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Bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus unveils $2 trillion coronavirus bill amid deadlock

15 September 2020
Dan Ackermann

A bipartisan group of 50 House members known as the Problem Solvers Caucus unveiled a roughly $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill on Tuesday amid frustration with congressional and White House leaders for failing to deliver desperately needed aid to Americans.

Why it matters: The legislation, which is widely viewed as un-passable, is a last-ditch effort by centrist lawmakers to force party leaders back to the negotiating table before the November election.

By the numbers: The proposal, titled “March To Common Ground" and led by Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Tom Reed (R-N.Y.), includes ...

  • $100 billion for COVID-19 testing and health care.
  • $316 billion in direct payments to individuals and families.
  • $120 billion in enhanced unemployment benefits.
  • $290 billion for small businesses.
  • $145 billion for schools and child care.
  • $500 billion in state and local aid.
  • $400 billion for election security.
  • $52 billion to support broadband expansion, the agriculture industry, the U.S. Postal Service and the Census
  • Additional language on liability protections 

The bottom line: Few on Capitol Hill, including some in the Problem Solvers Caucus who have championed the bill, think Congress will be able to reach stimulus deal before Election Day.

  • Before the bill was even released, it received sharp criticism from many Republican senators who have insisted that another round of coronavirus stimulus include a smaller price tag. The most recent Senate GOP "skinny" bill was roughly $650 billion.
  • Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers argue the bill doesn't go far enough.

But the measure offers many moderate members who are infuriated with the impasse an opportunity to show their constituents that they are trying to deliver coronavirus aid, and puts added pressure on leaders to do something to help lessen the burden of the pandemic on American families.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.