Evictions Loom, Economy Teeters As Congress Struggles To Reach Relief Deal
Tiffany Allen of Knoxville, Tennessee, said she had never missed rent before she lost her job in March. Last month she got a note from her landlord saying she owed nearly $3,000 and that she’d better vacate the apartment within 30 days.
“When you have no control over any aspect of your life, it is horrifying,” Allen said in an interview.
Her unemployment benefit, which had amounted to $648 per week after taxes, has shrunk to just $108 per week thanks to last week’s expiration of a $600 federal supplement that Congress created in March.
Congressional negotiations over another economic stimulus package are inching forward, but lawmakers still remain far apart on numerous issues, including unemployment benefits, aid to states and localities, education funding, liability protections and food assistance.
Democrats on Wednesday seemed more pessimistic than usual about the status of talks, which have occurred daily on Capitol Hill for nearly two weeks. They’ve reported offering concessions and said they would keep trying to reach a deal.
“There is light at the end of the tunnel, but how long that tunnel is remains to be seen,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told reporters after a two-hour session on Wednesday.
Top White House officials who are negotiating with congressional Democrats on behalf of President Donald Trump might be even more gloomy about chances of reaching an agreement anytime soon. They said they’ve offered even bigger concessions than their counterparts.
“I’ve become extremely doubtful that we’ll be able to make a deal if it goes well beyond Friday,” White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, a former conservative congressman, told reporters on Wednesday. “Just because we’ve been spending so much time together that if you’re not making progress, there’s no sense to continue.”
House Democrats passed a $3 trillion relief bill earlier this year that Republicans consider a non-starter. GOP leadership...
