Pelosi ‘Optimistic’ About Relief Package Passing Before Election

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on Sunday that while differences remained with President Donald Trump’s administration on a broad CCP virus relief bill, she was optimistic the package could be adopted before November’s presidential election.

“I’m optimistic because, again, we’ve been back and forth on all of this,” Pelosi said in an interview with ABC’s “This Week.” She added that, for a relief bill to pass ahead of the election, agreement would have to come within 48 hours.

Pelosi spoke with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Oct. 17 for more than an hour, but the two again failed to agree on a stimulus deal. The last major stimulus package was the CARES Act, passed in March, although Democrats have passed two iterations of their HEROES Act. Both of these were denounced by White House officials and Republicans in Congress.

The latest iteration of the HEROES Act is about $2.2 trillion, while Mnuchin in recent days offered a $1.88 trillion stimulus package. Last week, some Democrats in the House called on Pelosi to accept the White House’s latest offer.

“People in need can’t wait until February. … Make a deal & put the ball in McConnell’s court,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), a member of the House’s progressive wing, told Pelosi on Twitter.

Pelosi and Mnuchin have yet to agree on issues including funding for cities and states, child care, tax credits for lower-income Americans, and liability protections for businesses sought by Republicans. Both sides want a new round of $1,200 stimulus checks to most Americans and to restore some level of federal unemployment benefits for jobless workers.

President Donald Trump told reporters in Nevada on Sunday: “We’re talking about it. I think Nancy Pelosi maybe is coming along. We’ll find out.”

“I want to do it at a bigger number than she wants,” Trump said, adding, “That doesn’t mean all the Republicans agree with me, but I think they will in the end.”

Republicans have been reluctant to pass another giant relief bill, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) saying the Senate would vote on Wednesday on a $500 billion relief proposal to target specific areas of need.

“Nobody thinks this $500B+ proposal would resolve every problem forever. It would deliver huge amounts of additional help to workers and families rigRead More – Source