Pelosi Says Help Is On the Way, but When?

Plus, Trump’s $200 drug discount cards get pushed back  [The Fisc](   By Yuval Rosenberg and Michael Rainey Pelosi Says Help Is On the Way, but When? Help is on the way, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said in an interview with MSNBC on Wednesday, referring to the coronavirus relief package she’s been negotiating with the White House. But she acknowledged that a deal may not come together in time to be voted on before the November 3 elections. "I'm optimistic, because even with what Mitch McConnell says — ‘We don't want to do it before the election’ — but let's keep working so that we can do it after the election," Pelosi said. "We want to before. But again, I want people to know, help is on the way. It will be bigger. It will be better. It will be safer, and it will be retroactive." Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke for 48 minutes Wednesday afternoon and continued to make progress toward a deal, Drew Hammill, a spokesperson for the speaker, tweeted. "Today's conversation brings us closer to being able to put pen to paper to write legislation. With the exchange of legislative language, we are better prepared to reach compromise on several priorities," he [wrote](. "Differences continue to be narrowed on health priorities, including language providing a national strategic testing and contract tracing plan, but more work needs to be done to ensure that schools are the safest places in America for children to learn." Hammill said the negotiators plan to speak again Thursday, and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told Fox Business that the administration’s goal is to reach an agreement in the next 48 hours. "The biggest issue remains state and local assistance," Meadows [said](. "That remains a stumbling block." Meadows said that the White House has proposed providing $250 billion in aid to state and local governments while Pelosi is pushing for about twice that amount. Not making it any easier: President Trump weighed in on [Twitter]( late Thursday afternoon. "Just don’t see any way Nancy Pelosi and Cryin’ Chuck Schumer will be willing to do what is right for our great American workers, or our wonderful USA itself, on Stimulus. Their primary focus is BAILING OUT poorly run (and high crime) Democrat cities and states....," he wrote. McConnell does his math: Senate Republicans remain another obstacle. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has warned the White House against a pre-election deal, which could put many of his members in the uncomfortable position of either opposing a roughly $2 trillion package backed by President Trump — and [favored by voters]( — or agreeing to the kind of additional deficit spending they’ve warned against, potentially alienating some of their conservative base. Either way, they may risk losing some votes. "The leader’s position is sort of dictated by the math," said Senate Republican Whip John Thune of South Dakota, according to [Axios](. "I mean, he knows where the votes are and as much as we all want to get a deal, a deal that would pass in the Senate with all Democratic votes and a handful of Republicans is not something the leader would like to happen." McConnell also remains focused on the quick confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, which could be affected by a massive stimulus package suddenly landing on the schedule. Pelosi reportedly suggested Wednesday that McConnell "might not mind doing it after the election." White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said that at least announcing a deal before the election would be "very helpful to the economy and markets," even if any congressional vote had to wait. Meadows reportedly said that Trump is "willing to lean into this" to win the support of Senate Republicans, and the president has expressed confidence that those lawmakers will come along. That’s not assured. CNN’s Lauren Fox [writes]( "After years of sticking with Trump despite his antics and the fact that some of the President's policies flew in the face of long-established GOP orthodoxy, the stimulus bill is the make-or-break moment where Republican senators may finally throw up their hands and tell Trump ‘no.’" Narrower Senate GOP plan again blocked by Dems: McConnell tried to move a narrower, $500 billion relief package Wednesday, but it was [blocked by Democrats](. That legislation, similar to an earlier plan that was also blocked by Democrats, would provide $300 in weekly federal unemployment benefits through the end of the year as well as funding for schools, coronavirus testing and vaccines. It also includes a liability shield for businesses and schools that Democrats oppose. The package was seen as a messaging maneuver with no chance of advancing, meant largely to buy Republicans some political cover on Covid relief efforts. Trump’s Drug Discount Cards for Seniors Get Pushed Back The Trump administration plans to send $200 discount cards for prescription drugs to more than 30 million Medicare beneficiaries, but the White House is abandoning an effort to have them shipped out before Election Day following complaints that the effort could violate election laws. "I think that was a concern that there might have been a look that this was done for a political motivation. That’s not the case," Meadows said Wednesday. Administration officials are expected to approve a final plan for the program, which will cost an estimated $8 billion, within the next 48 hours, Bloomberg [reported]( Wednesday. However, the cards aren’t expected to be sent out until November or December. OxyContin Maker Pleads Guilty, Will Pay $8.3 Billion Purdue Pharma has agreed to plead guilty to federal criminal charges for its role in creating the opioid crisis, the Justice Department announced Wednesday. The OxyContin maker will pay $8.3 billion in fines and penalties, which will be used to fund addiction treatment and abatement programs. The charges include conspiracy to defraud the United States and violating federal anti-kickback laws, according to the [Associated Press](. The company, which declared bankruptcy last year, lacks the cash to pay the fines, and as part of the settlement the company will be dissolved, with its assets rolled into a public company operated to benefit the American public. All earnings of the firm, which will continue to produce painkillers, will be used to pay fines and combat the addiction crisis. The Sackler family, who earned billions of dollars operating Purdue, agreed to pay $225 million as part of a separate settlement with the Justice Department. The settlement does not eliminate the possibility that some members of the family could still be charged with additional federal crimes. A fraction of the total cost: Purdue has been marketing OxyContin since 1995, when its time-release formula for oxycodone, an opium derivative, was approved by the FDA. Lawsuits from multiple state and local governments against the company suggest that the total cost of the opioid addiction crisis that it helped spark comes to more than $2 trillion over the last two decades. Trump’s Farm Bailout Pumps $21 Billion Into GOP Counties More than 90% of the funds disbursed by a program that compensates American farmers hurt by retaliatory tariffs during President Trump’s trade war with China was sent to counties that voted Republican in the 2016 presidential election, according to a [report]( Tuesday evening in The Washington Post. The Agriculture Department’s Market Facilitation Program, which distributed more than $23 billion in 2018 and 2019, sent about $21 billion to Trump counties, and just $2.1 billion to counties won by Hillary Clinton. "That this disparity falls so heavily along political lines is a function of the likelihood of rural voters to support Trump, certainly," the Post’s Philip Bump says. "But that doesn’t detract from the point that this was nonetheless a massive redistribution of money to places that supported Trump." Bump points out that farm subsidies were funded by tariffs on Chinese imports — a cost that is borne by all Americans and not, as Trump insists, the Chinese. "It’s as though a Democratic president decided to tax Americans broadly to send billions of dollars to the country’s largest cities," Bump writes. "The recipients would overwhelmingly be members of his or her own party." Quote of the Day "You could literally have 10 monkeys with flamethrowers go after the money, and they wouldn’t have burned through it as stupidly." – Mike Murphy, a veteran Republican consultant and outspoken Trump critic, in an [Associated Press story]( on how the Trump political operation has spent much of the more than $1 billion it has raised since 2017. Send your tips and feedback to yrosenberg@thefiscaltimes.com. Follow us on Twitter: [@yuvalrosenberg]( [@mdrainey]( and [@TheFiscalTimes](. And please tell your friends they can [sign up here]( for their own copy of this newsletter. News - [Optimism Returns to Coronavirus Relief Package Negotiations]( – Roll Call - [House Democrats Float Tax Compromises in Coronavirus Relief Talks]( – Roll Call - [U.S. Coronavirus Cases Surpass 8 Million]( – Politico - [Lawmakers Press HHS for Documents on Trump’s Drug-Card Plan]( – Politico - [White House Looks at Cutting Covid Funds, Newborn Screenings in ‘Anarchist’ Cities]( – Politico - [Leaked Reports Show White House Knew Of COVID-19 Spike As Trump Downplayed Crisis]( – HuffPost - [Fed’s Brainard Urges More Fiscal Aid in Dark Warning on Outlook]( – Bloomberg - [GOP to Trump: Focus on Policy]( – The Hill - [Conservatives Press Trump to Modernize the C.D.C.’s Health Data System]( – New York Times - [How the F.D.A. Stood Up to the President]( – New York Times - [DOJ Pledges $3 Million to New Initiative That Aims to Prevent Use of Excessive Force by Law Enforcement]( – The Hill - [Lawyers Say They Can't Find the Parents of 545 Migrant Children Separated by Trump Administration]( – NBC News - [Chicago’s $12.8 Billion Budget Plan Raises Taxes, Cuts Jobs]( – Bloomberg - [Nebraska Gets Federal Approval to Limit Medicaid Benefits, but Challenge in Court Is Likely]( – Omaha World-Herald - [Administration Officials Alarmed by White House Push to Fast Track Lucrative 5G Spectrum Contract, Sources Say]( – CNN Views and Analysis - [Stimulus Talks Come Down to a Trump Loyalty Litmus Test]( – Lauren Fox, CNN - [Could a Stimulus Bill Pass By Accident?]( – Jonathan Bernstein, Bloomberg - [Why the Stimulus Delay Isn't a Crisis (Yet)]( – Dion Rabouin, Axios - [Mitch McConnell Admits He's Blocking Coronavirus Bill — Will Media Finally Stop Blaming Democrats?]( – Amanda Marcotte, Salon - [The Return of Austerity Politics]( – Jared Bernstein, Washington Post - [The Lack of Fiscal Aid Won't Wreck Consumer Spending]( – Tim Duy, Bloomberg - [AP Fact Check: Trump’s Falsehoods on Virus, Taxes and Bidens]( – Associated Press - [This Winter, Pay Bars to Close]( – Elisabeth Rosenthal, New York Times - [The Fed’s $4 Trillion Lifeline Never Materialized. Here’s Why.]( – Jeanna Smialek, New York Times - ['Democrat-Run Cities' Fuel the Economy, Keep Many Red States Afloat]( – Marik von Rennenkampff, The Hill - [Why the U.S. Doesn’t Have an At-Home Coronavirus Test Yet]( – David Lim, Politico - [Short, Strict Lockdowns Can Make a Big Difference]( – Mark Buchanan, Bloomberg - [It Isn’t Fauci’s Fault But He’s Part of the Problem]( – Ramesh Ponnuru, Bloomberg - [President Trump’s Paper-Stack Politicking Makes Another Appearance]( – Philip Bump, Washington Post - [Biden’s Committee Days Bode Well for How He Would Govern]( – Dan Diller et al, Roll Call - [After the Pandemic, a Revolution in Education and Work Awaits]( – Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times Copyright © 2020 The Fiscal Times, All rights reserved. You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed at our website, [thefiscaltimes.com]( or through Facebook. 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