After a week of meetings, negotiators for the White House and Democrats seem to have made little progress in talks to create a new round of coronavirus relief with the two sides still far apart on major issues like unemployment supplemental benefits and financial aid to states and municipalities, the Associated Press reports.
As a result of the lack of progress, President Trump has stated he will act unilaterally to reimplement eviction protections and federal unemployment payments.
The White House is balking at the Democratic program, passed by the House in May, that would extend $600 unemployment supplemental payments because, it believes, it disincentivizes people from working during the pandemic.
The administration offered to extend the $600 payment one additional week, but vowed to cut the benefit for subsequent weeks. The federal supplement impacts more than 30 million people who have lost their jobs since the start of the pandemic in January.
Democrats have also put forth more than $1 trillion in financial aid to states and municipalities, which have suffered losses of tax revenue due to the shutdowns required to control the spread of the coronavirus.
The White House option is to expand the ability of state and local governments to tap into a $150 billion fund set up in the first relief bill, passed in March, without any additional funding.
Another item that is being debated is additional funding for the Post Office to pay for overtime and additional workforce to fix a backlog, funding the White House do not want.