Pelosi, Schumer call for another $500B-plus as part of ‘interim’ coronavirus relief bill

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Secretary Mnuchin says first coronavirus economic stimulus payments will reach taxpayers within two weeks

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin makes remarks at White House coronavirus task force briefing.

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday called for more than $500 billion in additional funding for what they termed an “interim emergency” coronavirus package — before Congress even gets around to tackling a new full-blown relief bill.

In a statement that underscores the rapid pace at which Congress is poised to appropriate huge sums of money to offset economic damage from cross-country lockdowns, Pelosi, D-Calif., and Schumer, D-N.Y., laid out “Democrats’ priorities for small businesses and working families.” They called for billions more as part of an add-on package following the recently passed “Phase 3” stimulus, the CARES Act. This would be separate from a potentially much-larger “Phase 4” economic relief plan, which some estimates indicate could near the size of the last $2 trillion bill.

MNUCHIN SPEAKS WITH CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS ABOUT ADDITIONAL $250B FOR PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM

“The heartbreaking acceleration of the coronavirus crisis demands bold, urgent and ongoing action from Congress to protect Americans’ lives and livelihoods,” Pelosi and Schumer wrote in a statement Wednesday morning. “Democrats have said since Day One, Congress must provide additional relief for small businesses and families, building on the strong down-payment made in the bipartisan CARES Act.”

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Pelosi and Schumer called for $250 billion in assistance to small businesses, with $125 billion of that channeled through community-based financial institutions that serve farmers, family, women, minority and veteran-owned small businesses, as well as nonprofits in rural, tribal, suburban and urban communities.

They also called for improvements “to ensure all eligible small businesses can access this critical funding and are not turned away by banks.”

In their statement, Pelosi and Schumer further called for $100 billion to hospitals, community health centers and health systems “providing desperately needed resources to the frontlines of the crisis, including production and distribution of national rapid testing and personal protective equipment.”

And they called for an additional $150 billion for state and local governments to manage the coronavirus crisis and “mitigate lost revenue,” as well as providing “strong additional support” for families on food stamps, by increasing the maximum SNAP benefit by 15 percent “to help put food on the table.”

Pelosi and Schumer, as well as President Trump, have been calling for a “Phase 4” of the stimulus package amid the coronavirus pandemic and said on Wednesday they would still work to create one.

TRUMP VOWS TO ADD MORE MONEY TO PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM TO AID AILING SMALL BUSINESSES

“After we pass this interim emergency legislation, Congress will move to pass a CARES 2 Act that will extend and expand the bipartisan CARES Act to meet the needs of the American people,” Pelosi and Schumer said in the statement. “CARES 2 must provide transformational relief as the American people weather this assault on their lives and livelihoods.”

The calls for more funding from Pelosi and Schumer come amid negotiations with the White House.

Trump already directed Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to work with congressional leaders to secure an additional $250 billion to the Paycheck Protection Program loans to help small businesses reeling from the coronavirus pandemic.

“We are going to be going for a very substantial increase in that number,” Trump said on Tuesday. “We’re in talks to supplement the funds.”

He added: "We'll get that done and we'll get that done rapidly."

Mnuchin tweeted Tuesday that at Trump’s direction, he held discussions with Pelosi, Schumer, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., about procuring the extra funding.

On Wednesday, a Schumer spokesperson confirmed that the minority leader had spoken with Mnuchin about Democrats' "very reasonable and needed 'Small Business Plus' proposal" which "seeks to make improvements to the small business lending program, while also providing additional funding for small businesses, not-for-profits, hospitals, food assistance programs, and state and local governments."

Schumer's spokesman added: "We hope our Republican colleagues will support this 'Small Business Plus' proposal tomorrow in the Senate.”

McConnell said earlier this week that he will attempt to pass additional funds for small businesses, and plans to hold a vote Thursday to supplement the $350 billion approved for companies in the just-passed $2.2 trillion stimulus package with an immediate $250 billion or so, according to GOP sources. The so-called Paycheck Protection Program “may run dry” without it, McConnell said.

Meanwhile, as part of a Phase 4 stimulus package, both sides of the aisle have a wishlist, with the president calling on Congress to seize the opportunity “to do our decades long awaited Infrastructure Bill,” calling for a $2 trillion package.

Pelosi, this week, called for a boost in small business funds to be included in a Phase 4 package, but has already called for additional SNAP funding, direct payments to American families, emissions restrictions on airlines, as well as pension protections.

The calls for more funding comes after Congress passed and the president signed the CARES Act late last month.

The 880-page coronavirus stimulus package worth $2.2 trillion amounted to the largest economic relief bill in the history of the U.S., with massive amounts of aid slated for individuals, large corporations and small businesses..

A key piece of the latest relief bill is $350 billion in funding for small businesses. Businesses with fewer than 500 employees are eligible for up to $10 million in loans, which can be used for payroll and other expenses, like insurance premiums, mortgages, rent or utilities.

Fox News' Chad Pergram and Andrew O'Reilly contributed to this report.