Hopes Fade for Coronavirus Stimulus Package
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke again Thursday as part of a last-ditch effort to reach an agreement on a coronavirus relief bill before Congress leaves town ahead of the election, but no breakthroughs on a potential deal were announced.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke again Thursday as part of a last-ditch effort to reach an agreement on a coronavirus relief bill before Congress leaves town ahead of the election, but no breakthroughs on a potential deal were announced.
The atmosphere around the talks was notably strained. White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said early Thursday that Mnuchin had offered a $1.6 trillion proposal and criticized Pelosi for failing to take the offer seriously.
“It’s a good offer but it’s one Nancy Pelosi is not interested in,” McEnany said in a press briefing. “Nancy Pelosi is not being serious. If she becomes serious then we can have a discussion.”
Pelosi said the offer was too small and was focused more on helping the rich than ordinary citizens. “This isn’t half a loaf, this is the heel of the loaf,” Pelosi told Bloomberg.
Pelosi cast doubt on the chances of a deal during a private call with House Democrats, listing several areas where the two sides remain far apart, Politico reports.
Still, Pelosi told reporters that she wanted to keep working toward a deal. “We're hopeful that we can reach agreement because the needs of the American people are so great. But there has to be a recognition that it takes money to do that," Pelosi told reporters at her weekly press conference.
The White House proposal: The $1.62 trillion proposal offered by Mnuchin includes $250 billion in assistance for state and local governments, a boost of $100 billion over the previous Republican offer but still well short of the $436 billion Democrats are seeking. It also includes a proposal for $400 per week in extra unemployment benefits, running from September 12 to the end of the year, a third less than the $600 per week in the House bill.
Other provisions in the White House proposal include $300 billion for another round of $1,200 stimulus checks for most Americans adults; $160 billion for businesses, including restaurants and airlines; $150 billion for education; $75 billion for Covid-19 testing; $60 billion for rental assistance; $50 billion for vaccines; $50 billion for health care providers; and $25 billion for child care.
Republican lawmakers express doubts: Even as Pelosi criticized the White House proposal for being too small, some Republican lawmakers said they would have trouble supporting it because it would be too large.
Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX), the top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, who played a key role in passing the GOP tax cuts in 2017, said he was concerned about spending too much money on things like aid for the unemployed and state and local governments. “How much wasteful spending will we have to swallow to do this?” he asked during an interview with Fox Business Network.
Sens. Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Rick Scott (R-FL) said they would probably not support the White House plan, with Johnson saying he was unlikely to back anything larger than $650 billion bill that failed in the Senate earlier this month.
Talks to continue. Pelosi and Mnuchin were expected to speak again on Thursday. Meanwhile, the House is expected to vote on the $2.2 trillion stimulus bill Democrats unveiled earlier this week. Pelosi said that voting on the bill will not preclude making a deal with Republicans, although the vote was delayed on Wednesday in order to give negotiators more time to make a deal.
The atmosphere around the talks was notably strained. White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said early Thursday that Mnuchin had offered a $1.6 trillion proposal and criticized Pelosi for failing to take the offer seriously.
“It’s a good offer but it’s one Nancy Pelosi is not interested in,” McEnany said in a press briefing. “Nancy Pelosi is not being serious. If she becomes serious then we can have a discussion.”
Pelosi said the offer was too small and was focused more on helping the rich than ordinary citizens. “This isn’t half a loaf, this is the heel of the loaf,” Pelosi told Bloomberg.
Pelosi cast doubt on the chances of a deal during a private call with House Democrats, listing several areas where the two sides remain far apart, Politico reports.
Still, Pelosi told reporters that she wanted to keep working toward a deal. “We're hopeful that we can reach agreement because the needs of the American people are so great. But there has to be a recognition that it takes money to do that," Pelosi told reporters at her weekly press conference.
The White House proposal: The $1.62 trillion proposal offered by Mnuchin includes $250 billion in assistance for state and local governments, a boost of $100 billion over the previous Republican offer but still well short of the $436 billion Democrats are seeking. It also includes a proposal for $400 per week in extra unemployment benefits, running from September 12 to the end of the year, a third less than the $600 per week in the House bill.
Other provisions in the White House proposal include $300 billion for another round of $1,200 stimulus checks for most Americans adults; $160 billion for businesses, including restaurants and airlines; $150 billion for education; $75 billion for Covid-19 testing; $60 billion for rental assistance; $50 billion for vaccines; $50 billion for health care providers; and $25 billion for child care.
Republican lawmakers express doubts: Even as Pelosi criticized the White House proposal for being too small, some Republican lawmakers said they would have trouble supporting it because it would be too large.
Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX), the top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, who played a key role in passing the GOP tax cuts in 2017, said he was concerned about spending too much money on things like aid for the unemployed and state and local governments. “How much wasteful spending will we have to swallow to do this?” he asked during an interview with Fox Business Network.
Sens. Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Rick Scott (R-FL) said they would probably not support the White House plan, with Johnson saying he was unlikely to back anything larger than $650 billion bill that failed in the Senate earlier this month.
Talks to continue. Pelosi and Mnuchin were expected to speak again on Thursday. Meanwhile, the House is expected to vote on the $2.2 trillion stimulus bill Democrats unveiled earlier this week. Pelosi said that voting on the bill will not preclude making a deal with Republicans, although the vote was delayed on Wednesday in order to give negotiators more time to make a deal.
