明尼阿波利斯联邦储备银行行长尼尔·卡什卡里周四表示,美国经济可能需要长达一年半的时间才能从冠状病毒大流行引发的金融困境中恢复过来。卡什卡里还鼓励美国国会向受病毒影响的美国人发起第二轮直接现金支付。
卡什卡里发表上述言论之前,美国联邦储备委员会主席杰罗姆鲍威尔(Jerome Powell)周三表示,需要政府提供更多财政支持,以确保经济不会受到永久性损害。
卡什卡里周四在一个虚拟活动中说:“如果这是一个缓慢的复苏,我认为是这样的——我认为我们已经在这一过程中呆了几个月、一年、18个月——将会有很多家庭需要直接的经济援助。”。“我只是认为,在我们能让医疗保健系统赶上并控制住这种病毒之前,我们现在需要的是失去工作的人口袋里的钱。”
今年3月,唐纳德·特朗普总统签署了一项价值2万亿美元的冠状病毒金融救助计划,使其成为法律。这项被称为“关爱法案”的立法允许符合条件的美国人获得最高1200美元的直接支付。还颁布了其他措施来帮助小企业留住员工。尽管做出了这些努力,美国的失业率还是飙升了。4月,超过2700万美国人声称没有工作,使美国的失业率达到14.7%。这个数字代表了自大萧条以来最高的失业率。
明尼阿波利斯联邦储备银行行长尼尔·卡什卡里周四鼓励国会向美国人提供另一轮直接付款,作为冠状病毒财务救济。
民主党人一直渴望启动另一个冠状病毒刺激计划。众议院议长南希·佩洛西周三公布了一项新的冠状病毒应对法案,名为《英雄法案》,该法案将为美国人提供超过3万亿美元的救助。该提议包括向美国人支付第二轮1200美元的直接付款。
在周三的一份声明中,佩洛西表示,《英雄法案》将提供“这场危机所需要的强有力的紧急回应”一些共和党人已经表示,他们将阻止最早将于周五表决的《英雄法案》通过。
“钱可以帮助任何人,但是我们能做的最好的事情就是让人们回去工作,”共和党俄亥俄州众议员史蒂夫·斯蒂弗斯周三说。
参议院多数党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔周一表示,共和党将“暂停”一段时间,在着手实施新的救助计划之前,评估《关爱法案》的效果。他还表示,共和党议员认为没有通过额外立法的“紧迫性”。在阵亡将士纪念日假期结束之前,参议院可能不会推进新的刺激方案。
新闻周刊联系参议员麦康奈尔的办公室寻求评论。这个故事会随着任何回应而更新。
FED'S NEEL KASHKARI URGES CONGRESS TO GIVE FAMILIES MORE MONEY, PREDICTS ECONOMIC HARDSHIP COULD LAST 18 MONTHS
President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Neel Kashkari said Thursday that the U.S. economy could take up to a year and a half to recover from financial difficulties spawned by the coronavirus pandemic. Kashkari also encouraged the U.S. Congress to initiate a second round of direct cash payments to Americans impacted by the virus.
Kashkari's comments follow remarks made Wednesday by U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell who said more financial support from the government would be required to ensure the economy is not permanently damaged.
"If this is a slow recovery, the way I think it is—I think we're in this for months, a year, 18 months—there are going to be a lot of families that are going to need direct financial assistance," Kashkari said at a virtual event Thursday. "I just think money in the pockets of people who have lost their jobs is what we need right now until we can get the health care system to catch up and get control of this virus."
In March, President Donald Trump signed a $2 trillion coronavirus financial relief package into law. Known as the CARES Act, the legislation allowed qualifying Americans to receive a direct payment of up to $1,200. Other measures were enacted to help small businesses retain their employees. Despite these efforts, unemployment rates in the U.S. skyrocketed. In April, over 27 million Americans claimed to be without jobs, sending the country's unemployment numbers to 14.7 percent. That number represents the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression.
President of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank Neel Kashkari encouraged Congress on Thursday to provide another round of direct payments to Americans as coronavirus financial relief.
Democrats have been eager to initiate another coronavirus stimulus package. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled a new coronavirus response bill on Wednesday called the Heroes Act, which would provide over $3 trillion in relief to Americans. Included within that proposal is a second round of $1,200 direct payments for Americans.
In a Wednesday statement, Pelosi said the Heroes Act would deliver "the strong, urgent response that this crisis requires." Some Republicans have already said that they would prevent the Heroes Act, which is expected to be voted on as soon as Friday, from passing.
"Money would help anybody out, but the best thing we can do is get people back to work," Republican Ohio Representative Steve Stivers said Wednesday.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Monday the GOP was going to take a "pause" and assess how well the CARES Act had worked before moving on to a new relief package. He also said that Republican lawmakers feel no "urgency" to pass additional legislation. The Senate may not move forward on a new stimulus package until after the Memorial Day holiday.
Newsweek reached out to Senator McConnell's office for comment. This story will be updated with any response.