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 The rise in the number of U.S. cases of COVID-19, a highly
contagious and sometimes fatal respiratory illness, has concerned
health officials and spurred calls within Congress for action to
expand testing and avert an economic meltdown.
"We had a good reception on Capitol Hill. We're going to be working
with Republican and Democratic leadership to move a legislative
package," Vice President Mike Pence, who is leading the White
House's coronavirus task force, told a White House briefing.
Almost three-quarters of U.S. states have confirmed cases of
COVID-19. A running national tally kept by the Johns Hopkins
University center tracking the outbreak puts the number of cases at
1,025, with 28 deaths. Washington state's governor warned of tens of
thousands more cases without "real action," and New York's governor
deployed National Guard troops as a containment measure in a
hard-hit New York City suburb.
U.S. stocks rebounded in their largest daily gain since late 2018 on
hopes that a government stimulus package was in the making. In Asia,
though, on Wednesday, Asian shares and Wall Street futures fell as
growing scepticism about Washington's stimulus knocked the steam out
of the rally.
A central feature of the administration's legislative proposal is
payroll tax relief, although the extent and duration of the proposal
were unclear.
White House officials have also said the administration could
undertake executive action to help small businesses and workers,
including those who do not receive paid sick leave.
Trump is scheduled to meet with bank executives at the White House
on Wednesday.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who is leading negotiations
on behalf of Republican President Donald Trump, met with Democratic
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to discuss a possible deal.
"We're going to work together on a bipartisan basis to figure out
how we can get things done quickly that are going to help the
Americans that are most impacted by this and small and medium-sized
businesses that are impacted," he said.
Pelosi said the meeting was aimed at seeing "where our common ground
was" on a set of legislative proposals.
In remarks to reporters, she warned that any package should not
contain "trickle-down solutions that only help a few."
Democrats are challenging the Trump administration to tightly target
new measures at people directly affected by the coronavirus. Any
measure would need to pass the Democratic-controlled House as well
as the Republican-controlled Senate before reaching Trump's desk.
"I hope we don't play politics with this. Mixing politics with a
pandemic is not good. It's terribly counterproductive,” said
Republican Senator Pat Roberts.
'MIXED REVIEWS'
All three major U.S. benchmark stock indexes on Tuesday rose nearly
5%, one day after suffering their largest losses since the 2008
financial crisis.
Prospects for a second day of gains on Wednesday dimmed as U.S.
equity index futures slid 1% after the overnight trading session got
under way.
Trump met with Republican lawmakers and again downplayed the risks
from the coronavirus. "It will go away. Just stay calm. It will go
away," he said.
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A senior Senate Republican aide said Trump’s payroll tax proposal got “mixed
reviews” among Republican senators who attended.
Some Senate Republicans said a potential deal could include $300 billion in
payroll tax relief that could help people make rent and mortgage payments, or
pay medical bills if family members' work hours are reduced during the outbreak.
Democrats accused Trump of being more focused on soothing Wall Street's nerves
than on protecting the public from the health and economic fallout of the
fast-spreading epidemic. The White House has been accused of inadequate
preparation for the outbreak and a slow rollout of coronavirus testing.
"President Trump and his administration should be putting people before
corporations, and they should be focused on taking appropriate steps to keep the
American people and their economic security safe," Senate Democratic leader
Chuck Schumer said.
Democrats are pushing for paid sick leave, expanded and free testing for the
coronavirus and other measures.
OUTBREAK EXPANDS
More than 116,000 people have contracted the coronavirus worldwide since it
surfaced in China late last year, according to the World Health Organization.
More than 4,000 people have died.
Italy, which has the highest death toll outside of China, has put its entire
population of 60 million on virtual lockdown.
At least 35 U.S. states and the District of Columbia have reported infections of
COVID-19. New Jersey on Tuesday reported its first death.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said schools would be closed and public
gatherings suspended in a coronavirus "hot zone" in New Rochelle, a New York
City suburb, and deployed National Guard troops there.
The United Nations said it would be closing its headquarters in New York to the
public until further notice.
As the outbreak spreads, daily life in the United States has been increasingly
disrupted, with concerts and conferences canceled and universities telling
students to stay home and take classes online.
Democratic presidential contenders Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders both canceled
rallies in Ohio on Tuesday night, citing warnings from public health officials,
as six states voted in the party's nominating contests.
The Democratic National Committee said its presidential debate in Arizona on
Sunday would be conducted without a live audience because of health concerns.
(Reporting by Richard Cowan, Susan Cornwell, Susan Heavey, Andrea Shalal, David
Lawder and Lisa Lambert in Washington, Deborah Bloom in Olympia, Washington and
Nathan Layne and Gabriella Borter in New York; Additional reporting by Brendan
O'Brien, Eric Beech and Makini Brice, Rama Venkat in Bengaluru; Writing by Paul
Simao and Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Bill Berkrot, Cynthia Osterman and Peter
Cooney)
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