trump administration officials pulled out amid partisan allegations.
Mnuchin has served as the administration's lead negotiator in the talks.
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Rep. Jim Clyburn, Democrat of South Carolina and chairman of the subcommittee, opened the hearing with a call for additional relief.
He assured that "additional fiscal stimulus is urgently needed" and noted that he hopes Mnuchin "will return to the negotiating table prepared to find common cause" on the legislation.
For his part, Mnuchin indicated during the hearing that he is "prepared to sit down with the leader at any time to negotiate."
He also said that "the president and I support an additional fiscal response and we have been working hard to try to reach a negotiated settlement on a bipartisan basis."
The Secretary of the Treasury later indicated that he would call House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday in response to questions from Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters of California.
"May I tell her that you suggested that I call her immediately after the hearing?
Ready, I'll call her immediately after the hearing.
Little progress has been made toward any kind of bipartisan stimulus deal since the talks failed.
A call between Pelosi and White House Secretary General Mark Meadows last week had no effect on overcoming the deadlock in negotiations toward new stimulus, putting talks at a standstill as the pandemic continues to affect the public health and the economy.
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Pelosi, on the call with Meadows, offered to lower the Democratic demand from $ 2.4 trillion to $ 2.2 trillion.
But he made it clear to reporters that Democrats are unwilling to cut the amount, even when that leaves the two parties roughly $ 1 trillion apart.
Senate Republicans released a roughly $ 1 trillion stimulus proposal in late July, marking their initial offer in negotiations.
Mnuchin indicated during the hearing on Tuesday that he does not support the general figure that the Democrats are asking for, and at one point specifically pointed to: "I do not support $ 2.2 trillion."
Unfortunately, Senator Schumer and Leader Pelosi do not want to come to the negotiating table unless we publicly agree on a higher line figure.
My own view is that we should go piece by piece, and any area of legislation that we can agree on should pass in the House and Senate, ”Mnuchin said.
Democratic leaders have argued that any additional stimulus must be addressed through a comprehensive package, and not piecemeal.
However, during Tuesday's hearing, Mnuchin said he believes an independent action related to the Payment Protection Program (PPP) would receive "overwhelming support" on Capitol Hill.
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“We have over $ 130 billion left in PPP, which I think if Congress were willing to take independent action to repurpose this money into additional funding, I think this would pass with overwhelming support in the House and Senate, and I would encourage the House to go ahead with that, ”he said.
"When it comes to employment, the area that has overwhelming bipartisan support and that I think would be easier to pass independently would be the PPP," Mnuchin added.
Let's not get bogged down by a number.
Let's agree on things that we can move forward in a bipartisan way now.
I don't think the correct result is zero.
Nobody thinks that the correct result is zero, “insisted the secretary later.
During the hearing Clyburn criticized the handling that the Trump administration has given to the pandemic and said that the Treasury Department "must improve the implementation of the aid programs approved by Congress."
"Until now, the administration has given priority to big business over small business and over American workers that Congress intended to protect," Clyburn said.
Then, he continued: "Management needs to refocus the Payment Protection Program, payroll support for the airline industry and other relief programs to ensure they are preserving jobs, not lining the pockets of wealthy executives. ».
The chairman of the subcommittee argued that the Treasury Department also needs "to improve oversight and accountability to ensure that taxpayers' money is not wasted."
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Clyburn said the panel will release a staff report, which raises "serious concerns about potential waste, fraud and abuse in the Payment Protection Program," a measure established under the CARES Coronavirus Relief Act aimed at supporting companies. small businesses affected by the pandemic.
Mnuchin widely defended the Treasury Department's efforts to mitigate the death toll from the pandemic: “Over the past five months, the Treasury has worked hard to provide prompt and direct financial assistance to American workers and their families.
We remain committed to ensuring that all Americans return to work as soon as possible. "
Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio defended the federal response to the crisis.
"What you have put in place, the programs you have recommended, the programs that Congress approved, have worked," he said.
"The Democrats keep their states closed, then they complain about unemployment," Jordan said.
He added: "Here's a novel idea, let people go back to work and I bet they will get a lot less (unemployment), they will get stronger economic growth that will build on what we have seen in the last three months."
The hearing was conducted as a mix of face-to-face and remote attendance with Mnuchin and Clyburn in person.
After talks broke down for a new stimulus package, President Donald Trump tried to bypass Congress to deliver aid to Americans through executive action.
But some of those programs are not working as fast as Trump promised.
For example, Trump's signed unemployment benefit hike takes effect retroactively to Aug. 1, but many unemployed are still not seeing the money.
Additionally, the funds are only expected to provide four to five weeks of supplemental financial assistance.
The payroll tax measure that the president signed, and which goes into effect this week, does not actually lower payroll taxes, but rather postpones the due date of the portion that employees pay to next year.
Also, it is not automatic.
Employers can choose to continue withholding those taxes, and many companies have suggested that they will.
Mnuchin highlighted the actions implemented by Trump: "When it became clear that previous negotiations were not moving forward, the president took executive action to provide critical relief to Americans through lost wage assistance and other important elements."
However, he stressed that "although we continue to see signs of a strong economic recovery, we are sensitive to the fact that there is more work to be done and certain areas of the economy require additional relief."
Katie Lobosco and Phil Mattingly, both from CNN, contributed to this report.
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