After more than a week’s worth of meetings, at least some clarity is emerging in the bipartisan Washington, D.C. talks on a huge COVID-19 response bill.
An exchange of offers Tuesday and a meeting devoted to the U.S. Postal Service today indicates a long slog remains, but the White House is offering some movement in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s direction on aid to states and local governments and unemployment insurance benefits. Multiple issues remain, but some areas of likely agreement are coming into focus.
Pelosi is staking out a hard line on extending a $600-per-week supplemental pandemic federal jobless benefit, which lapsed last week. Republicans offered to extend the benefit into December and cut it to $400, according to aides confirming leaks reported in Politico.
Similarly, the White House has offered Democrats $150 billion in new appropriations to help state and local governments alleviate revenue losses from the damage the coronavirus has wrought on the economy. That matches the amount appropriated after a huge behind-the-scenes battle during negotiations on the bipartisan $2 trillion coronavirus bill that passed in March. Much of that original money is left over, and all sides want greater flexibility in using it, but Pelosi is demanding far more—almost $1 trillion—and key Republican senators like Susan Collins of Maine, Cory Gardner of Colorado and Mitt Romney of Utah are pressing for more money as well.
Pelosi and President Donald Trump agree on another $1,200 direct payment to most Americans, making the idea all but certain to be included in the final agreement, at a cost in the $300 billion range. Read the full update on the negotiations here.
