August 10, 2020

USA: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin Said Democrats Are Holding Up Benefits To Hardworking Americans. Trump Suggests Some States May 'Pay Nothing' As Part Of Unemployment Plan.


Fox News published August 9, 2020: Mnuchin: Democrats are holding up benefits to hardworking Americans. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin joins Chris Wallace on 'Fox News Sunday.'

I typed this transcript below of the first 6 minutes of the video I shared with you above. I looked for a transcript to save me time and could not find one. BUT, I did find that Fox News posted a rush transcript for Speaker Pelosi's interview with Chris Wallace right before Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's interview. This thought this interview had information that you needed to hear. So, please forgive me in advance if I made an errors. Thank you.

CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: White House negotiators and Democratic Congressional Leaders met 11 times to discuss a coronavirus relief package before President Trump took his executive action yesterday. Joining us now from the White House Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Mr. Secretary welcome back to Fox News Sunday.

TREASURY SECRETARY STEVEN MNUCHIN: Thank you Chris it's good to be with you.

CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: You just heard Speaker Pelosi's reaction to the steps President Trump took yesterday, your response.

TREASURY SECRETARY STEVEN MNUCHIN: Well first of all let me just say it was the President's first choice for us to go up and negotiate a fair deal. So Mark Meadows and I negotiated nonstop. We went through every line item with them for two weeks. Let me just give you a sense of this, on education they wanted $100 BILLION, we agreed to $105 BILLION. They then raised their number to $400 BILLION. As the Speaker just said they wanted money for food, we compromised on food we actually reached an agreement on that. We had the postmaster general up.

CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Wait wait wait, let me ask you about Mr. Secretary let me just ask you about that because she kept referring to $250,000 for food relief. Is that true?

TREASURY SECRETARY STEVEN MNUCHIN: We came up to a very fair compromise. We actually reached an agreement on what they wanted without long term changes on policy and we knocked that off the list. But let me just tell you what they've refused to negotiate on. We said tell us where you want to compromise for state and local. They said we're at a TRILLIONS dollars. We said tell us where you are on enhanced unemployment. We've told the American people we'll keep it at $600 while we negotiate for a week or two. They refused to do that. Those two issues they refused any compromise. On mostly every single other issue we've reached an agreement. And what happened on Friday was, they said call us back. We said to the President, look now you've got to move forward with an executive action so that you can help American workers and American people.

CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: But Mr. Secretary let's talk about what the President's action that he took yesterday. We've talked about what they did. Let's talk about what they don't do. They don't provide another $1,200 direct payment to people. They don't restore the Payment Protection Plan (PPP) which helps small businesses. That ran out yesterday. Here's what Democrats said during the negotiations. (VIDEO PLAYED) Mr. Secretary you heard Speaker Pelosi say she would like to resume talks. Are you ready to do so and frankly given these differences and what you heard from her today why should we think that negotiations this week would go any better than the failed negotiations of the last two weeks.

TREASURY SECRETARY STEVEN MNUCHIN: Well Chris I've told the Speaker and Senator Schumer anytime they have a new proposal I'm willing to listen. But let me just say that you're right. We agreed with the Democrats we both want to send more checks to the American workers. We want to send more PPP to those hardest hit businesses. We've said let's pass legislation on the things we agree on and knock these off one at a time and they've refused to do that until they get their TRILLION DOLLARS for the states. I've also spoke to many Governors over the last few days. We offered more money for the states. They still have $150 BILLION from last time. Most of them haven't even used half of money. Governors are saying we need more money for education, we need help and the President said we'll give it to you but not a TRILLION DOLLARS.

CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Mr. Secretary I want to refer to something that Speaker Pelosi referenced and that was a comment from Republican Senator Ben Sasse that this governing by executive action is his words, unconstitutional slop. What makes you think that spending over $100 BILLION DOLLARS that congress has not appropriated for these specific purposes is legal and what happens if there's a court suit and all of the actions of the President took yesterday are blocked by a federal court.

TREASURY SECRETARY STEVEN MNUCHIN: Well Christ let me just say we've cleared with the office of legal council all these actions before they went to the President. The President knew unemployment insurance was ending. He said let's continue at $400. By the way, the 25% from the states they can either take that out of the money we've already given them OR the President can waive that. We've been told by the states they can get this up and running immediately and I would say if the Democrats want to challenge us in court and hold up unemployment benefits to those hardworking Americans that are out of a job because of covid, they're going to have a lot of explaining to do.

CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: As we say, you have cut the federal unemployment benefit from $600 to $400. $300 from the feds, this is a week, $100 from states but you say a lot of that would come from federal money that they've already received. Do you really think that the hundreds, that the millions of families that lost jobs because of the virus don't need that money, that they don't need the extra $200 per week.

TREASURY SECRETARY STEVEN MNUCHIN: Chris let me be clear, first of all on the 25% that's coming from money we already gave the states. So this is effectively 100% paid for by the federal government. Let me also remind you that Obama during the financial crisis paid a $25 top up. So this has never been done in the history of time. We thought $400 was a fair compromise. But let me just also say we offered to continue to pay $600 while we negotiate and the Democrats turned that down.

CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Sir, that was only for one week.

TREASURY SECRETARY STEVEN MNUCHIN: Actually Chris we extended it to two weeks but they made perfectly clear they're not going to agree on a piecemeal deal. They want to hold up the America public from getting the money they need until they get everything they want. Which is just a bad outcome.
The Hill
written by Rebecca Klar
Sunday August 9, 2020

President Trump suggested some states may “pay nothing” as part of the unemployment plan included in the coronavirus executive orders the president signed on Saturday.

The memo Trump signed Saturday extends the enhanced unemployment benefits that expired about two weeks ago. The benefits will be lowered from $600 to $400 per week, with states required to cover 25 percent of the cost.

Speaking to reporters Sunday on his way home from his New Jersey resort, however, Trump said some states may not have to pay, adding that "it will depend on the states." He said states will make an application that will be reviewed by the White House.

“We have a system where we can do 100 percent or we can do 75 percent, they pay 25,” Trump said, according to CNN.

"So, you know, they may be — they'll pay nothing in some instances or maybe they'll — a little bit like the National Guard, like the National Guard, as you know. Sometimes we'll pay all of it depending on the tragedy, or whatever it may be, the disaster," he added. "Sometimes the state will pay 40 percent, 25 percent, 10 percent or nothing — depending on how it works out."

Earlier on Sunday, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow predicted that individuals on average will receive $800 from federal and state enhanced unemployment benefits each week.

CNN’s Dana Bash pressed Kudlow on his comments, noting the memo states $400 dollars and the state would pay 25 percent of it.

“You’re talking about some other money that I don’t know about,” Bash said.

“We will stand ready to repurpose if states put in a little bit more,” the economic adviser replied.

Kudlow said the White House will “probably find out today and tomorrow” which states and territories will be able to afford the payment.

👇 IT APPEARS DEMOCRAT OHIO GOVERNOR DEWINE
IS SCREWING OHIOANS 👇
Ohio unemployed residents should be receiving $400 FPUC enhanced unemployment benefits.
NOTHING LESS. It's covered.
👇 THIS IS JUST A BONUS TO GET HIM RECALLED 👇
Apparently, Democrat California Governor Newsom
is trying to screw unemployed Californians too.
Californian unemployed residents should be receiving
$400 FPUC enhanced unemployment benefits.
NOTHING LESS. It's covered.
The Sacramento Bee
written by David Lightman
Monday August 10, 2020

Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that it will be extremely difficult — and likely impossible — for the state to provide funding needed to give California’s unemployment workers the entire $400 additional benefit President Donald Trump has announced.

That benefit would cost the state an estimated $700 million each week, Newsom said at an afternoon news conference, at a time when California’s government is struggling to balance a budget ravaged by the sudden economic slump triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under another scenario, Newsom said, the state would have to come up with an additional $2.8 billion weekly.

For the state to absorb another $700 million a week in spending, let alone more, “would create a burden the likes which even a state the size of California could never absorb without again massive cuts to important services or further burdening...businesses and individuals,” Newsom said.

Labor experts were skeptical people would soon see any extra money, if ever.

“Participating in what is laid out in the executive order would be a difficult gamble for the state — besides having to chip in to supplement by a $100/week (which given the rules of the UI program have to be borrowed from the federal government),” said Till von Wachter, faculty director of the nonpartisan California Research Lab UCLA, which studies state unemployment trends.

He said to implement the Trump program, the governor would have to sign on to an approach whose legal foundations are dubious and that is predicted to yield supplementary benefits for only a limited number of weeks.

Michele Evermore, senior researcher and policy analyst at the National Employment Law Center, saw practical problems.

“I seriously don’t get how states can do this remotely quickly,” she said.

Washington wants California and other states to use some of their pandemic relief funds, but Newsom said more than three-fourths of that money has already been “obligated and distributed.”

“There is no money in the piggy bank” from that fund, he said.

He said the president’s plan also would put further strain on an unemployment system that remains under fire from consumers and state lawmakers. It’s taken four to six weeks to get calls returned, and Employment Development Department officials have said their system is antiquated and badly in need of modernization.

“We would have to reprogram a system that is well-defined as hardly perfect at EDD,” he said.

Most of the state’s unemployed workers, like those around the country, received an extra $600 a week from late March through late July. The program has not been revived, as the White House and congressional Democrats deadlocked on how to proceed. Democrats wanted to keep the $600 intact, federally funded, through January. Many Republicans believed that the amount too often was more money than people would have earned working, and wanted it cut.

But the nonpartisan California Research Lab found in a study released last week that in the state, “Without the $600 per week additional benefits...half of all individuals receiving unemployment insurance benefits would have received payments below the federal poverty level.”

While unemployment insurance traditionally provides enough money to be a lifeline while someone is out of work, it is not intended to be so generous that people will not be motivated to seek work. Supporters of the $600 benefit argued that people should not be jeopardizing their health by leaving their homes to seek employment, so the larger payments were needed.

As negotiations collapsed, Trump Saturday issued an executive order saying the federal government would pay $300, while states picked up the rest.

The average California benefit has been $347 a week, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Nationally, the aggregate weekly benefit is $364.

Trump said states would be asked to be “using existing funding, such as the tens of millions of dollars available to them through the coronavirus relief fund.”

The U.S. Labor Department, which works with states to do just that, has so far offered little specific guidance.

Shortly after Trump’s statement, Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia issued a three sentence statement. It criticized Democrats for not being more cooperative, and added “The Department of Labor will now work closely with the States and the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA to assist in providing the relief made available by the (White House) memorandum.”

UPDATE 8/16/20 at 7:33pm: Added info below.

Posted by Princess Mononoke at 3:14 PM

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