Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy back $ 600 stimulus checks

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Parliamentary Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy have told the Trump administration that they will back $ 600 stimulus checks as part of the upcoming US government relief program. coronavirus.

Speaking to Axios on Tuesday night, McCarthy (R-Calif.) Revealed that he and McConnell (R-Ky.) Supported the stimulus checks included in the White House’s $ 916 billion compromise measure.

The matter was discussed between McCarthy, McConnell, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows during a phone call Tuesday afternoon.

McConnell did not include the stimulus checks when presenting the framework of the package to the public last week.

McCarthy also told the outlet that GOP leadership and the White House felt that a final compromise bill should include state and local government funding and accountability protections, or neither. neither.

Funding for states and local governments has been a must for the Democratic side of the aisle, while Republicans argued that the federal government shouldn’t come to the rescue of states with poor budgeting up front.

Republicans, meanwhile, have said they would not move forward without liability protection for companies trying to reopen amid the pandemic, arguing that including such provisions would prevent lawsuits against them. small business owners.

Democrats, however, reject this argument, saying the protections would potentially allow employers to recklessly endanger their employees.

“We will not displace the state without responsibility. So they’re either together or we’re leaving both, ”McCarthy said of the two main sticking points.

Pressed by the media, McCarthy admitted President Trump agreed with this sentiment.

Representatives for McConnell could not be reached immediately by The Post for comment.

In addition to the White House’s $ 916 billion proposal, a bipartisan group of House and Senate lawmakers convened last week to reveal their own plan, which is valued at $ 908 billion.

The congressional effort led in part by Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), who supports liability protections, but only until the end of 2020. McConnell and his allies for a legal shield have said ‘it should last up to five years.

With pole wires