TOPLINE
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin is staking out an aggressive stance on the fifth coronavirus stimulus package while the rest of the Trump Administration remains conflicted about a path forward, all while Congress readies for a frantic push in the coming weeks to get the legislation over the finish line.
Steven Mnuchin, U.S. Treasury Secretary, speaks during a House Small Business Committee hearing on … [+] July 17, 2020, in Washington, D.C.
Erin Scott-Pool/Getty Images
KEY FACTS
The secretary called on Congress to pass a stimulus package by the end of the month during testimony in front of the House Committee on Small Business on Friday: “Certain industries, such as construction, are recovering quickly, while others, such as retail and travel, are facing longer-term impacts and will require additional relief,” he said.
There’s bipartisan support for a fifth bill, but Congress has just 11 days from July 20 to July 31 to come together on a stimulus package before lawmakers break for an August recess.
On Friday, Mnuchin called on Congress to extend the PPP program, which doled out billions of dollars in loans to American businesses, and urged lawmakers to consider automatically forgiving the loans for small businesses (currently forgiveness depends on whether the business retains its employees).
The secretary has also expressed support for another round of stimulus checks and even extending the $600 expanded unemployment program—which many Republicans remain opposed to—fueling an “epic clash” inside the White House over the path forward, Fox Business reported Thursday.
As Mnuchin urges Congress to extend the PPP program and the deadline for the expanded unemployment program, other Trump Administration officials are warning the next bill “must” include a payroll tax holiday, a more conservative proposal that President Trump has repeatedly thrown his weight behind but Congress has thus far rejected.
Mnuchin, who has up until this point served as the main negotiator with Congress on stimulus bills, is privately “prioritizing” a next round of stimulus checks over cutting the payroll tax, according to the Washington Post, as he believes it’s unrealistic to expect House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to back such a proposal.
Crucial quote
During testimony Friday, Mnuchin said that the next stimulus package should “extend the PPP, but on a more targeted basis for smaller companies and those that are especially hard-hit, such as restaurants, hotels and other travel and hospitality businesses.” He also added that he would like to see businesses have the opportunity to reapply for PPP loans, but that it should hinge on a “revenue test.”
News peg
Millions of unemployed Americans will lose a $600 boost to state unemployment payouts that’s part of a coronavirus relief program set to expire at the end of this month.
Tangent
Mnuchin said he wasn’t aware of whether anyone in President Trump’s family or business took Paycheck Protection Program loans: “I’m not aware of if they took loans or if they didn’t,” he said.
What to watch for
A clash over federal aid to state and local governments. Democrats and Republicans are at odds over whether Congress should provide further relief to states reeling from the impact of the pandemic on state tax revenue. “If there were financial conditions that states had coming into this, it’s not the federal government’s role to bail them out of that,” Mnuchin said Friday. “I think that the Trump Administration should be held to the same standard as Congress on PPP.”
Disclosure: Forbes Media LLC confirmed on July 6 that it received a Paycheck Protection Program loan of $5 million to $10 million on April 15.
Further reading
Mnuchin calls for extending PPP but targeting it at ‘smaller companies’ and restaurants, hotels (Marketwatch)
Mnuchin Suggests Automatic Forgiveness of Paycheck Protection Program Loans (Wall Street Journal)
Mnuchin Calls for Congress to Pass More Stimulus This Month (New York Times)
