U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Friday there was momentum behind talks on a coronavirus relief bill and that a bipartisan COVID-19 proposal could be the basis for relief negotiations.
“There is momentum. There is momentum,” Pelosi told reporters at a press conference. “The tone of our conversation is one that is indicative of a decision to get the job done.”
Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell hope to attach a new coronavirus aid package to a must-pass omnibus spending bill to keep federal government agencies funded after Dec. 11, when funding is due to expire.
The bipartisan framework, put forward this week by a group of lawmakers from the Senate and House of Representatives, has won important support from conservative Senate Republicans.
But it is unclear whether McConnell would agree to such a large package after pushing to keep COVID-19 relief spending near the $500 billion mark. The bipartisan package is also smaller than the $2.2 trillion deal that Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer have sought.
“It’s less money, but over a short period of time, and we need to do it to save lives and livelihoods with the hope that much more help is on the way,” Pelosi told reporters.
“We hope it will take us very close to something can put into the omnibus,” she said.
(Reporting by David Morgan; Writing by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)