Trump Asks for Payroll Tax Holiday Through Election: Report

"The best way to prevent economic damage is to stop the spread of the virus," Wyden said in a statement. "President Trump isn't going to wriggle out of addressing this growing public health crisis with tax cuts. A payroll tax cut can be an effective tool, but it's not the best answer in this case. A payroll tax cut would do little to help workers without paid sick days or those who have lost shifts and tips."

Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, said in a Tuesday statement that Trump "is using the coronavirus crisis as an excuse to propose a reduction in payroll contributions. This is a Trojan Horse attack on our Social Security system, which will do nothing to meaningfully address the crisis at hand."

Said Altman: "Under the guise of stimulating the economy, Trump's plan to reduce Social Security contributions would either undermine Social Security's financing or employ general revenue, both of which would set the stage for future demands to cut Social Security."

Democrats Respond

Rep. Hakeem Jefferies, D-N.Y., chairman of the Democratic Caucus, said during a Tuesday morning press conference that "the American people are the ones who will need the relief if Congress acts — not the millionaires, not the billionaires, not the multinational corporations. We need to put families first."

"The outbreak of the coronavirus is a public health crisis that has effected tens of thousands of people in the U.S. and abroad," Beyer said.

Trump's "incompetent leadership on the coronavirus is really hurting our response, which in turn is hurting the economy," Beyer said. "As the number of cases proliferates and fear spreads, markets have plunged into chaos; there are even more ominous signs that more might be coming."

Treasury bonds, he said, are "now trading below 1% yield; that zero threshold is in sight. It's a strong indicator of a possible recession. Businesses are suffering too because of the coronavirus' impact on supply chains. And consumer spending, which … has been the main engine of economic growth, is likely to fall as Americans are forced to cut back on their usual activities."

Goldman Sachs, he continued, is now predicting zero economic growth for the second quarter. Former Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen, he relayed, has said that "'the coronavirus could throw the United States into a recession.'"

The Fed "has little room left to cut interest rates," Beyer added.

Stopping the spread of the disease, he said, "is where the priority must be."

Last week Congress passed an $8 billion emergency bill to address, principally, the public health crisis with investments for treatment and research, and "now we're in talks to further strengthen the response and prevent this outbreak from getting even worse," Beyer said.

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