Less than a week after President Donald Trump signed a $2 trillion relief bill expanding unemployment insurance and business loans, the California Democrat said her party agreed with Trump's call for hundreds of billions or even trillions of dollars in infrastructure investments, including for broadband internet service.
Pelosi outlined other goals for the next bill, including eliminating all costs for COVID-19-related treatment and requiring an occupational health standard for health care workers. She also said the bill would mandate a special open enrollment period for Affordable Care Act insurance plans.
"Whether some in Washington realize it or not, this virus is taking its toll very quickly, and we need to get out in front of it," Pelosi said during a news conference by phone. "To ignore it is to ignore the fact that the coronavirus crisis is raging, that we can do something about it."
Top congressional Republicans have sought to pump the brakes on another big response, calling for time to gauge the impact of the massive relief bill that became law last Friday. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has voiced that view in interviews this week. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., took that position in his own news conference on Thursday.
"The speaker is talking about a fourth bill. I do not think that is appropriate at this time. We just passed three bills," McCarthy said. "The focus of the House needs to be right now, how do we implement [them and] make sure we get it right. This is a great deal of money."
Pelosi said Democrats were already at work on a fourth package, though she said it would take "a few weeks at least" and gave no sign she would call lawmakers back to Washington before the chamber's scheduled return on April 20. Pelosi said she spoke Wednesday evening with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who has been the administration's lead negotiator, and plans to speak soon with McConnell.
"We'll be putting together our bill," she said. "I would hope we can do it together [with Republicans] … but we will be writing our bill."
The speaker said Democrats want further extensions to unemployment insurance, with more funds to help states administer their programs as unprecedented numbers of workers seek help. The U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday reported 6.6 million new unemployment claims last week. She said Democrats would seek to continue the $600 additional benefit on top of income replacement, a measure that drew Republican opposition but that she cast as both relief and stimulus.
Another major expense would be emergency aid to state and local governments, Pelosi said, calling the $150 billion in last week's package a "down payment" and predicting this need would spur bipartisan action.
"That's probably the biggest leverage to get another bill – Democrat and Republican mayors and governors insisting that the need is there," she said. A slew of Democrats have urged their leadership to reserve funding for smaller cities and towns, because much of the approved aid is reserved for big metropolitan areas.
The speaker said the next bill also could require the administration to allow new enrollments in private health insurance plans offered through the Affordable Care Act.
"Without quality health coverage, a coronavirus hospitalization could cost patients tens of thousands of dollars," she said. "Democrats will continue to fight for a special enrollment period."
She also reiterated two other health care goals: making treatment free for everyone, without copays or deductible requirements, and mandating an Occupational Safety and Health Administration emergency temporary standard for health care workers.
The speaker also identified pension stabilization as a goal for the next bill, apparently referring to the Butch Lewis Act, a nearly $50 billion plan for loans to struggling multiemployer pension plans facing insolvency.
Democratic leaders had outlined their infrastructure proposals on Wednesday, with $760 billion for transportation and $86 billion for broadband.
"Telemedicine, teleworking, tele-schooling and the increased use of social media and video conferencing by Americans connecting with loved ones during this epidemic has made access to high-speed broadband more critical than ever," Pelosi said on Thursday. "Even kids who might get a free laptop from somebody's beautiful philanthropy, they have to go someplace else to be able to connect. We want that to be something they can do all over America — high-speed, always-on broadband."
In addition to new policies and funds, the speaker said she intends to set up a temporary House committee to oversee the implementation of coronavirus relief. She said a bipartisan select committee with subpoena power would be led by Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, D-S.C. She did not endorse calls from some Democrats for a congressional investigation into the Trump administration's early handling of the crisis.
The top House Republican questioned the need for such a select committee, calling it "redundant," given that the most recent bill established several oversight bodies: a special inspector general for pandemic recovery, a bipartisan Congressional Oversight Commission and a Pandemic Response Accountability Committee composed of independent inspectors general, although Trump used a signing statement to limit that group's duty to Congress.
McCarthy said it takes a House vote to approve a new select committee, as happened for previous panels, such as the one that investigated the death of American personnel in Benghazi, Libya. Although the Democratic majority has the votes to pass a resolution establishing a select committee, House leaders have said they don't plan to convene lawmakers until at least April 20.
--Editing by Nicole Bleier.
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