Legislative Update
Legislative Update, December 1, 2020
- Senators Seek Consensus: A bipartisan group of U.S. senators is working to reach a consensus on a new round of coronavirus relief and economic stimulus. The group includes Chris Coons (D-Delaware), Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Mark Warner (D-Virginia), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire) and Michael Bennet (D-Colorado) and Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Illinois). Though Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) has indicated that the Senate should be able to pass an additional round of stimulus, there are no indications that he is willing to move from his $500 billion plan which includes liability protections for small businesses. Conversely, Speaker Pelosi has given no signals that she is willing to entertain liability protections or a package that is less than the $2.2 trillion plan on which she insisted even as the Trump Administration offered a $1.9 trillion plan. Key CARES Act programs will expire later this month, such as federal unemployment benefits for those who have exhausted their state benefits. Leading economists, including Federal Reserve officials and senior corporate leaders have warned that without a new round of stimulus, eviction protections, small business aid and other relief, the consequences for the already flagging economic recovery will be dire.
- Initial Jobless Claims Rise: For the week ended November 21, initial unemployment claims rose for the second straight week to 778,000. This is the first time since July that claims have risen on two consecutive weeks. The jobs report is being seen as an indication that the surge in coronavirus cases is weighing on the economy. While significantly below the millions of claims filed in March and April, the number is still higher than the pre-pandemic record set in 1982 of 695,000. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the current unemployment rate is 6.9%, and about 12.5 million of the 22 million jobs lost at the outset of the pandemic have returned. However, job growth has slowed substantially; and the 6.9% unemployment figure does not count those who have given up on searching for employment.