华盛顿——财政部长史蒂文·姆努钦周六表示，共和党人将于周一推出下一个COVID-19援助计划，并保证在他和唐纳德·特朗普总统的高级助手会面挽救几天前陷入困境的1万亿美元计划后，白宫会给予支持。
姆努钦在国会大厦告诉记者，延长即将到期的失业救济金——但大幅削减——是特朗普的首要任务。这位部长称每周600美元的援助是“荒谬的”，是对人们重返工作岗位的一种抑制。他还承诺，新一轮1200美元的刺激计划将于8月份出台。
在他和总统代理幕僚长马克·梅多斯(Mark Meadows)在国会大厦与共和党的工作人员呆了几个小时后，姆努钦说:“我们准备迅速行动。”他说，总统将“绝对”支持正在形成的共和党一揽子计划。
姆努钦的乐观评估是在民主党人公开参与更新提案之前做出的，该提案仍只是与另一个政党的参众两院领导人谈判的起点。他说，他最近给众议院议长南希·佩洛西和参议院少数党领袖查克·舒默打了电话，准备下周就更广泛的协议进行穿梭谈判。
白宫和参议院的共和党人正在竞相重组，此前一项1万亿美元的病毒救援法案的计划周四因共和党在规模、范围和细节上的内讧而告吹。预计它将带来1050亿美元帮助学校复课，用于病毒检测的新资金和对企业的好处，包括新一轮贷款、税收减免和全面的责任保护，免受与COVID相关的诉讼。
在共和党人苦苦挣扎之际，白宫团队淡化了与共和党参议员的分歧，称其言过其实，并表示特朗普专注于提供救助。
“总统已经非常清楚了。他希望确保美国人民在这个前所未有的时期拥有他们所需要的东西，”梅多斯说，“不仅要确保资金到位，还要确保项目到位。”
每周600美元的失业救济计划到期后，共和党人不得不采取行动。两个月前，民主党已经批准了佩洛西提出的3万亿美元的大规模计划。但从周六开始，数百万美国人将突然被切断援助，他们正准备预防社会和经济后果。
白宫提出了将额外补助削减至每周100美元的计划，而参议院共和党人更倾向于每周200美元，他们普遍同意逐步取消统一补助，支持确保员工先前工资不超过70%的补助。
Mnuchin还表示，1200美元的直接付款将基于与早期援助法案相同的公式。例如，收入在75，000美元或以下的个人获得全额，收入超过75，000美元的个人根据其收入获得不到1，200美元。收入超过100，000美元的个人不符合支付条件。
姆努钦说:“我们将在8月份让他们中的大多数人出来，他们将帮助人们。”
政府官员表示，总体方案保持在1万亿美元，显然与参议院多数党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔的原始草案持平。
民主党人警告说时间不多了，称共和党人陷入混乱。
失业救济金将于7月31日正式到期，但由于各州处理失业救济金的方式，截止日期实际上是周六。其他援助，包括联邦政府暂停驱逐数百万出租单元，也将在月底到期。
共和党的计划预计不会付诸表决，而是作为对民主党的反提议。这一策略使得没有得到共和党多数党全力支持的麦康奈尔避免了不得不忍受失败的结局。但这也给了民主党一些筹码，让他们坚持将自己的优先事项作为任何最终协议的一部分。
前面的道路仍不确定，但双方都在争先恐后地达成协议。
上周末，麦康奈尔在他的家乡肯塔基州度过了一段时间。他周五表示，他希望“在未来几周内”能就一个方案达成一致
Mnuchin: Virus aid package soon, $1,200 checks by August
WASHINGTON -- Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Saturday that Republicans were set to roll out the next COVID-19 aid package Monday and assured there was backing from the White House after he and President Donald Trump's top aide met to salvage the $1 trillion proposal that had floundered just days before.
Mnuchin told reporters at the Capitol that extending an expiring unemployment benefit — but reducing it substantially — was a top priority for Trump. The secretary called the $600 weekly aid “ridiculous” and a disincentive for people to go back to work. He also promised a fresh round of $1,200 stimulus checks would be coming in August.
“We're prepared to move quickly,” Mnuchin said after he and Mark Meadows, the president's acting chief of staff, spent several hours with GOP staff at the Capitol. He said the president would “absolutely” support the emerging Republican package.
Mnuchin’s optimistic assessment came before Democrats weighed in publicly on the updated proposal, which remained only a starting point in negotiations with House and Senate leaders in the other party. He said he recently called House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer ahead of shuttle negotiations next week on the broader deal.
The White House and Senate Republicans were racing to regroup after plans to introduce a $1 trillion virus rescue bill collapsed Thursday amid GOP infighting over its size, scope and details. It was expected to bring $105 billion to help schools reopen, new money for virus testing and benefits for businesses, including a fresh round of loans, tax breaks and a sweeping liability shield from COVID-related lawsuits.
As Republicans struggled, the White House team downplayed the differences with the GOP senators as overblown and said Trump was focused on providing relief.
“The president has been very clear. He wants to make sure that the American people have what they need during this unprecedented time," Meadows said, "to make sure not only the money is there but the programs.”
The expiration of the $600 weekly jobless benefits boost had been propelling the Republicans to act. Democrats already approved their sweeping $3 trillion plan from Pelosi two months ago. But with millions of Americans about to be suddenly cut off from the aid starting Saturday, they were bracing to prevent social and economic fallout.
The White House floated plans to cut the additional aid back to $100 a week, while Senate Republicans preferred $200, with general agreement about phasing out the flat boost in favor of one that ensures no more than 70% of an employee's previous pay.
Mnuchin also said the $1,200 direct payments would be based on the same formula from the earlier aid bill. Individuals making $75,000 or less, for example, received the full amount and those making more than $75,000 received less than $1,200 depending on their income. Individuals earning above $100,000 did not qualify for the payment.
“We’ll get the majority of them out in August and those will help people,” Mnuchin said.
The administration officials said the overall package remained at $1 trillion, apparently on par with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's original draft.
Democrats had warned time was running out, saying Republicans were in disarray.
The jobless benefit officially expires July 31, but due to the way states process unemployment payments, the cutoff was effectively Saturday. Other aid, including a federal eviction moratorium on millions of rental units, also expires at month’s end.
The GOP plan was not expected to come to a vote but serve as a counter-offer to Democrats. That strategy enabled McConnell, who did not have full support from his GOP majority, to avoid having to endure a failed outcome. But it also gave Democrats some leverage in insisting on their priorities as part of any final deal.
The path ahead remained uncertain, but both sides were scrambling to reach a deal.
McConnell, who spent time over the weekend in his home state of the Kentucky, said Friday he hoped a package could be agreed on “in the next few weeks.”
