Airport Alert: President Calls off Coronavirus Relief Talks
October 6, 2020
The President today abruptly called off coronavirus relief talks until after the election and suggested House Democrats are "not negotiating in good faith." Unfortunately, the announcement means that relief to airports, airlines, and other industry partners will likely have wait until a lame duck session at the earliest. While it is possible that another effort could be made to try and move a freestanding bill to extend the airline Payroll Support Program separately with industry layoffs mounting, such a move faces exceedingly long odds at the moment.
House Democrats came down $1.2 trillion from their initial $3.4 trillion proposal and offered to meet Republicans half way. Meanwhile, White House officials indicated they were willing to raise their spending from $1 trillion to $1.6 trillion.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have been working to try to close the gap, and the two reportedly spoke yesterday for about an hour. As talks continued, the House late last week approved an updated HEROES Act - a $2.2 trillion Democratic plan that includes $13.5 billion for airports and concessionaires.
The measure also contains $28 billion to extend the Payroll Support Program in an effort to keep aviation workers on the job. Airlines began furloughing and laying off tens of thousands of employees on October 1 after requirements in the CARES Act expired.
Despite differences over funding and priorities, there seemed to be a glimmer of hope over the weekend. On Saturday the President said the country needs a stimulus package, and he called on both sides "to work together and get it done." The next day, Speaker Pelosi said negotiators were "making progress."
Talks continued into today until the President tweeted this afternoon that he has told his team to stop negotiating until after the election and indicated that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) should turn his full attention to confirming Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett.
The President today abruptly called off coronavirus relief talks until after the election and suggested House Democrats are "not negotiating in good faith." Unfortunately, the announcement means that relief to airports, airlines, and other industry partners will likely have wait until a lame duck session at the earliest. While it is possible that another effort could be made to try and move a freestanding bill to extend the airline Payroll Support Program separately with industry layoffs mounting, such a move faces exceedingly long odds at the moment.
House Democrats came down $1.2 trillion from their initial $3.4 trillion proposal and offered to meet Republicans half way. Meanwhile, White House officials indicated they were willing to raise their spending from $1 trillion to $1.6 trillion.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have been working to try to close the gap, and the two reportedly spoke yesterday for about an hour. As talks continued, the House late last week approved an updated HEROES Act - a $2.2 trillion Democratic plan that includes $13.5 billion for airports and concessionaires.
The measure also contains $28 billion to extend the Payroll Support Program in an effort to keep aviation workers on the job. Airlines began furloughing and laying off tens of thousands of employees on October 1 after requirements in the CARES Act expired.
Despite differences over funding and priorities, there seemed to be a glimmer of hope over the weekend. On Saturday the President said the country needs a stimulus package, and he called on both sides "to work together and get it done." The next day, Speaker Pelosi said negotiators were "making progress."
Talks continued into today until the President tweeted this afternoon that he has told his team to stop negotiating until after the election and indicated that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) should turn his full attention to confirming Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett.
