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Relief Impasse Prompts Bipartisan Compromise Offer in House

Posted on Sep. 16, 2020

A bipartisan group of House members released a list of provisions they deem essential to a COVID-19  recovery effort even as Democratic leadership remains firm on its demands for a relief bill.

The 50-member Problem Solvers Caucus released a framework of ideas that includes a new round of stimulus checks, an increase in funding for the Paycheck Protection Program, and improvements to the employee retention tax credit — all at a cost of $1.5 trillion. 

Caucus co-chair and Ways and Means Committee member Tom Reed, R-N.Y., told reporters that the framework identifies the areas and industries that most need federal help.

The caucus said one provision members agreed on with little debate was a new round of PPP funding to help businesses that exhausted the first round of loans disbursed in April. The proposal doesn't veer far from the one suggested by Republican Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Susan M. Collins of Maine and is likely to have support across the board. 

The caucus wants $240 billion for a second round of PPP funding that can be used flexibly. The caucus is asking for a further $50 billion to improve the ERTC to allow it to be used in addition to the small business loan program. The plan also adopts the economic stimulus checks program implemented by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (P.L. 116-136).

Eligible taxpayers would receive $1,200 and each child $500 under the program, which would also distribute checks retroactively to dependent adults. The plan would not distribute money to those without a Social Security number. Democrats, in the House-passed Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act (H.R. 6800), would make those filing with individual taxpayer identification numbers eligible to receive stimulus checks. 

House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, D-Md., said that despite its many similarities to the HEROES Act, the proposal does not reflect what Democrats want and that more would be needed than the $1.5 trillion outlined to primarily help the economy. 

Other Democrats said the proposal would do little to help Americans in need. A statement by House committee leaders, including Ways and Means Chair Richard E. Neal, D-Mass., said the solution to help the economy would be to adopt the HEROES Act. Democrats have reportedly been told by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., that the House will stay in session until a deal is reached with Republicans on a stimulus package. 

Republican Priorities 

The impasse in negotiations also prompted Republicans to release a list of priorities they’re hoping to achieve in the fall and beyond to help spur the economy. While some of the messaging was intended to help vulnerable Republicans campaign over the coming month, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said that renewing PPP money is a top priority for Republicans

Ways and Means ranking member Kevin Brady, R-Texas, said that making permanent the individual tax cuts under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is high on the Republican wish list. He said he also wants to see Opportunity Zones made permanent and the $2,000 child tax credit extended.

Brady pointed to tax measures on the list, dubbed “Ideas for Growth,” cobbled together by fellow Republican Ways and Means members, that could come to the forefront if elections in November are favorable for Republicans. They include repealing the requirement to amortize research and development costs beginning in 2022, doubling the research credit, and making permanent the TCJA’s full expensing provisions.

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