Nancy Pelosi and Mark Meadows both said yesterday they’re hopeful they can reach a new economic stimulus agreement this week, despite failures to date. Via the Washington Post:
Pelosi told reporters at the Capitol an agreement could come this week, which is supposed to be Congress’s final one in session before recessing through the election. She spoke by phone for about 50 minutes Tuesday morning with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, with whom she negotiated four relief bills in March and April totaling about $3 trillion.
Pelosi and Mnuchin are set to talk again Wednesday, at which point Mnuchin is expected to come back with a more detailed response, according to two people with knowledge of the talks who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss them.
Congress hasn’t acted to pass any new aid since the spring, and prospects for a bipartisan deal ahead of the election were looking increasingly grim. But on Monday, House Democrats released a new, $2.2 trillion bill — a slimmed-down version of the $3.4 trillion Heroes Act they passed in May — and Pelosi and Mnuchin resumed negotiations that had collapsed in August.
Even though they have reengaged in talks, Democrats are preparing to move forward without a White House deal if necessary. They could vote as soon as Wednesday on their new $2.2 trillion plan, or they could hold off if the talks with Mnuchin pick up speed.
Well! It would be nice if Republicans did their jobs and actually cared what happened to Americans who are struggling to survive, but I'll believe it when I see it.
