Coronavirus Stimulus Negotiations Continue
WASHINGTON UPDATE
The House is in recess. The Senate is in recess until October 19. There is a CR until December 11.
Stimulus Negotiations
On Thursday, October 8, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (CA) and Secretary of Treasury Steve Mnuchin discussed the possibility of agreement on a comprehensive coronavirus stimulus package. After their discussion, Pelosi held a call with her leadership team to give an update on negotiations – saying they are ‘very much alive.’ However, the House is set to be on recess until after elections and the Senate is away until October 19th when they return to work on confirming Supreme Court Justice nominee Amy Coney Barrett. There are still major sticking points before an agreement can be finalized – Democrats and Republicans are still far away on price tag and several policy differences. In order for a deal to get done sooner rather than later, the White House needs to commit to action on this effort to finalize it. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (KY) has expressed his doubts it will be accomplished in three weeks.
According to sources, the White House top-line number is $1.8 trillion – with $2 trillion being the line the GOP can’t cross. The Administration is aiming for $300 billion in state and local funding, which is too low for Democrats, and increased the amount of the direct payment per child from $500 to $1,000. The White House also wants to try to replace the Earned Income Tax Credit with a boost in stimulus payments. There are still many details that need to be worked through and it will be a tough road through Congress. On Saturday, October 10, Senate Republicans criticized the latest proposal raising concerns about the $1.8 trillion price tag. Talks will continue this week.
Summer Youth Employment Survey
The U.S. Conference of Mayors Workforce Development Council (USCM WDC), in partnership with the Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions and CLASP, is conducting a national survey on 2020 summer youth employment programs (SYEP). The data from this survey will be used to inform a paper that will highlight innovations and challenges of implementing SYEP during COVID-19 and policy implications, with input from partners including the National League of Cities and National Youth Employment Coalition. The survey audience is both program providers running summer jobs programs and funders who oversee SYEP and contract service delivery out to other organizations (e.g. government agencies, workforce boards, or workforce intermediaries). If your planned 2020 SYEP was cancelled, completing the survey is still valuable to inform a comprehensive perspective. The estimated length of the survey is 20 minutes and responses will be accepted until Friday, October 30, 2020. If you have any questions, please contact Mike Swigert at mike.swigert@aspeninst.org.
Click here to access the survey.
Initial Jobless Claims
In the week ending October 3, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 840,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 12,000 from 837,000 to 849,000. The 4-week moving average was 857,000, a decrease of 13,250 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 3,000 from 867,250 to 870,250. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 7.5 percent for the week ending September 26, a decrease of 0.7 percentage point from the previous week's revised rate.
Click here to read the full report.
Click here to read the entire October 13 weekly legislative update.