Neal offers latest on slow walk toward stimulus
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The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.
U.S. Rep. Richard Neal said Wednesday he was confident Congress would agree to a stimulus package before the end of the month that would extend enhanced unemployment insurance benefits for workers who lost their jobs due to the pandemic.
Neal, the dean of the Massachusetts delegation and the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said he thought the opposition of Senate Republicans to a new round of economic relief spending was softening.
"Unemployment insurance as prescribed by the committee has really been very successful and it's clear that the administration and Majority Leader (Mitch) McConnell, they are about to go along with the position that we've offered in some form," Neal said during an interview on WBUR's Radio Boston show Wednesday.
Neal said he believed the next package would extend the $600 per month enhancement of unemployment benefits and offer a new round of stimulus checks for individuals, this time including college students who claim dependency.
Asked whether he thought Congress and President Donald Trump could overcome their differences before the pandemic unemployment benefits expire on July 31, Neal said, "I would say yes, assertively."
The Senate plans to return from a recess next week when Republicans could introduce a new relief package for consideration.
"Every one of these conversations has begun by Senator McConnell saying no, only to then say maybe, and then to say we have to do this," Neal said.
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