GOP cool to White House's $1.6T coronavirus price tag
By Jordain Carney - 10/01/20 04:46 PM EDT
The latest White House coronavirus relief offer, with a $1.6 trillion price tag, received a cool reception Thursday from congressional Republicans.
The new offer from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, which exceeds the original $1.1 trillion Senate GOP package and the $1.5 trillion the White House signaled it could support last month, was made as part of renewed talks this week with Democratic leaders.
But Republicans, including influential chairmen and members of leadership, are warning they can't support it, creating another potential obstacle for negotiators trying to strike a deal on emergency COVID-19 aid after nearly two months of stalemate.
ADVERTISEMENT
Asked about the prospect of supporting a $1.6 trillion measure, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) was direct: "No."
"I think we've made it very clear that there's so much money ... that isn't even out of Washington yet," Grassley said. "We're more in the neighborhood of something below $1 trillion."
Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas, the top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, also appeared unsure he could back a bill with that dollar amount by criticizing the inclusion of a $400 per week federal unemployment benefit.
"How much wasteful spending will we have to swallow to do this?" he said during an interview with Fox Business Network on Thursday.
The pushback comes as Republicans have struggled to unite behind a strategy on the coronavirus relief talks. Senate Republicans initially unveiled a $1.1 trillion package in late July but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) warned that he could lose up to 20 of his 53 GOP senators with that measure.
more
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/519217-gop-cool-to-white-houses-16t-coronavirus-price-tag
