Mitch McConnell champions coronavirus relief bill but warns of ‘glitches’
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Friday there are “bound to be plenty of mistakes” with implementing the massive coronavirus economic relief package he helped negotiate and get signed into law.
“There are bound to be problems,” the Kentucky Republican told McClatchy in a phone interview. “You can’t pass a bill of this magnitude in a week and have a perfect implementation of $2.2 trillion, so sure there are going to be glitches.”
At the same time, McConnell insisted he had no private timetable for when it would be appropriate for congressional leaders to discuss the next legislative response — breaking from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who is already instructing House Democrats to draft new proposals.
He declined to say what he thought might be needed in any future legislation. “We’re watching how this is implemented.”
McConnell’s decision to stay focused on the coronavirus response bill signed into law last week underscores his view that sticking with the so-called CARES Act is to his advantage now, as a national party leader and senator up for reelection in November, rather than look ahead to the next challenge as the crisis continues to worsen.
Over the past week, McConnell has gone on a public relations tour to discuss the CARES Act and share information about the legislation, which among other things will free up loans and grants to affected industries, boost funding for frontline health care workers and authorize direct payments to millions of Americans who are losing money because of the crisis.
“It was largely drafted by the Republican Senate with Democratic input and we passed it unanimously. I was proud of our members. The only people who didn’t vote were those who were in quarantine,” he boasted. “I think by any objective standard this was a stunning accomplishment.”
McConnell even stars in a new campaign ad which shows the majority leader as the singular figure who “brought our country together” by getting “the biggest economic rescue in history” over the finish line. The spot ends with an image of McConnell getting a ceremonial signing pen from President Donald Trump in the Oval Office.
Earlier, McConnell was criticized by some conservatives for taking a back seat in discussions on the previous $100 billion coronavirus response bill, which was largely negotiated between Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and came on the heels of an initial $8 billion bill to address the most immediate needs in the early days of the health emergency.
But McConnell told McClatchy that this was a premeditated decision, that it was his intention all along to hold out for the chance to lead negotiations of the bill in the sequence that would become the CARES Act, which lawmakers knew would be the more expensive response package directly addressing industries and small businesses.
“I certainly felt the next bill, which was going to be dramatically larger, would come out better from a right-of-center point of view, if it were crafted by the Senate, so it did impact my thinking,” McConnell said.
A week after the legislation was signed into law, McConnell remains in Washington, D.C., with his wife, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, remotely engaging with constituents and assessing local needs just like every other rank-and-file member of Congress.
He has placed himself front-and-center of a public service campaign throughout Kentucky to share information about the roughly $1.25 billion the state will directly receive at a minimum through various agencies. He also was active in helping his staff establish the online “portal” for Kentuckians of answers to frequently asked questions and links to local resources.
He remains in close contact with the state’s Democratic governor, Andy Beshear, who he said was also consulted during the drafting of the CARES Act.
Asked if there were particular obstacles Kentucky was facing as opposed to other states, McConnell said the challenges were “the same in every state in America.” Like other state elected officials, he is working hard to receive more personal protective equipment for Kentucky health care workers by making personal appeals to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, along with more testing sites.
Given Chao’s responsibilities and general concerns about traveling during the pandemic, McConnell doesn’t know when he will be able to return to Kentucky. He also expressed doubt Congress would reconvene on April 20 as both chambers had originally anticipated, with social distancing guidelines now extended through the end of the month.
He does, however, remain in touch with Pelosi about next steps, including the formation of a new five-member oversight committee established by the CARES Act that will report to an inspector general.
Each of the top four House and Senate leaders will appoint someone to the committee who does not necessarily have to be a member of Congress, though McConnell said he anticipated he would select a Senate Republican.
The fifth member must be agreed upon by McConnell and Pelosi. McConnell said he and Pelosi spoke the previous day and agreed to “trade lists” of people they could “both agree on” and expected to be able to report progress “in the next few days.” He anticipated the joint selection would not be a fellow lawmaker.
At the same time, McConnell expressed skepticism about a new, separate select House oversight committee to keep an eye on federal coronavirus spending, announced by Pelosi this week and to be chaired by House Democratic Whip Jim Clyburn of South Carolina.
“Frankly, we’ve seen that movie before,” he said. “I’m not sure how bipartisan that will be.”
