Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
McConnell Signals Senate Interest In Fifth Coronavirus Relief Bill
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on Monday that he believes there will be a fifth coronavirus relief bill, as the country sees an uptick in the number of cases. "We will be taking a look at — in the Senate in a couple of weeks — another package based on the conditions that we confront today," McConnell said in Louisville, Ky. McConnell added on the potential for a fifth coronavirus bill that "I believe there will be one." (Carney, 7/6)
Asked if funding for individuals like the stimulus checks included in a March package would be in the next piece of legislation, which would be the fifth in response to COVID-19, McConnell said they "could well" be. "I think the people that have been hit the hardest are people who make about $40,000 or less. Many of them work in the hospitality industry. .... That could well be a part of it," McConnell said. (Carney, 7/6)
McConnell said one of his top priorities for the bill would be liability protection to protect businesses from coronavirus-related litigation. "This is not just for businesses. This is for hospitals, doctors, nurses, nonprofits, universities, colleges, K-12, so that people who acted in good faith during this crisis are not confronted with a second epidemic of lawsuits in the wake of a pandemic that we're already struggling with," he said. (Thorp V, Tsirkin and Gregorian, 7/6)
In other Capitol Hill news —
Rep. Bill Pascrell underwent heart surgery on Sunday to relieve blocked arteries, days before New Jersey’s primary election. The 83-year-old New Jersey Democrat wrote on Twitter that he was feeling much better and is expected to completely recover. (Cohen, 7/6)
