By Al Tompkins
President Donald Trump said the country needs and wants a second stimulus bill. But on Tuesday [October 13, 2020], President Trump called off any chance of a stimulus bill until after the November election.
Trump says he is asking Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to spend his energy confirming Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, and not negotiate further with Democrats, who wanted $2.6 trillion in stimulus relief. The White House had offered $1.6 trillion.
Millions of unemployed Americans hoped to get another round of enhanced unemployment benefits. Even more Americans might have gotten a stimulus check, as they did in the spring.
The president’s order came just hours after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned the nation’s economic recovery could falter without more federal stimulus.
The Associated Press reported:
Powell said the risks of Congress pouring too much stimulus into the economy are far lower than the risk of not doing enough. Although government spending is adding to an already sky-high federal budget, lawmakers should act, Powell argued.