What the Next Trillion Dollar Stimulus Bill May Look Like

Leaders in Washington say they are ready to start work on the next stimulus bill and there appears to be some bipartisan thawing after public sparring. 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reportedly told other Democrats and former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on a conference call it has to be $1 trillion or more. Bloomberg reports that Pelosi wants the bill to replenish funds for programs established in Congress’s $2.2 trillion virus relief bill, additional direct payments to individuals, extended unemployment insurance, more resources for food stamps and more funds for the Payroll Protection Program that provides loans to small businesses. 

There was no mention of infrastructure, which she talked about last week. This is most likely a compromise to stick to issues directly related to the crisis rather than a broader agenda, which Republicans complained about last week. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell previously advocated a wait-and-see approach. He said Pelosi's push was "premature" and she should "stand down," but he has recently signaled he is open to working on a new bill. On Friday, he told The Associated Press "there will be a next measure" and the fourth bill "should be more a targeted response to what we got wrong and what we didn’t do enough for — and at the top of the list there would have to be the health care part of it." Sen. Marco Rubio has told the press that other Republican senators also recognize the need for another bill. "That includes, by the way, replenishing the funds on the small business loan program. Because I believe that those funds, given the demand, will not reach June 30," he told CNBC

President Trump has also indicated his administration plans to do more. Yesterday he told reporters he supports additional direct payments and the idea of an infrastructure bill. "Our country has to be rebuilt. They spent all this money in the Middle East — $8 trillion," he said. He has also promised he will ask Congress for more money for the small business loan program if it runs out.

White House officials have also discussed a payroll-tax cut, a capital-gains tax cut, creating 50-year Treasury bonds and a waiver that would clear businesses of liability from workers who contract COVID-19, according to Fox Business. 

There is also a growing call for more funding directed toward local governments as revenue is expected to plunge.Yellen says there's a tremendous need to support local governments, according to Bloomberg. The previous stimulus bill allocated $150 billion toward state and local aid, but this was for specifically coronavirus-related purposes. Denver's Governor Jared Polis and local government officials recently wrote a letter to to Colorado’s congressional delegation in Washington that said, "As you look toward the Phase 4 stimulus package, we stand united as state and local partners on the front lines of this crisis, urging you to include at least $500 billion in direct, robust and immediate State and local aid. Absent this assistance, the state of Colorado and local governments who are directly helping Colorado’s communities respond and recover from the impacts of this public health crisis will face an unmitigated economic crisis."

Congress is currently adjourned and lawmakers won't return to Washington until April 20, so a bill could be possibly be enacted in May.