U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said after a phone call with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Tuesday that “serious differences” remain between Democrats and the White House over coronavirus relief legislation.
“Sadly, this phone call made clear that Democrats and the White House continue to have serious differences understanding the gravity of the situation that America’s working families are facing,” Pelosi said in a statement.
No negotiations on another round of coronavirus aid have taken place since early August when talks collapsed as congressional Democrats and the Republican Trump administration could not bridge a gap of more than $1 trillion between their proposed relief packages for small businesses, state and local governments, school districts and healthcare providers.
“In our conversation, I reiterated the hope that Republicans will come to the table and work with Democrats to save the lives and livelihoods of the American people,” Pelosi said.
In mid-May, House Democrats approved a fifth coronavirus-response bill this year totaling more than $3 trillion. Months later, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell responded with a $1 trillion bill that the Senate has not voted upon.
Mnuchin said on Monday he hoped McConnell would unveil a new bill next week. Some Republicans oppose new aid out of concern over a massive and growing budget deficit predicted to approach $4 trillion this year.
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said on Friday that Trump was willing to sign a $1.3 trillion coronavirus relief bill, up from an initial proposal of $1 trillion.
Pelosi had reduced Democrats’ initial $3 trillion demand to $2.2 trillion but was insisting on the need for new funds for state and local governments, schools, and coronavirus testing and tracing of infections.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday banned evictions until the end of December to ease the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The moratorium covers renters who have faced a "substantial" loss of income amid the pandemic, expect to make no greater than $99,000 in annual income, or received a stimulus check under the CARES Act and are making "best efforts" to pay as much of their rent as possible.
"Under the CDC Order, American renters who meet certain conditions cannot be evicted if they have affirmatively exhausted their best efforts to pay rent, seek government rental assistance and are likely to become homeless due to eviction," the White House said in a statement.
The White House added that tenants benefitting from the assistance are still obligated to pay the accrued rent or housing payments according to their lease or contract.
Landlords are also still permitted to pursue eviction against tenants for committing criminal acts, threatening the health or safety of other residents, damaging property, or other offenses.
Landlords who violate the order could face a fine of up to $250,000 or possible jail time.
The order lasts through Dec. 31 and does not apply to states with equivalent or more extensive restrictions on evictions.
The CDC's action follows an executive order by President Donald Trump on Aug. 8 directing the agency to investigate the issue of evictions amid the pandemic.
A moratorium on evictions provided by the CARES Act expired in July, prompting the Urban Institute to estimate that 12.3 million U.S. households, or 30% of renters nationwide, would face possible eviction without protections.
Trump pledged to provide eviction protection through an executive order after Congress struggled to pass a new coronavirus stimulus package.
The American Civil Liberties Union tweeted Tuesday night that the measure "isn't enough" to protect American renters.
"The only real way to stop the coming wave of mass evictions is for Trump to work with Congress to extend and expand the eviction moratorium for ALL and provide emergency rent relief," the ACLU said.
Ryanair could have to cut more jobs here in the coming months if it moves capacity out of Ireland for the winter, its chief executive, Eddie Wilson, has warned.
He said the carrier is currently finalizing its winter schedule, but with countries such as Germany and the UK still not on the government's so-called 'Green List' of safe travel destinations, the network in and out of Ireland could be curtailed more than anticipated this winter.
"My worry would be that if the cuts get that bad, that we may have to revisit those deals in terms of redundancies because there just won't be any work to spread around," Mr Wilson told the Irish Independent. "We don't want to be doing that."
Ryanair employs more than 400 pilots in Ireland, and about double that number of the cabin crew. It has about 30 aircraft based in Dublin, two in Cork, and a couple in Shannon. Last month, it said it was cutting overall capacity by 20pc for September and October because of weaker bookings.
Mr Wilson declined to predict what the airline's schedule will look like this winter and said it would be clearer in a couple of weeks' time. Trade union Fórsa declined to comment.
Ryanair has been a constant critic of the Government's 'Green List' of countries to where it says people can complete a return journey without having to quarantine when they come back to Ireland.
Mr Wilson insisted that there's "no scientific basis" to exclude places such as the UK. Yesterday, Ryanair launched a 48-hour sale offering one million seats at €5, or £5 in the UK. "You can price all you like, but you're not going to get people to come to Ireland from Germany for 14-day quarantine," said Mr Wilson. "You couldn't pay them to come."
However, he said the seat sale was performing "exceptionally well".
"It's driving volumes, but the prediction models that any airline has at the moment is that we are re-learning what the booking curve looks like," said Mr Wilson. "People are tending to book a lot closer in because of uncertainty."
He also said it's not unreasonable to assume that Ryanair will have most of the Boeing Max aircraft that have already been manufactured for it in service by next summer, assuming the jet is recertified for use in Europe by early next year.
Boeing has already made about 28 of the Max jets for Ryanair, said Mr Wilson.
"It's driving volumes, but the prediction models that any airline has at the moment is that we are re-learning what the booking curve looks like," said Mr Wilson. "People are tending to book a lot closer in because of uncertainty."
He also said it's not unreasonable to assume that Ryanair will have most of the Boeing Max aircraft that have already been manufactured for it in service by next summer, assuming the jet is recertified for use in Europe by early next year.
Boeing has already made about 28 of the Max jets for Ryanair, said Mr Wilson.