The US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell conveyed a hardline against the beefed-up unemployment benefits enacted earlier this spring while promising that they “will not be in the next bill,” as per Politico.
Key quotes
The Senate majority leader told the House GOP minority in an afternoon phone call that he is comfortable waiting to see how the nearly $3 trillion in coronavirus spending previously approved plays out before moving forward on the next relief legislation.
And he told them that the ultimate end-product won’t look anything like House Democrats’ $3 trillion package passed last week, according to a person briefed on the call.
While McConnell conceded more aid may be necessary in the coming weeks, he also repeated his insistence that liability reform be included in the next round of legislation to minimize lawsuits.
And he said that the $600 weekly boost in unemployment benefits won’t continue — a vow he hadn’t previously made.
The remarks amount to a hardening of McConnell’s current position and a dismissal of House Democrats’ priorities before talks even begin.
McConnell seemed unmoved a few hours later and said Congress needed to proceed deliberately on the next package.
Market reaction
The news seems to be positive for the risk-tone and helps the S&P 500 Futures to recover early-day losses to follow Wall Street’s footsteps. That said, USD/JPY also ticks up to 107.57 to 107.64 by the press time.
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