The coronavirus epidemic storming the world is far more frightening than the bank crisis over a decade ago. It not only poses a risk to people’s health, but if left to fester could tank economies and cause unbearable financial strains for millions. But in the United States, the country’s divided congress could – as it has done before in times of crisis – hinder rather than help the rescue effort.
Republican and Democratic lawmakers in Washington are, for now, at least, saying all of the right things to their constituents, some of whom have family members or friends infected by Covid-19 and quarantined from the general public. Majority leader Mitch McConnell and minority leader Charles Schumer, the top Republican and Democrat in the Senate respectively, are each cloaking their public remarks with calls for cooperation and bipartisanship during this time of extreme stress on the system. So far, the two veteran politicians have met their words with action: this week, Congress passed a relief package for American who are either infected by the virus, told to stay at home by their employers, or have children whose schools were closed.
The Senate, however, is now preparing to move lightening-fast on an even larger stimulus bill that would send cash payments to Americans below a certain income level, provide the struggling airline industry with relief, and give small businesses financial assistance in order to keep their operations afloat.
But with so much money on the line, perhaps amounting to a figure north of £840bn ($1 trillion), there are disagreements about what the stimulus should look like, what industries should be included, who shouldn’t qualify for benefits, and what the terms companies on the receiving end of the federal money will have to abide by. Senate Democrats, including Schumer are vocally pressing for the terms to be strict in order to prevent companies from using the assistance package to buy back stock rather than keep their workers paid. Other Democrats want college loans on the chopping block as well. On the other side, fiscally-minded lawmakers in the Republican conference are wary of throwing money at the problem without spending reductions that would prevent the £19bn ($23 trillion) national debt from growing.
No negotiation on Capitol Hill is straightforward, particularly in the Senate, where a lone senator could use his or her powers to stall a bill for days. Americans, however, want results and immediate relief from an economic downturn that Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin told lawmakers could result in a worse-case scenario of 20 per cent unemployment.
Public opinion in Congress makes a root-canal look popular in comparison. Only 19 per cent of Americans polled by the Pew research centre trust the federal government as a whole to do the right thing. Congress’s approval rating last month was 23 per cent. The last time congressional approval reached 30 per cent, in July 2009, president Barack Obama was only months into the job, Gordon Brown was PM, and Grey’s Anatomy was one of the most popular television shows in America. Americans by and large take a cynical view of politicians in general as highly paid, empty-suits who spend more time fundraising for their re-election campaigns than meeting the needs of ordinary people. Can their response to the coronavirus prove them wrong? Don’t bet on it.
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