US House $3T Stimulus Bill Dismisses Key Progressive Proposals

The speaker of the House of Representatives in the United States, Nancy Pelosi, unveiled Tuesday a more than US$3 trillion new aid package to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

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"We must think big, for the people, now," Pelosi said from the speaker's office at the U.S. Capitol, adding that "Not acting is the most expensive course."

The 1,815-page bill - titled the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act - would provide US$1 trillion in additional funding for states and cities, prolong unemployment benefits through January of next year, allow an additional one-time US$1,200 stimulus payments for adults earning up to US$75,000 per year, expand federal nutrition benefits, provide US$25 billion for the U.S. Postal Service, create a hazard pay fund for frontline workers, and increase Covid-19 testing efforts.

While progressives support many of the proposals included in the Act, careful observers have noted several omissions or sections they consider "unacceptable," Common Dreams reported.

Key progressive proposals as direct cash payments, a paycheck guarantee, cancelation of rent and mortgage payments, or expansion of Medicare to cover the growing number of unemployed and uninsured citizens in the U.S. were overlooked.

The legislative text, however, proposes an expansion of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) eligibility include corporate lobbying organizations - which aggressively pushed for the change - and a bailout for landlords.

"Democratic leadership has had plenty of input from progressive thinkers over the past couple of months. They just care more about the input from corporate lobbyists," tweeted HuffPost senior reporter Zach Carter. "There is just no excuse for this."

Instead of expanding Medicare, the HEROES Act "funds approximately nine months of full premium subsidies for the existing health insurance program COBRA, which allows laid-off or furloughed employees to stay on their health insurance plans," Vox's Ella Nilsen and Li Zhou said.

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The COBRA proposal is a mere subsidy to the insurance industry that would not be nearly as beneficial or cost-effective as the emergency Medicare expansion proposed by Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Pramila Jayapal; progressives have been saying.

Jayapal urged for the inclusion of her Paycheck Guarantee Act, which would have provided companies with direct payroll grants to keep workers employed, but Pelosi rebuffed her.

As an alternative to her ambitious proposal, the new legislation offers an expansion of the Employee Retention Tax Credit.

The House is expected to vote Friday on the package. But the bill is likely to head straight into a Senate rejection.

Republicans are wary of another round of aid, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell described the Democratic proposal as a grab bag of "pet priorities." 

Even as the HEROES Act does not meet demands that progressives say are essential steps toward economic security and public health, the House Democratic leadership announced they're willing to negotiate down even further.

"It is too small even if it passed as is," freelance journalist Jon Walker tweeted. "As a starting point for negotiation, it is going to be a disaster."