- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was an early voice calling for a fourth
stimulus package. - The House of Representatives passed the Heroes Act in mid-May, extending, among other things, the $600 weekly
unemployment bonus through January and sending another round of checks to Americans. - Pelosi has also said she wants to roll back the limit on the state and local tax deduction that was part of the 2017 tax law.
The federal government made history in March when it enacted a $2.2 trillion stimulus package that included an unprecedented expansion of unemployment benefits and a $349 billion program for small-business lending.
The law was the third relief package during the coronavirus pandemic — but it might not have been enough.
In mid-May, House Democrats passed a fourth stimulus package to the tune of $3 trillion. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was an early voice saying that even the massive third stimulus package wasn't big enough. She advocated another round of direct payments to Americans like the $1,200 checks sent to people under the March law.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a floor speech on May 12, the day the House bill was introduced, that it had "no chance of becoming law," Business Insider reported.
The outbreak of the coronavirus, which has infected more than 4.8 million Americans, closed nonessential businesses in most states — including many in hospitality and food services — and led to a record number of jobless claims: more than 55 million over 20 weeks.
What's in the House's stimulus bill
The House's phase-four Heroes Act would extend the $600 weekly bonus to unemployment benefits through January. Republicans have repeatedly pushed back on that, saying it would disincentivize people from going back to work. As of early August, McConnell and President Donald Trump had voiced some support for extending the bonus.
The House bill would provide nearly $1 trillion in additional aid to states and cities to help them pay essential workers like first responders and healthcare workers during the pandemic.
Other measures include $75 billion for coronavirus testing and contact tracing, $175 billion in aid for renters and homeowners, and billions for more $1,200 direct payments for people (up to $6,000 per household).
Pelosi told The New York Times in March that she would prefer that a phase-four package include some kind of rollback of the limit on the state and local tax deduction. Part of the 2017 tax law, the policy change especially hurt high earners in states like New York and California, which Pelosi represents.
The Times estimated that rolling it back would increase tax rebates for about 13 million households, nearly all of them earning at least $100,000. This provision apparently made it into the Heroes Act, HuffPost's Tara Golshan reported.
Pelosi told a group of reporters in mid-July that Republican senators "know there's going to be a bill," adding that a $1.3 trillion Republican proposal was "not enough," CNBC reported.
A few weeks later, after the $600 unemployment benefit expired, Pelosi told CNN that Democrats wouldn't budge on the $600 weekly bonus as long as unemployment remains high but that they could tie a smaller bonus to a declining jobless rate.