Pandemic thrusts downtown’s homelessness problem to fore
For weeks, camps of people experiencing homelessness and those suffering from substance use disorders have settled in on Monument Circle and near City Market.
For weeks, camps of people experiencing homelessness and those suffering from substance use disorders have settled in on Monument Circle and near City Market.
White House officials and Democratic leaders ended a three-hour negotiation Thursday evening without a coronavirus relief deal or even a clear path forward, with both sides remaining far part on critical issues.
With talks on a coronavirus relief bill appearing to falter, President Donald Trump told reporters that he was preparing to sign executive orders as soon as Friday that would extend enhanced unemployment benefits, offer an eviction moratorium and provide a payroll tax cut.
To date, more than 24,000 Hoosiers have submitted an application seeking rental assistance through the program, which launched July 13.
Frustrated Senate Republicans re-upped their complaints Tuesday that Democratic negotiators are taking too hard a line in talks on a sweeping coronavirus relief bill.
Both the Trump administration negotiating team and top Capitol Hill Democrats remain far apart, and talks since Saturday—when the combatants announced modest progress—have yet to lend momentum.
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows made clear in separate interviews Sunday that they remain far apart on another pandemic relief package.
Over the past two months, congressional approval ratings have crashed downward, after a sudden previous bump in approval. Fewer than 1 in 5 voters say they like what lawmakers are doing on Capitol Hill, according to the Gallup Poll.
Democratic leaders panned the idea in late-night talks at the Capitol, opting to keep the pressure on for a much more expensive and sweeping bill.
A meeting between top White House officials and Democratic leaders ended with no agreement on extending emergency unemployment benefits that expire on Friday, or on reviving a moratorium on evictions that lapsed last week.
A huge plunge in consumer spending as people stayed home in the April-June quarter likely sent the economy into a tailspin at a roughly 32% annual rate
The state’s program, which launched July 13, has already received more than 20,000 applications, but the funds are expected to be enough to cover only about 12,000 households.
In addition, the governor said he was extending the state’s landlord moratorium on evictions though Aug. 14.
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb’s administration set aside $300 million in federal CARES Act funding for local units of government to use for pandemic-related expenses, but so far, rental assistance programs are not among the reimbursable items.
Senate Republicans want to reduce the $600 extra payment to $200 until states can implement a new approach that would pay the unemployed 70% of the income they collected before they lost their jobs.
Enhanced unemployment benefits are expiring at the end of this week for millions of Americans.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said extending an expiring unemployment benefit—but reducing it substantially—was a top priority.
With days to go before enhanced jobless benefits expire, the White House and Senate Republicans are struggling to design a way to scale back the program without overwhelming state unemployment agencies and imperiling aid to more than 20 million Americans.
The number of laid-off Americans seeking unemployment benefits rose last week for the first time since the pandemic struck in March, but Indiana saw a major decline in claims.
For some, the virus has meant lost income or struggles to pay bills on time. Others have transitioned to working from home or have experienced the nation’s economic decline through a dip in the value of their investments.