Beltway Debates Over Stimulus Size Continue As Economy Waits

Commentary

While many Americans are still waiting for relief from the last federal COVID-19 stimulus package, the Biden administration and congressional Republicans are debating another one.

The question doesn't seem to be whether the nation's economy needs more stimulus, but how much.

Biden has proposed a $1.9 trillion relief effort that includes stimulus payments totaling $2,000 to eligible people ($600 from the package passed in December and an additional $1,400). The $618 billion GOP alternative would include a total of $1,600 and would be offered to fewer people.

Both sides propose additional relief for unemployed Americans, although the Biden plan would be bigger and last longer.

The plans have similar funding for COVID-19 testing, tracing and vaccinations and for extended Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. Both have about $50 billion for small business assistance programs and additional money for child care and mental health services.

Biden targets a great deal more money to aid schools in reopening. His package is priced at $170 billion. The GOP alternative is $20 billion. The Biden plan also includes rental assistance, an eviction moratorium, aid to state governments, refundable tax credits for parents, health insurance premium subsidies, an emergency paid leave mandate for some employers and a $15 an hour minimum wage.

We appreciate how fast the process is working. With a slim majority in Congress, Biden could force through a package, which has brought Republicans to the table with an offer of a bipartisan compromise.

With the pandemic still crippling the U.S. economy, the need for economic stimulus is real. We worry about adding more to the national debt, and recognize that every dollar spent today will someday have to be paid for through taxation. The shame here isn't that Washington is preparing to stimulate the economy during a genuine emergency, but that the debt grew so large because of tax cuts for the wealthy during times of relative prosperity.

The pandemic has left the nation isolated and afraid, and the national economy struggling. No one knows if the third stimulus package will be the last one necessary, but the overriding truth seems clear: The national economy will only truly return to full health when we do.

In that sense, the shot in the arm that that nation's economy needs most desperately is literally a shot in the arm.