ICYMI: NDC Leadership Members Continue Efforts for a COVID-19 Package Amidst Lapses in Federal Relief
Since the onset of the pandemic, the New Democrat Coalition (NDC) has been fighting to ensure American families, students, workers, small businesses, employers, health care providers, and communities have the resources and assistance they need in these difficult times. The House took action four months ago to ensure that critical assistance would continue and rise to meet the severe economic and public health crises. Americans are hurting right now, and it’s time for Republicans to come to the table to negotiate a serious deal that meets each of the nation’s critical needs. Before Congress adjourns, the NDC is pushing for action on a COVID-19 relief and recovery package to tackle the public health crisis and help our impacted workers, businesses, and state and local governments.
Yesterday, NDC Leadership Members spoke with reporters to discuss the Coalition’s recent work and its priorities for the September work period. Highlights in the news can be found below. Read more in Roll Call, Bloomberg, The Hill, Politico, and Wall Street Journal.
Following this call to action, the Coalition was pleased to hear Speaker Pelosi announce that the House should stay in session until an agreement was reached.
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Rank-and-file members have been careful not to question Pelosi’s negotiating strategy as they’ve started to go public with their calls for another coronavirus relief vote.
“We want a deal that's on a robust, comprehensive package,” Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Wash., chairman of the moderate New Democrat Coalition, said on a press call Monday evening. “And barring that, we’d like the House to take some form of action on a COVID relief and recovery package. But we don’t want a meager package. We don’t want to accept a bad deal.”
Pressed for details, Kilmer said, “It’s too early to know where things could land.” He said he’s asked Pelosi and Hoyer to provide the coalition an update during their weekly virtual meeting. Hoyer told CQ Roll Call he doesn’t expect any decisions on an aid package to be made this week.
Other New Democrat Coalition leaders who joined Kilmer on the press call also emphasized the need for a relief vote before the House adjourns.
“We very much as a class want to make sure that we see something done before we leave,” Pennsylvania Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, the coalition’s freshman leadership representative, said.
Rep. Scott Peters of California, one of the coalition’s vice chairs, said the New Democrats prefer a comprehensive approach over a piecemeal one, but noted that they’ve shown a willingness to move forward on any package that helps people and doesn’t preclude later action on additional aid.
“All of us are willing to compromise on amounts and timing,” Peters said.
Rep. Suzan DelBene of Washington, another vice chair, emphasized that nothing the coalition is pushing for is inconsistent with what Pelosi has advocated.
“We are not in any way intending to undermine the speaker’s negotiating position,” DelBene said.
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Pressure from New Dems: A coalition of more than 100 House Democrats is also calling on House leadership to not leave for a planned October recess until action is taken on a Covid-19 stimulus package, Emily Wilkins reports. New Democratic Coalition Chair Derek Kilmer (D-Wash.) said on a press call yesterday that members’ constituents are hurting and there is “a real sense of urgency to keep fighting to solve these problems.”
Members of the coalition stressed they are supportive of Pelosi. Last month, the coalition asked Pelosi in a letter to allow legislation to extend supplemental unemployment insurance to come to the floor. It didn’t happen, but Republicans have since used the letter to argue Democrats support targeted relief.
“We don’t want a bad deal, we don’t want a meager deal,” Kilmer said. “But we think there is value in having the House act so folks who are hurting get the help that they need and know that we are continuing to fight for them.”
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Her strategy carries risks, just weeks before Election Day, if voters deem House Democrats to be the main obstacle to another round of coronavirus aid, particularly after Senate Republicans mustered 52 votes in favor of their pared-down measure last week.
With that in mind, a growing number of moderate Democrats — including leaders of the Blue Dogs and the New Democrat Coalition, as well as a number of front-line lawmakers facing tough reelections — have pressed Pelosi and Democratic leadership to stage a pre-election vote on some version of emergency assistance for states, households and small businesses struggling through the pandemic, even if the package doesn’t check every box on Pelosi’s wish list.
“They do feel strongly about the fact that leadership does need to negotiate with each other on a deal,” said a senior Democratic aide associated with the moderate wing of the party. “A vote on something before the members go back home,” the aide added, would “indicate at least that Democrats are moving toward a negotiating stance.”
Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) noted that a long list of first-term Democrats came from “pretty hard-fought battles in pretty purple places” where constituents are expecting Congress to come together on a relief deal.
“We very much as a class want to make sure that we see something done before we leave,” Houlahan said on a press call.
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Leaders of the centrist New Democrat Coalition emphasized yesterday that they want to vote on additional relief measures before the October recess, making it fresh on voters’ minds. The House last passed a massive coronavirus package back in May. “We’ve asked both Speaker Pelosi and Leader Hoyer to come and give us an update,” Rep. Derek Kilmer, chairman of the coalition, told reporters. “We want a deal that’s on a robust, comprehensive package. And barring that, we’d like the House to take some sort of action.”
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Leaders of the New Democrat Coalition, a group of more than 100 business-friendly House Democrats, said they didn’t want the House to adjourn for another break before voting on a coronavirus-aid package.
“Our constituents are hurting right now, and they urgently need help,” Rep. Derek Kilmer (D., Wash.), the group’s chairman, told reporters Monday evening.
The top two House Democrats—Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, shown in June—are in disagreement about the next steps on coronavirus aid.
Lawmakers in the group said they shared Mrs. Pelosi’s goal of a sweeping deal, but if that weren’t possible, they wanted to make sure that some key programs are extended.
At a minimum, said Rep. Scott Peters (D., Calif.), Congress should restore the federal unemployment insurance benefits that expired in late July, boost food-stamp assistance and approve a more generous increase in federal spending on Medicaid.
“It seems particularly cruel and also economically unwise to let those go to zero,” Mr. Peters, a member of the coalition, told reporters.
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