'White House Willing To Cut A Stimulus Deal Without 'Liability Shield,' Breaking With McConnell'
'White House willing to cut a stimulus deal without liability shield, breaking with McConnell.' The Senate majority leader had said this week that there would be no deal with Democrats without legal protections for employers against pandemic claims. Washington Post, July 31, 2020. - Excerpts, Ed.:
The White House is willing to cut a deal with Democrats that leaves out Senate Republican legislation aimed at protecting employers, hospitals and schools from coronavirus-related lawsuits, according to two people with knowledge of internal White House planning. The White House wants and is pushing for the liability shield as a top priority but would be willing to sign off on a deal that lacks the legal protections, those people said.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) controls the Senate floor and could shoot down any deal that leaves out what he has said is a necessary component of any stimulus package. One of the people familiar with the administrations thinking said the measure was considered important but not absolutely essential. White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany told reporters on Friday that the liability shield was McConnells priority but that Trump wanted unemployment insurance extended. Thats a question for Mitch McConnell
thats his priority, McEnany said, when asked if the administration would insist on a liability shield. This president is very keenly focused on unemployment insurance.
The dealmaking flexibility conflicts with the ultimatum McConnell has given Democrats that any congressional stimulus package must make it significantly harder for workers and customers to sue employers and businesses for damages related to the coronavirus. McConnell has said he will not bring up legislation for a vote in the Senate if it does not include the liability measure. Were not negotiating over liability protection, McConnell told CNBC on Tuesday. Were not negotiating with Democrats over that. This red line, as McConnell calls it, has appeared to be a major obstacle in negotiations. Congressional Democrats have strongly objected to granting such legal protections, arguing it would give businesses and employers wide latitude to endanger their workers without fear of repercussion.
But White House officials are less attached to the issue, seeing the shield as something the administration can live without in the stimulus package, according to the two people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private strategy. On Wednesday, President Trump told reporters that the White House wants to move quickly to approve a partial extension of unemployment benefits and an extension of a federal eviction moratorium, which expired on Friday. Trump did not mention the liability shield..We want to work on the evictions so that people dont get evicted. Well work on the payments for the people, Trump said on Wednesday. And the rest of it, were so far apart, we dont care. We really dont care. We want to take care of the people....
More, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/07/31/liability-shield-congress-bailout/
Squinch
(50,773 posts)Donny Bodybags. It has nothing to do with policy or doing the right thing.
Second, tomorrow they will reverse their opinion about it.
beachbumbob
(9,263 posts)love watching GOP eat their own
empedocles
(15,751 posts)BootinUp
(46,924 posts)a wooden spike through the heart of the beast.