WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is at a crossroads in the coronavirus crisis, wrestling over whether to “go big,” as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants for the next relief bill, or hit “pause,” as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell insists.
It’s a defining moment for the political parties heading toward the election and one that will affect the livelihoods of countless Americans suddenly dependent on the federal government.
“It’s a bit like what Alexander Hamilton was facing in 1790,” he said, describing the plan to have the new federal government assume the Revolutionary War debts of the states, despite protests of a bailout.
It was Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell who counseled Pelosi to rely on historically low interest rates to “go big,” while Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin warned of “permanent damage” to the economy unless businesses reopen.
A mid-April NBC/Wall Street Journal poll showed registered voters somewhat more likely to say they were concerned about the federal government spending too much on economic stimulus and driving up the budget deficit than they were worried that too little money would be spent, lengthening the recession, 48% to 40%.
