Coronavirus US Economy: Pelosi Shuts Down McConnell’s Small Business Spending Plan

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on Tuesday shut down a plan backed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to help small businesses amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis. Pelosi would like the spending bill to also include funding for state and local governments, along with hospitals.

“We cannot accept Leader McConnell’s proposals that would only perpetuate the flaws that are threatening the survival of the most vulnerable small businesses and would do nothing to aid desperate hospitals and state and local governments,” she said.

Republicans are pushing for $250 billion in funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a federal incentive for small businesses to keep employees on their payrolls. The program received $350 billion in funding from the CARES Act stimulus package signed by President Trump last month.

Democrats want the $250 billion for the PPP, along with an additional $100 billion for hospitals and $150 billion for state and local governments. Democratic lawmakers also want extra funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

McConnell has previously said that Democrats are treating Americans as “political hostages” by holding up the funding, and has said that lawmakers can pass more coronavirus legislation in the future.

Pelosi on Tuesday also criticized a $600 billion small business lending program by the Federal Reserve. She claimed that the Fed is excluding non-profit organizations, along with colleges and universities.

“Unfortunately, the administration and the Fed, as of today, are excluding nonprofits,” she said. “This is a significant blow in particular to entities that are also ineligible for the Paycheck Protection Program.”

The ongoing coronavirus has ravaged the American economy, as states around the country issue stay-at-home orders to shut down non-essential businesses. As of Tuesday at 1:45 p.m. ET, there are 572,689 cases of the virus in the United States, with the domestic death toll standing at 23,134.