House Democrats eye ambitious fourth coronavirus bill

House Democratic leaders laid out their priorities for an ambitious fourth coronavirus response package on Monday, saying they hope to pass bipartisan legislation with more direct payments for individuals, money for state and local governments, and funding for infrastructure.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said members will be working together to craft the legislation as they remain in their districts for much of April, hoping to vote on the bill when the House returns. Exactly when House members will come back to the Capitol remains in flux, but House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Monday in a notice to lawmakers that no votes are expected before April 20.

“We’re not coming back for a few weeks, but I do think we can be working on our committee work in the meantime,” Pelosi said during a phone call with reporters Monday. “I think it is really important that as soon as we are here, we are ready to pass legislation.”

She said she does not expect to have the legislation finalized before the House returns. The effort to draft new legislation comes after Congress approved a $2.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package last week — standing as the largest emergency aid measure in American history. Before that, lawmakers passed two other coronavirus response bills.

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Negotiations between congressional Democrats and Republicans for a fourth bill may be a challenge. Democrats on Monday laid out a number of policies Republicans are likely to take issue with — and there also appears to be some disagreement about whether another response bill is necessary at this point. Last week, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy argued for waiting to see how the $2.2 trillion package plays out.

“I wouldn’t be so quick to say you have to write something else. Let’s let this bill work,” the California Republican said. “Whatever decision we have to make going forward, let’s do it with knowledge. Let’s do it with the experience of what’s on the ground at that moment in time.”

“If something is needed in the future, let’s make that decision, but let’s not make that decision without allowing these bills to be put into the economy,” he added.

Democrats are taking a different tack, jumping into discussions about what they want to see in another measure. Pelosi, along with Reps. Bobby Scott of Virginia and Frank Pallone of New Jersey, laid out what Democrats hope to see in a fourth coronavirus bill on Monday. They said they want to:

• Give more direct payments to individuals.
• Pass “significantly more” money for state and local governments, as well as additional funding for hospitals and nursing homes.
• Ensure coronavirus treatments, and not just testing, will be free.
• Provide for protective equipment needs, such as masks and gloves.
• Require an emergency Occupational Safety and Health Administration standard to protect health care workers and other at-risk workers, such as TSA employees, first responders, and grocery store employees.
• Include an infrastructure piece that could address water systems as well as broadband and 5G, which Pelosi said are “essential to preparing our country for what we’re engaged in now further and what comes next.
• Address the impact on available funding for Washington, DC, that was caused by its classification as a territory instead of a state in the third coronavirus response bill.
• Eliminate previous exemptions made for large employers regarding paid sick leave and family leave.

“If we fail to act, we’ll be making the situation even more dangerous,” Pelosi said. She added that Democrats are currently “collecting information, taking inventory” of the needs Congress may have to address in the near future.

She emphasized that Democrats want the fourth coronavirus response bill to be bipartisan. Pallone and Scott, who both chair committees that will be involved in drafting the legislation, said they are in communication with the top Republicans on their committees.

“We’re in touch with Republican colleagues. Obviously there will be some differences, but to the extent that we can cooperate, we will,” said Scott, who chairs the committee on Education and Labor.

“When we reconvene, the bill should be in pretty good shape for presentation,” Scott said.