Negotiations continue this week. The mutual accusations between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows make it clear that a stimulus check agreement cannot be reached before the November 3 election.
The most that could happen is that both parties would agree on a plan, but it would hardly be voted on in Congress and signed by President Donald Trump.
“We continue to make offer after offer after offer and Nancy continues to move the goalposts,” Meadows told CNN.
In the same vein, Pelosi later spoke out.
“They keep moving the goal posts,” she said. “They said to support the test language with a minor adjustment. That was 55% of the language. We’re still waiting for the final approval. And that’s a central issue in all of this.
The plan being negotiated is about $2 billion and includes the $1,200 per person assistance, but the parties cannot agree on funding for state governments or for the national pandemic tracking and prevention plan.
The last point ties in with Meadows’ saying and the White House’s rejection, since the Trump Administration does not believe it is necessary to “try to contain the pandemic,” as the Democrats seek, but rather to secure drugs – although there is no single treatment – and to achieve a vaccine.
This Monday, Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will have another meeting via telephone, while the House committees are drafting the corresponding law.
Pelosi said the bill is likely to pass “this week” in the House, but in the Senate it will depend on majority leader Mitch McConnell.
Pelosi hopes to reach stimulus check agreement with Trump before the election
Democrat pushes for national pandemic detection and tracking plan in package. There is progress, but no final agreement on the new pandemic stimulus package, said Speaker of the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (California).
Drew Hammill reported the results of Monday’s meeting and said the Democrat is confident that an agreement will be reached before November 3.
Pelosi advocates a national strategy on pandemic detection and tracking, but Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has not endorsed the “language” proposal in the bill that has been amended by the appropriate House committee chairs.
Now the Democrat is waiting for a counterproposal from President Donald Trump’s administration. There is concern that the government has rejected the need to “control the pandemic,” according to Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
“We hope your response will be positive as we also await the results of the talks between the committee chairs,” Hammill said in a thread of three tweets.
He added that the position of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (KY), who has sent mixed messages in private and public about the plan, estimated at $2 billion, is also expected.
“It is clear that our progress depends on leader McConnell accepting bipartisan and comprehensive legislation to stop the virus, honor our heroes, our essential workers, and put money in the pockets of the American people,” he said.
Hammill added that President Pelosi is confident that an agreement will be reached soon.
“The president remains optimistic that an agreement can be reached before the election,” he said.
Despite the reported progress of the bill that would include the $1,200 per person aid, congressional approval times would be tight before the election. This Wednesday the Senate focuses on Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s endorsement, but the rest of the day Representatives and Senators focus on races.