How to Break the Coronavirus-Relief Logjam

Negotiations on the next round of economic recovery legislation will begin in earnest Monday. Posturing on Capitol Hill and White House chaos and veto threats have made it seem plausible that the whole thing will fall apart just as the nationwide explosion in coronavirus cases makes it clear how desperately it will be needed. Ignore the noise: There will be a bill in the near future. The question is what Congress will and should put in it.

The forthcoming bill, dubbed “Phase 4” because it follows three other rounds of legislation to address the virus and its economic effects, will build off the $1.8 trillion “Phase 3” Cares Act that Congress passed in March. The Cares Act added a $600 weekly payment from the federal government to supplement standard, state-provided unemployment benefits. This extra payment expires at the end of July. A major point of conflict between Republicans and Democrats will be what to do next with unemployment benefits.