McConnell indicates he’ll unveil GOP coronavirus bill this week

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) signaled on Tuesday that he will introduce the GOP’s coronavirus relief package this week.

“I’m going to introduce a bill in the next few days that is a starting place. That enjoys fairly significant support among Republican senators — probably not everyone,” McConnell said during a weekly press conference.

McConnell, when asked if he would bring the bill up for a vote or if he would negotiate with Democrats beforehand, indicated he views the Republican measure as the starting point for negotiations with Democrats.

“I think that’s a starting place for discussion with Democrats. Clearly they have the ability to prevent us from passing anything. … So I think it’s pretty clear that they’re not irrelevant. We do have to talk to them,” McConnell added.

The GOP leader’s timeline comes after a closed-door Republican lunch with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, where the administration officials briefed senators on the status of talks surrounding the bill. More than a dozen senators also spoke about what they want to see in the legislation, according to Republicans who attended the lunch.

Senators said afterward that they had not made firm decisions on several issues, including what to do about a proposed payroll-tax cut, a top priority for President Trump, or what the threshold would be for another round of stimulus checks.

“There are some differences of opinion on the payroll-tax cut and whether that’s the best way to go, and so we’re still in discussion with the administration on that,” McConnell said.

He also outlined broad contours about the forthcoming bill during a floor speech Tuesday morning.

McConnell, as he did during the recent two-week July 4 recess, described the main pillars of the bill as addressing jobs, health care, kids in school and liability protections.

The measure, according to McConnell, will include $105 billion for schools, another round of Paycheck Protection Program funds and another round of stimulus checks.

McConnell had indicated during the two-week break that Republicans were interested in providing checks to individuals who make up to $40,000 a year. But he declined to say on Tuesday what the income range would be to qualify for another round of direct payments.

Both Mnuchin and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) have said they want an agreement on the legislation by the end of next week. The Senate is scheduled to be in town through Aug. 7, giving negotiators more flexibility if talks spill over into August.

McConnell indicated on Tuesday he does not expect a deal to pass Congress by the end of the month, which is next Friday. Asked if he expected a bill to pass by the end of next week, McConnell laughed and added “no.”