House Democrats are preparing a revised coronavirus relief proposal focused on unemployment and direct payments that would cost roughly $2.2 trillion. Democrats and Republicans have been deadlocked in negotiations for more aid despite CARES Act funds expiring over the summer.
The bill would include unemployment insurance, direct payments, small-business loan funding and aid for airlines, at a cost of about $1 trillion less than the House’s previous plan.
Formal talks between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows broke down without a deal on Aug. 7, with the two sides far apart. Pelosi and Mnuchin have since spoken by phone. “We’re ready for negotiation,” Pelosi told reporters on Thursday, saying she had last spoken to Mnuchin on Wednesday.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer added, “I don’t have an expectation at this point in time, because our focus is we want to get a deal or an agreement with [Treasury Secretary Steven] Mnuchin and the Senate because we want a bill passed and signed so that’s what our focus is — trying to get an agreement before we go home. ”
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