Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives, and Chuck Schumer, the minority leader in the Senate, have been tussling for weeks with Trump envoys over a new aid package. ©GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP ALEX WONG

Washington (AFP) – Democrats on Friday urged the White House to stick with negotiations on a new aid plan for Americans facing hardship due to the coronavirus pandemic, after Donald Trump said he is ready to bypass Congress to maintain emergency assistance.

The US president “and Republicans appear ready to walk away from the negotiating table to do unworkable, weak and narrow executive orders that barely scratch the surface of what is needed to defeat the virus and help struggling Americans,” the Democratic congressional leaders wrote.

Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives, and Chuck Schumer, the minority leader in the Senate, have been tussling for weeks with Trump envoys over a new aid package.

They announced a new meeting scheduled for Friday afternoon.

With less than three months to go before the November presidential and congressional elections, the negotiations are all the more difficult because the Republicans, who have a majority in the Senate, are themselves divided.

Trump, down in the polls against Democrat presidential challenger Joe Biden, has been signaling for days that he could take action on prolonging the current evictions relief and also extending enhanced unemployment benefits.

On Thursday he tweeted that he had “notified my staff to continue working on an Executive Order with respect to Payroll Tax Cut, Eviction Protections, Unemployment Extensions, and Student Loan Repayment Options.”

White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow said Trump’s team already has drafted an order for a temporary payroll tax cut, without specifying when it could be signed, pending a possible breakthrough in Congress.

In March, Congress approved a titanic $2.2 trillion plan to revive the economy, which included a federal unemployment benefit of $600 a week, in addition to state unemployment benefits, and a moratorium to prevent evictions.

These measures expired at the end of July.

Republican lawmakers introduced a $1 trillion package at the end of July, while Democrats had already passed their own $3 trillion bill in the House in May.

Among the major areas of disagreement in the dueling packages is unemployment benefits.

The unemployment rate continued to fall in July in the US, despite much less job creation than in June due to the resurgence of COVID-19.

A total of 32 million people were receiving an additional $600 in mid-July, either alone or in addition to unemployment for those entitled to it.

Disclaimer: Validity of the above story is for 7 Days from original date of publishing. Source: AFP.