Pelosi on Stimulus Checks: No Deal Has Been Reached

On Sunday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reiterated that no stimulus deal has been reached while speaking on CBS’ Face the Nation.

Asked if President Trump’s “WORK TOGETHER AND GET IT DONE” tweet meant that an agreement had been made on a second stimulus check, Pelosi said, “No, it means that we want to see that they can agree on what we need to do to crush the virus,” according to Forbes.

Last week, both sides of the aisle resumed negotiations on an economic relief package in the hopes of striking a deal before the election. They were unable to iron out the details of a package; however, White House officials are still optimistic that a deal can be reached by the middle of this week, according to the Washington Post.

While speaking on Face the Nation, Pelosi added that she hopes President Donald Trump’s recent diagnosis will “cause the White House and congressional Republicans to change their stance on how to handle the pandemic and ‘listen to the science’ after Democrats have criticized the GOP for months for not taking the virus seriously enough,” reported Fox News.

Here’s what you need to know:

The Democratic Proposal

Early last week, Democrats in the House unveiled their updated HEROES Act 2.0, which Republicans dismissed as “dead on arrival”, according to AS.com. The legislation includes a second round of $1,200 stimulus payments and an additional $600 in weekly unemployment benefits. Whereas the first HEROES Act came in at $3.4 trillion, this one was cut back to $2.2 trillion.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said on Thursday, “Today’s so-called compromise isn’t realistic or responsible. It’s the Pelosi Pipedream 2.0 and it’s filled with the same radical, reckless, and ridiculous ideas as the first bill.”

As the bill is largely opposed by Republicans in the Senate, it is not expected to become law.

The sticking point remains the overall price of a bill– Pelosi is pushing for a $2 trillion package, while the White House is determined to stay in the $1 trillion range, according to Politico.

They also differentiate on state and local funding and enhanced unemployment insurance.

On Thursday, Pelosi said that “there is a stark difference not just of dollars, but of values,” reported CBS News.

Congress on Recess

As outlined by CNET, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has suspended voting in the Senate until October 19. The House is also on recess after passing their stimulus bill on October 1.

CNET writes, “How quickly the IRS might start sending out the next stimulus checks is now related to the spread of the coronavirus in the upper reaches of government, and if a new sense of urgency accelerates agreement.”

Still, Pelosi says not all hope is lost. “We’re making progress,” she told Face the Nation.

Mnuchin has previously said that he can send out payments “really quickly”. What remains to be seen is whether or not negotiations can result in a consensus on an overall relief package.

This post will be updated with more information as it becomes available. 

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