Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) are suggesting the only way they are going to carry on with talks over the next coronavirus relief bill is if Republicans are willing to meet them halfway.
Pelosi and Schumer released a statement where they noted Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said during a phone call, the White House is not willing to budge on the “size and scope of a legislative package.”
They reiterated Democrats have compromised by willing to bring their price tag down $1 trillion if Republicans bring theirs up by $1 trillion.
The Democratic lawmakers accused the Trump administration of not grasping “the magnitude of the problems that American families are facing.”
“We have again made clear to the Administration that we are willing to resume negotiations once they start to take this process seriously,” Pelosi and Schumer said.
They added, “The lives and livelihoods of the American people as well as the life of our democracy are at stake.”
STATEMENT from @SpeakerPelosi and @SenSchumer makes clear that, despite a phone call w mnuchin, Dems want the wh to budge in order to start talks again. pic.twitter.com/kpNgiV3xou
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) August 12, 2020
Appearing on MSNBC Wednesday, Pelosi said Democrats and Republicans are still “miles apart” on negotiations, as IJR previously reported.
She identified provisions lawmakers are divided over including food insecurity initiatives, funding to prevent evictions or a moratorium on evictions, and the amount of money it is going to take to reopen schools safely.
With stalled negotiations, President Donald Trump signed executive orders on Saturday to pump relief into the struggling economy, as IJR previously reported.
His orders provide enhanced federal unemployment benefits of $400 a week, a payroll tax cut, “temporary financial assistance” to struggling renters and homeowners, and an extended suspension of interest on student loan payments.
Despite his efforts to boost the economy, economists are suggesting it may not be enough.
The nation continues to struggle to rebound from the outbreak as the number of coronavirus cases has reached more than 5 million.