A12 eZ M2 THE WASHINGTON POST.SATURDAy, MARCH 14 , 2020
The coronavirus outbreak
ployers a tax credit equal to “
percent” of paid sick leave wage
benefits they have paid out. The
amount of paid sick leave wages
that can be paid out is capped at a
maximum of $511 a day per em-
ployee, or $7,156 for the entire
calendar quarter.
The plan also beefs up unem-
ployment insurance by giving
states additional funding to dis-
burse should there b e a significant
rise in the number of unemployed
people in that state. States would
be eligible for the extra money if
unemployment compensation
claims in that state increase by
more than 10 percent.
The plan also seeks to address
fears that the coronavirus could
force many Americans to go with-
out adequate food. T he agreement
provides $ 500 million t o the wom-
en, i nfants, and c hildren nutrition
program; nullifies existing work
requirements on the food stamp
program; and provides $100 mil-
lion in food grants to U.S. territo-
ries such as Puerto rico and the
Northern mariana Islands. It pro-
vides additional funding to nutri-
tional assistance programs for
children and t he e lderly.
A controversial provision in the
bill as originally introduced by
House Democrats would have in-
creased the percentage of medic-
aid spending borne by the federal
government by eight percentage
points through Sept. 30, 2021.
That would be a welcome relief to
states, which c ould see an influx of
medicaid enrollees in a time of
economic crisis. But the price tag
for the federal government couldhave been vast — s tretching easily
into the tens of billions of dollars.
By friday morning that 8 percent-
age point increase had been re-
duce to 6.2 percentage points, ac-
cording t o the d raft l egislation.
Last week, Congress passed an
$8.3 billion emergency spending
plan to address public health
needs arising from the crisis. But
as the crisis mushroomed through
the e conomy, w ith schools c losing,
planes and trains half-empty and
major sports and entertainment
events canceled, lawmakers in-
creasingly saw the need for a ma-
jor economic relief package —
probably a series of them. Thurs-
day’s massive stock market s ell-off
rattled lawmakers, although
stocks were back up on friday.
There are now over 2,000 con-
firmed coronavirus cases in the
United States and more than 45
deaths, n umbers that are expected
to exponentially rise. Schools have
closed and major sports and en-
tertainment events have been can-
celed. Trump declared a national
emergency friday to free up funds,
and lawmakers themselves have
been announcing plans in grow-
ing numbers to shut down their
offices and self-quarantine after
brushes w ith i nfected individuals.
for the second day in a row on
friday, mcCarthy convened a con-
ference call with House republi-
cans rather than meeting with
them in person, a step he said
helped with health concerns.
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[email protected]BY ERICA WERNER,
MIKE DEBONIS,
PAUL KANE
AND JEFF STEINThe House moved toward pas-
sage of a bipartisan coronavirus
relief bill friday night, preparing
to dedicate billions for paid sick
leave, unemployment insurance,
free testing a nd other measures to
help Americans affected by the
crisis.
The legislation was expected to
pass by a wide margin after Presi-
dent Trump endorsed i t over Twit-
ter. That d evelopment c apped t wo
days of volatile negotiations be-
tween House Speaker Nancy Pelo-
si (D-Calif.) and Treasury Secre-
tary Steven mnuchin that threat-
ened to fall apart entirely for
hours friday amid GoP misgiv-
ings. But even after Trump criti-
cized House Democrats at an af-
ternoon news conference Pelosi
and mnuchin kept at it, speaking
by phone 13 times in the course of
the d ay a nd f inally clinching a deal
that all parties c ould support.
“This Bill will follow my direc-
tion for free CoronaVirus tests,
and p aid sick leave f or our i mpact-
ed American workers,” Trump
wrote, adding that he was direct-
ing Cabinet secretaries to issue
regulations ensuring small busi-
nesses would not be hurt by man-
dates in t he b ill.
“I encourage all republicans
and Democrats to come together
and VoTE YES! I will always put
the health and well-being of
American families fIrST,” the
president wrote. “Look f orward to
signing the final Bill, A SAP!”
The House vote would send the
legislation to the Senate, which is
expected t o pass it next week after
majority L eader mitch mcConnell
(r-Ky.) canceled a planned recess
so senators could act on the issue.
The deal was negotiated with-
out Pelosi and Trump ever speak-
ing, with Pelosi telling reporters
friday: “There was no need for
that,” as she was working with
mnuchin.
In a letter to Democratic law-
makers friday night, Pelosi
thanked them for their patience
through the ups and downs of the
talks, which began when House
Democrats released a version of
the legislation Wednesday with a
number of provisions republi-
cans o pposed.
“While we could have passed
this bill on our own, I believe it
was important for u s to assure t he
American people that we can
work together to manage this cri-
sis,” Pelosi wrote. “Tonight’s legis-
lation presents a strong stimulus
to our economy to protect the
health and financial security of
America’s working families as we
fight the coronavirus crisis.”
House minority Leader Kevin
mcCarthy (r-Calif.) offered rare
praise for Pelosi after the deal was
struck, and said: “regardless ofthe partisanship here, at this time
in this place, we will come togeth-
er to put the American public
first.”
Both leaders made clear that
the legislation agreed to friday
would be f ollowed by further relief
measures as the n ovel c oronavirus
wallops a ll sectors of the economy
and A merican life. That c ould, po-
tentially, include some version of
the b road payroll tax cut sought b y
the president. Already last week
Congress passed an $8.3 billion
emergency spending bill to ad-
dress public health aspects of the
pandemic, but as the crisis spi-
raled lawmakers felt they needed
to act quickly to provide e conomic
relief to affected Americans.
The agreement reached friday
is primarily aimed at expanding
the safety net to cope with the
potentially catastrophic econom-
ic impact of the coronavirus. In
addition to ensuring free corona-
virus testing, the plan would dra-
matically increase several bene-
fits, particularly family medical
leave and paid sick leave, while
also bolstering u nemployment in-
surance; spending on health in-
surance for the poor; and food
programs for children and the el-
derly.
one of the biggest changes is a
new paid sick leave guarantee for
those impacted by the coronavi-
rus, and reaching agreement on
this issue was one of the final
sticking points to reaching a deal.Under the agreement, employers
would be required to provide 14
days of paid sick leave at “ not less”
than two-thirds their regular rate.
They would qualify for the benefit
if they are sick and have to be
quarantined or treated for corona-
virus, or if they have to leave their
jobs to take care of a family mem-
ber who has covid-19, the disease
caused by the coronavirus. Work-
ers would also be eligible for paid
sick leave if they have t o stay h ome
because they have a child whose
school or childcare facility has
closed d ue to the coronavirus.
The agreement also dramati-
cally expands the existing paid
family medical and leave program
from its c urrent form. Under e xist-
ing law, employers are required to
give “job protected” medical leave
for up to 12 weeks — m eaning they
cannot be fired — without addi-
tional pay. Under the Pelosi and
mnuchin plan, workers taking
paid medical leave would also be
paid at two-thirds of their typical
rate of pay for the 12 weeks. This
benefit, which applies to compa-
nies with fewer than 500 employ-
ees, would be available for a year
for people affected by the corona-
virus.
Congressional aides raised con-
cerns that pushing these new ben-
efits onto employers might bank-
rupt many businesses already try-
ing to contend with the financial
blow from the coronavirus. In-
stead, the legislation gives em-House moves toward passing virus relief package
Trump panned House Demo-
crats’ effort to write a relief bill
during the news conference, say-
ing they were “not doing what’s
right for the country.” But hours
later, S peaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca-
lif.) announced agreement on the
relief package with the adminis-
tration similar to what had al-
ready been outlined by House
leaders. The bill would spend tens
of billions of dollars on sick leave,
unemployment insurance, food
stamps and other measures to ad-
dress the unfolding crisis.
Then, a fter some additional u n-
certainty over the fate of the bill,
Trump tweeted his support. It w as
expected to pass late friday on an
overwhelmingly bipartisan vote,
and t he Senate is expected t o clear
it for t he president’s signature e ar-
ly next week.
Trump also announced a new
website during his news confer-
ence that would allow people to
determine whether they need to
be tested for t he coronavirus.
“Google is helping to develop a
website, it is going to be very
quickly done unlike websites of
the past, to determine whether a
test is warranted and to facilitate
testing at a nearby convenient lo-
cation,” h e said.
The site will be built by Verily,
the l ife sciences division of Google
parent company Alphabet that fo-
cuses on research and develop-
ment around health issues. The
company quickly tamped down
expectations for how quickly it
will be ready, s aying in a statement
that the website was in “the early
stages of development” a nd that it
is “planning to roll testing out in
the Bay Area, with the hope of
expanding more broadly over
time.”
There were also questions
about how quickly the drive-
through testing sites at major re-
tailers and drugstore chains that
Trump and his aides announced
friday would be r eady.
The virus outbreak has proved
to be one of the most challenging
episodes of Trump’s presidency,
which h as b een defined b y contro-
versies and his chaotic manage-
ment style. But despite the criti-
cism directed at Trump’s response
to the pandemic, he struck a cele-
bratory tone at the news confer-
ence as he praised his decision-
making and portrayed the public
health emergency as not that bad
for t he country so far w hile noting
the d eath toll w ill likely r ise.
“We are doing a great job and
we have 40 people right now, 40,
compare that w ith other countries
that have many, many times that
amount,” Trump said, apparently
referring to U. S. deaths from the
virus. A s of f riday night, that n um-
ber h ad risen to 48.
Trump began speaking before
the financial markets closed fri-
day, t he e nd of a volatile a nd disas-
trous week that largely erased
stock market gains that Trump
trump from A
Emergency
declared;
questions
remain
goal is to stave off or reduce the
chances of a recession, which
some financial analysts are pre-
dicting could hit in the months
ahead o f the election.
Concerns about the coronavi-
rus pandemic rippled across the
globe friday, as schools closed to
millions of students; Paris’s f amed
Louvre m useum closed indefinite-
ly and more large events were
canceled, and the Group of Seven
leaders planned a virtual crisis
conference c all for monday.
Trump’s remarks came as the
World Health organization
warned that Europe “has now be-
come the epicenter” of the pan-
demic, and as more European
Union nations took a ction — s hut-
ting down schools, implementing
travel restrictions and passing
other e mergency measures.
While the outbreaks have been
worse in Asia and Europe, public
health officials warn it will get
worse in the United States before
it gets b etter, even as they urge t he
public to remain c alm.
“There will b e many more cases,
but we’ll take care of that, said
Anthony S. fauci, director of the
National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases a nd a member
of the p resident’s c oronavirus t ask
force. “And ultimately, a s the p resi-
dent said, this will end.”
[email protected]
[email protected]Lena H. sun, Mike deBonis, erica
Werner and Jeff stein contributed to
this report.of billions of dollars in aid for
workers, state governments and
low-income and uninsured peo-
ple.
Declaring a national emergen-
cy can be helpful for marshaling
resources, and some experts and
groups, including the American
Hospital Association, called for it
to be d one earlier. It’s i mportant to
stress that these declarations are
administrative and provide flexi-
bility in accessing resources and
spending money, experts said.
They are not done to signify that
the country is in imminent dan-
ger.
The relief package, which Pelosi
negotiated with Treasury Secre-
tary Steven mnuchin, includes
several Democratic priorities, in-
cluding measures to boost paid
family leave and unemployment
insurance, ensure free coronavi-
rus testing and strengthen nutri-
tional aid such a s food s tamps.
The legislation does n ot include
a payroll-tax cut, one of the key
priorities Trump has c alled for a s a
way to boost worker pay ahead of
his reelection bid.
The legislation also did not in-
clude any targeted proposals to
support s ome of the k ey i ndustries
affected by the virus, including
airlines and cruise lines — despite
Trump’s p romises to help them.
mnuchin said the agreement
marked just the b eginning o f what
is likely to be a multistage eco-
nomic relief program that com-
bines legislation with the use of
Trump’s executive authority. TheT he move was a tacit acknowl-
edgment by Trump that his week-
old assertion that tests were avail-
able to anyone who wanted them
had yet to become a reality. That
claim has been belied by criticism
from lawmakers and frustrated
Americans unable to find out
whether they a re i nfected.
Government officials and exec-
utives of big-box stores, drug-
stores and other businesses de-
scribed an assembly-line ap-
proach to test people in their cars
and report back results in 24
hours. They said the effort could
start as soon a s Sunday.
The drive-through tests would
be administered by state health
workers and the members of the
U.S. P ublic Health S ervice, a ccord-
ing to three individuals familiar
with the plans. But several key
participants said the administra-
tion was overstating the plan, in-
cluding its scope, timetable and
other aspects.
Trump was reluctant to take
ownership of the problems that
have led to a lack of available tests
and confusion about who is eligi-
ble to use the limited supply at
hand.
“I don’t take responsibility at
all,” Trump said, blaming his pre-
decessors and saying he knew
nothing about his administra-
tion’s 2018 decision to disband a
team of experts who had focused
on preparing for global pandem-
ics.
The bipartisan relief package is
expected to amount to several tenspressed on why he s houldn’t w hen
public health officials have ad-
vised that people under similar
circumstances be tested, Trump
said he w ould “most likely” g et o ne
but n ot because h e was concerned
about anyone he has interacted
with. “Not for that reason but be-
cause I think I will do it anyway,”
Trump said. “fairly soon, we’re
working o ut a schedule.”
The emergency declaration w as
the most far-reaching federal ac-
tion to date to respond to the
fast-spreading outbreak of disease
that has not yet reached i ts peak in
the United States. The coronavi-
rus has sickened more than
144,000 worldwide and had killed
nearly 5,400 by friday. The num-
ber of infections is likely much
higher.
The emergency declaration al-
lows the administration to pro-
vide emergency funding to state
and local governments and gives
the federal Emergency manage-
ment Agency responsibility for c o-
ordinating d isaster r elief.
Earlier this week, Trump an-
nounced restrictions on flights
from Europe, a move public health
experts said was less useful than
taking major steps to combat the
spread of the virus within Ameri-
can c ommunities.
After facing heated, bipartisan
criticism, the Trump administra-
tion announced a series of steps t o
boost the availability of tests and
said it would partner with the
private sector to set up drive-
through testing sites.has r egularly touted a s proof of his
good stewardship. His remarks
appeared to buoy investors as the
Dow Jones industrial average rose
by more than 9 percent friday,
recouping most of the s teep losses
from the previous day that came in
response to Trump’s bungled
prime-time address to the nation
Wednesday.
The administration has been
taking increasingly aggressive
steps to contain t he outbreak after
criticism that not enough is being
done to address the public health
threat facing the c ountry.
His decision to close off much
air t ravel from E urope days before
the World Health organization l a-
beled Europe the new center of the
pandemic was “through luck or
through talent, call it whatever
you w ant,” Trump s aid.
He predicted that while up to 5
million additional tests are in the
pipeline, the United States won’t
need nearly t hat many.
“We want to make sure that
those who need a test can get a test
very safely, quickly and conve-
niently, but we don’t want people
to take a test if we feel that they
shouldn’t be doing it and we don’t
want everyone running out and
taking — only if you have certain
symptoms,” h e said.
Trump created confusion over
his own testing status. He at first
said his doctors told him he did
not need to be tested despite com-
ing into contact with a Brazilian
official last weekend who con-
tracted the virus. Then, whenJABIN BOTsfOrd/THe WAsHINgTON POsT
president trump leaves the White House’s rose Garden after declaring a national emergency in response to the coronavirus pandemic on Friday, capping a breakneck week.