The NPR Politics Podcast - Can The GOP Unite Behind Their Coronavirus Plan?

Episode Date: July 28, 2020

The Senate Majority Leader has announced what is nominally the Republican proposal for the next phase of coronavirus relief, but members of his own party are feeling uncertain about the cost. The plan also includes money for a new FBI headquarters in downtown DC, a priority for the president that lacks wide support in Congress.This episode: congressional correspondent Susan Davis, congressional reporter Claudia Grisales, and White House reporter Ayesha Rascoe.Connect:Subscribe to the NPR Politics Podcast here.Email the show at [e-mail] the NPR Politics Podcast Facebook Group.Listen to our playlist The NPR Politics Daily Workout.Subscribe to the NPR Politics Newsletter.Find and support your local public radio station.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Hi, this is Nick in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and I'm just finishing up my fake morning commute where I go for a little walk before I inevitably head back home and start the work day. This podcast was recorded at 2.09 p.m. on Tuesday, July 28th. Things may have changed by the time you hear this, but I'll probably be doing my fake evening commute, which is when I listen to the NPR Politics podcast. All right, here's the show. I love the idea of a fake commute in these times. You got to break things up. I think that makes sense. Hey there, it's the NPR Politics podcast. I'm Susan Davis. I cover Congress.

I'm Claudia Grisales. I also cover Congress. And I'm Aisha Roscoe. I cover the White House. After much delay, Senate Republicans have rolled out their proposal for a fifth wave of pandemic relief. This comes more than two months after House Democrats passed their own bill back in May. So Claudia, what are the highlights of the Republicans package? So this is called the HEALS Act. Get ready for a mouthful. It's the Health Economic Assistance Liability Protection and Schools Act. And basically, it focuses on funding for schools, a new round of payments, and some additional wage replacement for unemployed workers. It also

includes a marquee issue for Republicans. They've been hammering on this all summer. And that's new legal protections for businesses who are dealing with some of these pandemic related lawsuits. At least this is what GOP members are claiming. I imagine for a lot of listeners, a lot of Americans, that $1,200 payment is the thing that makes their ears perk up the most. Exactly. McConnell did say that this bill includes another round of those direct payments in the same amount that was in the CARES Act that Congress passed in March. So this is, again, $1,200 for individuals. And this could be limited by an income cap. And there'd be more for families with children. And Claudia, Democrats had, they passed a bill in the House like a couple of months ago, right? Is there like any overlap

between what the Democrats had passed in the House and what Republicans are trying to do? There is some overlap and they did pass it more than two months ago in the House. Democrats called this the Heroes Act. That was their answer for what this fifth wave of funding should look like. And in terms of overlap, both bills do focus on, for example, those direct payments, and then there's the extra unemployment money that's extended. But the Republicans want to do that at a much lower rate. So in this proposal, Republicans want to see the additional payment that is given to these laid off workers on top of what they already get through state labor departments for being laid off. They get an additional $600 a week right now under the CARES Act that was passed in March. But now Republicans want to take that

$600 figure and bring it down to $200. So it's a real dramatic cut of where we are right now. This issue of unemployment benefits has really got them tied up. I mean, do you get a sense that there's much negotiating space for Republicans on this funding? Because Democrats want to keep it at the existing $600 level that basically is running out at the end of the month. Yeah, we're seeing both sides talk about that a little bit. We're seeing Republicans say, no way, we're not going to go to $600 a week.

Again, we think that's keeping people from going back to their jobs. We think it's hurting employers. And we're even hearing some Democrats say something similar, which is in terms of the $600 and that they're willing to soften on it. They don't have the same argument that workers aren't going back to their jobs. But they do say that they could flex out on that. So it's possible that they could meet somewhere in the middle between this $200 figure and the $600 figure. One other issue they're dealing with is this $600 extra payment expires this week. And so workers look like they will be out of luck. The ones that rely on these starting next week, they're going to see that drop dramatically. But some members have said they could retroactively catch up if they can reach a deal on this.

And so, Claudia, you know, we're talking about kind of billions and I think maybe at least a trillion dollars here in spending. I know the Democrats had like a $3 trillion aid package. How much money is going to be spent here? And do they agree on that? Yeah, they don't agree at all. And that's probably the easiest way to get to the point of how far apart they are, because Republicans have a bill that's about a trillion dollars. Meanwhile, Democrats pass theirs at three trillions, so they're at least two trillion dollars apart. And that sounds like real money. And this is real money, a trillion here, a trillion there. Yes, it kind of builds up. Exactly. And so they're looking at least at a two trillion dollar gulf between the two sides. Plus, Democrats have said their asks have gone up since

they passed that bill. They need more money for schools. State and local governments are even more are facing even more dire straits right now. So it just kind of demonstrates quickly how far apart they are. All right, let's take a quick break and we'll talk more about what's in the bill when we come back. How do you maintain a friendship in the middle of a pandemic? Including our last restaurant meal. My last restaurant meal was with you. I love that. Wow. Aminatou Sow and Anne Friedman gave me some friend pointers. They host a podcast called Call Your Girlfriend, and they wrote a book all about friendship. Listen and subscribe now to It's Been a Minute from NPR. And we're back. And there was a weird moment at the press conference unveiling the bill yesterday. Mitch McConnell was asked why there is $2 billion in the bill for a new FBI headquarters. I'm not sure that it is, is it? Look, I think this is a starting place.

You can see that we've had a lot of our members involved in the start. And we can't pass a bill in the Senate without Democrats, nor obviously can it pass the House. Claudia, it's not very often that Mitch McConnell doesn't know what's in his bill. No, that was a very surprising moment. A reporter had to come back in that same press conference and say, did you not know that was in there? And so he basically at that moment, he seemed to disavow the whole idea and say, you know what, did you not know that was in there? And so he basically at that moment, he seemed to disavow the whole idea and say, you know what, if you have questions about this, ask the administration, we had to negotiate with them, they wanted some provisions. So go ask them why. So yeah, it was a very unique, rare moment on the Hill, especially for McConnell.

So Aisha, why does the White House want this money? So the FBI building right now in DC.C. is in really bad shape. I think they have like nets to like catch concrete falling off of it. And even going back to like the George W. Bush administration, there had been, you know, plans to try to move the FBI headquarters. There was a plan that would move it out to the burbs, you know, in kind of the Maryland, Virginia area. But that plan fell apart when President Trump came in. He decided that he wanted a new building in D.C. He says he wants the FBI to be close to the Justice Department in D.C. There's a lot more to this, though, right, than that, right? That's what, you know, people are suspecting.

The Justice Department IG is actually looking into the decision to make this change. The current FBI headquarters is close to Trump's hotel in D.C. And so there is a question of whether this that location has something to do with why he's so interested in this. Democrats on the Hill, Claudia, they seem to suggest that there's some corruption at the heart of this. Yeah, they did raise some questions last night. For example, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer both met with White House officials. This is Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows last night. And they asked about this.

They were very surprised this provision was in there. They only went as far as acknowledging it was in there. But Pelosi seemed to raise this specter that it had something to do with Trump's hotel and fear of competition for his hotel. And reporters said, wait, did they did they say that in the room? And she said, no, but this is what I kind of like, this is what I think. And so yes, there are questions about what is going on here. And Democrats are raising the specter. Is there any kind of concerns of corruption here? It is very odd for President Trump to really be bogged down in the details of any bill and these spending bills in particular. He's been so hands off so that he really wants

funding for this FBI building. It is strange. So where did the negotiations between the White House and Capitol Hill stand on the pandemic relief package. So in terms of these negotiations, as I mentioned last night, Pelosi and Schumer had their first meeting after Republicans finally unveiled this bill with Mnuchin and Meadows. And both the Democrats left very frustrated from the meeting. It was very different from what Meadows told pool reporters last night, which was he thought they had a good meeting, we'll be back tomorrow. And indeed, they're coming back this afternoon to meet with them to continue these negotiations. Meadows seemed to signal he was on Capitol Hill earlier today for the GOP luncheon. And he seemed to signal going in, for example, on the FBI building, could it be a deal breaker if that gets pulled out of the bill?

Because so many Republicans have kind of acted with surprise or seem less interested in keeping that in the proposal. And Meadows said, you know, it's not a deal breaker. This is something that doesn't have to kill the deal. So they seem open to talks, but they're facing a very tight clock. And both sides, again, they're having some very different reviews on what happens from here and if they can get it done in time. Politically, Ayesha, isn't the White House both sides. Again, they're having some very different reviews on what happens from here, and if they can get it done in time. Politically, Ayesha, isn't the White House got their back up against the wall a little bit here? I mean, the president could really use some wins when it comes to how the handling of the coronavirus is going. And while they may not love all the things that

Democrats want, it's essentially more spending to go to people that would be really popular. So why fight so hard against it? You know, they're definitely in need of a win. And I don't think that President Trump is really that pressed about the cost of any of this, you know. Right, he's a big spender. Yeah, he wants to do, you know, what he's the king of debt. He wants to be able to, you know, send out the checks with his name on it. And, you know, so I think that this really boils down a lot to the Republicans in Congress deciding to hold out because they thought things might be a bit better at the end of the summer, and they might be able to not have some trillion dollar spending bill because they could argue that the economy is doing better. That didn't happen. And so now they have to deal with an economy that is lagging and in a lot of uncertainty. And so you would think that they have less negotiating room than they would have had. Claudia, also Lindsey Graham today suggested that if this bill costs more than a trillion dollars, Mitch McConnell could lose

half of Senate Republicans on it. I mean, Republicans are still pretty divided on what to do here. They are very divided. It seemed like it was difficult to find a Republican on Capitol Hill today, aside from McConnell and the crafters of the different provisions of this proposal, to say, yes, I'm on board. I want this bill to pass. It's quite a struggle, internal struggle within the party right now. They're trying to figure out how to land on the same page. And yes, Graham said once they hit the trillion dollar mark, he thinks they already lost half the caucus when that happened. And he thinks that they'll be lucky to get half the caucus to sign on to this bill, half of the GOP senators to help this pass through the chamber. So it's going to be quite the tall order. All right, let's leave it there for today. And you can sign up for a roundup of

our best online analysis at npr.org slash politics newsletter, or by following the link in the description of this episode. I'm Susan Davis. I cover Congress. I'm Claudia Grisales. I also cover Congress. And I'm Aisha Roscoe. I cover the White House. And thank you for listening to the NPR Politics Podcast.