'You have to be optimistic': Pelosi hopes for Covid stimulus by Election Day as negotiations enter third month
Speaker Nancy Pelosi has signaled new optimism about striking a deal with the White House on a coronavirus relief package before Election Day.
Such a deal, which could be in the ballpark of more than $2trn, would greenlight a second round of stimulus checks for American taxpayers similar to the $1,200 direct payments they received in the spring.
It would also include billions of additional dollars in funding for key small business programmes that desperately need cash during the pandemic to keep employees on payroll through the winter.
“It may not be finished by Election Day, it may be,” Ms Pelosi said on Tuesday in an interview with Bloomberg TV.
“But I wanted it by next Friday. I want it in time for people to pay their rent November 1,” she said.
