Congress Still At Odds Over Limited Stimulus Bill

The Hill: Senate To Vote Thursday On GOP Coronavirus Bill 
The Senate will vote Thursday on a scaled-down GOP coronavirus relief bill. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters, as he headed to his office off the Senate floor, that he expected a vote on Thursday. The timeline comes after McConnell indicated in a statement earlier this week that a vote could take place "as soon as this week." Because McConnell is expected to tee up the bill on Tuesday, the earliest a vote could have taken place was Thursday. (Carney, 9/8)

The Wall Street Journal: Republicans Roll Out ‘Skinny’ Stimulus Bill As Talks With Democrats Remain Stalled -
Senate Republicans proposed a new, smaller package of coronavirus aid Tuesday aimed at unifying the party and bolstering it politically, as talks with Democrats remained at a standstill and both parties blame the other for the lack of progress over the summer. The new bill, which includes jobless aid, liability protections for businesses and school funding among other measures, is expected to cost around $300 billion, after the $650 billion in new spending is offset with $350 billion in savings from unspent funds from earlier coronavirus packages. The proposal is designed to assuage the spending concerns of some GOP senators by reducing the price tag from an earlier $1 trillion proposed by Republicans, while also adding new tax credits for private-school scholarships and homeschooling expenses, a longtime priority of conservative groups that many Democrats oppose. (Peterson, 9/8)

The Hill: Pelosi, Schumer Warn GOP Coronavirus Bill 'Headed Nowhere' 
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday warned that a forthcoming GOP coronavirus proposal is a non-starter. The two congressional Democratic leaders, in a joint statement, said the pared-down Republican bill is “headed nowhere.” (Carney, 9/8)

The Hill: McConnell Works To Lock Down GOP Votes For Coronavirus Bill 
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is working to wrangle his caucus behind a pared-down coronavirus relief bill, with top GOP senators predicting they’ll be able to win over at least 51 Republican votes this week. The decision to force a vote on Thursday follows weeks of behind-the-scenes negotiating between the White House and congressional Republicans on a smaller package that could unify the party after high-profile divisions and with the elections looming. (Carney, 9/8)

In related news about COVID's economic toll —

NPR: COVID-19's Serious Financial Impact Hits Almost Half Of U.S. Households 
In America's four largest cities, at least half of people say they have experienced the loss of a job or a reduction in wages or work hours in their household since the start of the coronavirus outbreak. That's the finding of a new poll published Wednesday by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Many of these problems are concentrated among Black and Latino households in the four cities, according to the poll, which gathered responses from July 1 through Aug 3. (Neel, 9/9)

ABC News: Half Of Households In 4 Largest US Cities Report Financial Problems Due To Pandemic: POLL 
Americans already enduring the most frayed financial safety nets now find themselves on the fault lines exacerbated by the novel coronavirus. New polling reveals the strain born by families caught in the crosshairs of several issues converging on the country: COVID-19 and systemic racial, socioeconomic and health inequality. (Pezenik, 9/9)

The Hill: Gap Narrows Between Those Who See Pandemic As More Of A Health Crisis And Those Focused On Economy: Poll 
The gap between U.S. adults who see the coronavirus pandemic as more of a health crisis and those focusing on the economy has narrowed within the past two months, a poll released Tuesday found. The poll, from NBC and SurveyMonkey, found that a slight majority of respondents — 52 percent — said they see the coronavirus mostly as a health crisis, compared to 47 percent who see the pandemic as more of an economic issue. (Coleman, 9/8)