Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) held a joint press conference on Friday where they announced Republicans declined their latest proposal for the next coronavirus relief package.
Pelosi claimed they have been trying “mightily” to “find common ground” with Republicans.
According to Pelosi, Democrats are willing to bring their $3.4 trillion proposal down by $1 trillion if Republicans will add $1 trillion to their existing $1 trillion proposal.
If both sides were to agree to the proposal, the bill’s price tag would total between $2 trillion and $2.4 trillion.
“Yesterday I offered to them: We’ll take down a trillion if you add a trillion in. They said absolutely not,” Pelosi said.
She added, “If we could do that, if we take down a trillion and they add a trillion, we’ll be within range, we’ll be within range. But, we must meet the needs of the American people.”
Watch her comments below:
Pelosi says Democrats offered to bring down their coronavirus relief package by $1 trillion if White House would add $1 trillion, but White House refused. She says they are failing to find "common ground" on funding: "We believe in science and governance" https://t.co/Nj065CIsxp pic.twitter.com/X5n0vgvuFw
— CBS News (@CBSNews) August 7, 2020
Schumer took to the podium to remind Americans Democrats are “committed to negotiating” and are “willing to make compromises.”
He called Pelosi’s offer fair and reiterated Republicans are adamant they are not willing to meet Democrats halfway on their offer.
“You should have seen their faces, ‘Absolutely not!'” Schumer said.
He added, “I said, ‘You mean you want it to go almost all in your direction or you won’t negotiate?’ And they said, ‘Yeah.’ So we are trying to compromise.”
Check out his comments below:
Sen. Chuck Schumer: "If we don't open up the schools, you're going to hurt the economy significantly." pic.twitter.com/Ne5znhvk2y
— The Hill (@thehill) August 7, 2020
Schumer argued Republicans do not want to “spend the necessary” amount to provide additional assistance to Americans.
He said Republicans have “two choices.” They can either produce a “strong bill with Democrats” or do some “weak, insufficient executive orders.”
President Donald Trump said during his press conference on Wednesday he is “exploring” taking executive action if a deal is not reached, as IJR previously reported.