Menu
Tax Notes logo

Lawmakers to Explore Cost of Inaction on COVID-19 Relief

Posted on Sep. 8, 2020

The stalemate in Congress over the next round of coronavirus relief is stretching into the fall, and lawmakers are now seeking to understand the ramifications if no further legislative aid is passed.

Mike Thompson, D-Calif., the House Ways and Means Select Revenue Measures Subcommittee chair, set a virtual hearing for September 11, just after Congress's return from a five-week summer recess.

Thompson didn't announce a list of witnesses for the subcommittee hearing.

Congress and the White House have come under fire for failing to find middle ground on a fourth round of COVID-19 relief. While Senate Republicans have been unable to coalesce behind a proposal, the Trump administration has been directly negotiating with House Democratic leaders.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., launched talks on the House-passed $3.4 trillion Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act (H.R. 6800) with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who countered with a $1 trillion plan that omitted key Democratic priorities, including more funding for state and local governments.

One area of agreement is on the need to expand the Paycheck Protection Program. Mnuchin told a congressional committee September 1 that if members of Congress couldn’t come to an agreement on a coronavirus relief package, they should try to pass a stand-alone PPP bill.

Copy RID