The recent cyberattack on Colonial Pipeline combined with a pandemic-recovering economy have hit the trucking industry, which plays a crucial role in consumer spending.
The amount sets the stage for some difficult decisions — and behind-the-scenes haggling — on the part of House leaders who view the spending as a way to help build political coalitions in an ever-divided Washington.
The cuts are likely to fall hardest on roughly 1.4 million people who benefit from previous stimulus programs adopted by Congress, including one targeting those who drive for Uber or otherwise participate in the gig economy. Starting next month, these workers are likely to receive no money at all.
The chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee privately warns tax plans could hurt vulnerable incumbents.
Hailing from a state that’s eager for federal money — and a party that’s increasingly reluctant to spend it — the senator is hoping she can help broker the sort of compromise that Democrats and Republicans insist they want to reach.
New push comes as White House plans meetings with senior Republicans over jobs package
The new GOP cuts target the extra $300 in weekly payments that millions of Americans have received for months in addition to their usual unemployment checks
The White House wants to dramatically increase spending, but GOP leaders allege the approach is creating disincentives to work.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday faulted the Biden administration for injecting trillions of dollars in stimulus spending into the U.S. economy, arguing that the recent round of one-time checks and other aid have driven up prices and deterred people from returning to work.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has cautioned privately against overreacting to anecdotes of worker shortages.
Janet Yellen later reversed herself, showing the difficult tightrope she walks in her new role
The early pledges from party lawmakers threatened to create even more political tension around a package that is already facing no shortage of it.
Inflation is also rising in certain areas, but Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell said that those increases aren’t expected to persist through the entire economy.
Universal preschool and free community college are among a plethora of initiatives that would be paid for by tax increases and IRS changes.
The White House’s proposal would direct hundreds of billions of dollars to child care, paid family leave, tuition-free community college, and a slew of other initiatives.
The approach marks a break with Biden, who is only expected to endorse an extension of the plussed-up child tax credit for five years as part of his upcoming proposal known as the American Families Plan. Biden is set to unveil his thinking during his first-ever address to Congress on Wednesday evening.
Republicans have long sought to shrink the tax-collecting agency, but Biden aides believe hundreds of billions of dollars go uncollected each year.
- Analysis
Low-interest policies helped stabilize the economy, but they also set off a multitrillion-dollar run-up in markets, which overwhelmingly benefited the richest 10 percent of Americans.
Congressional Republicans spent the past four years racking up big bills under President Donald Trump. Now, they’re straining to reclaim their message of fiscal discipline in Democrat-dominated Washington.
Big spending increases and tax changes will test the Democrats’ majority and the GOP’s willingness to stand in the way.
