House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has offered some hope to those waiting for the next round of stimulus checks. Following reports that not many days are left for the Congress to come up with the next relief package, Pelosi assured that the House will remain in Washington until lawmakers reach a deal on the next coronavirus relief package and stimulus checks.
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Over the last week or so, there are reports that the House, which returned from the month-long recess earlier this week, is scheduled to go on a break in October. This caused a bit of unrest among the people who now fear that there won’t be another round of stimulus checks.
Assuaging such fears, Pelosi on Tuesday said that the House Democrats would remain in office until they have a deal on a coronavirus relief package and stimulus checks.
"We are committed to staying here until we have an agreement, an agreement that meets the needs of the American people,” Pelosi told CNBC.
Pelosi, however, again indicated that she would not accept a partial proposal, like the one the Senate GOP introduced earlier last week. The Senate GOP came up with a relief package costing about $500 billion, but it failed to get enough votes to pass the Senate.
“That’s not a deal at all,” she said.
On Tuesday, Pelosi also reiterated her comments from Monday that negotiating directly with President Trump would not be a “good use of time.”
Pelosi’s Tuesday comments do suggest that she is still very keen on striking a deal on the relief package. However, the reality is that the two sides, despite a month-long negotiation, are in no way closer to an agreement.
Both sides still hopeful of a deal
Pelosi isn’t budging from her demand of a lofty stimulus plan that includes almost everything, such as stimulus checks, unemployment benefits, aid for state and local governments, funds for schools and more.
Republicans, on the other hand, are not willing to give that much. The highest offer so far is of $1.3 trillion, but the White House has hinted it could go up to $1.5 trillion.
"We're willing to sit down with the Democrats and try to reach an agreement. Clearly, we're not going to spend 3.4 trillion or 2.4 trillion or 2.2 trillion, which are the various numbers that the Speaker has laid out as potential," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, said at a weekly news conference.
McConnell also expressed disappointment that it has already taken so much time to reach a deal. He is, however, still hopeful of a deal, adding “there's still a need."
Even though both Pelosi and McConnell are hopeful of striking a deal, the time is running out fast. Both House and Senate are in session for a few more weeks before they go on a break in October to prepare for the elections.
