The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Pelosi sets Tuesday stimulus deadline
Differences must be resolved to get any bill passed by Election Day.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Sunday that an economic stimulus deal must be struck within 48 hours in order for Congress to pass legislation before Election Day, but she noted that significant differences still divide her and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
“Well, that depends on the (Trump) administration,” Pelosi said on ABC’s “This Week” when asked if it was still possible to get relief to Americans ahead of the election barely two weeks from now.
Pelosi’s on-again-off-again talks with Mnuchin over a deal costing between $1.8 trillion and $2.2 trillion have been dragging on for months without producing results. The window for action is narrowing fast. For the first time Pelosi put a deadline on them, indicating that if no agreement can be struck by Tuesday, it will not be possible to produce a new relief deal by the election. Pelosi and Mnuchin spoke for 75 minutes Saturday and agreed to speak again today.
Tuesday’s deadline is exactly two weeks before the Nov. 3 elections.
Pelosi has not spoken with President Donald Trump in over a year but reiterated Sunday that she’s negotiating through his emissaries and sees little point in talking directly with the president because he’s not truthful.
“You want to meet with him, you meet with him,” she told host George Stephanopoulos. “As far as I’m concerned, the speaker of the House must be respected in terms of what the purpose of the meeting is, what the preparation is for and what the likelihood of success would be.”
Millions remain out of work and in desperate straits. The economic recovery has slowed. A number of House Democrats have pressed Pelosi urgently to make a deal now, but Pelosi has made clear she believes she has the leverage in the talks and showed no sign Sunday of backing down.
Mnuchin said Thursday he was prepared to accept Pelosi’s demands for a national strategic testing plan, subject to minor edits. But Pelosi said Sunday those edits turned out to be significant, including changing “shall” to “may,” “requirements” to “recommendations,” and “a plan” to “a strategy, not a strategic plan.”
She said these word changes would give the White House too much flexibility to back out of commitments once the law is passed.
“When you say ‘may’ you’re giving the president a slush fund. He may do this, he may grant, he may withhold,” Pelosi said. “When you say ‘shall,’ according to ... what the science tells must happen. ... We can open our schools, we can open our businesses.”
Pelosi and Mnuchin also have yet to come to terms on funding for cities and states, child care, tax credits for lower-income Americans, liability protections sought by Republicans and more. They have areas of agreement, including aid to airlines and a new round of $1,200 stimulus checks to Americans.
Even if they reach agreement, Senate Republicans have indicated strong opposition to the level of spending Pelosi and Mnuchin are discussing.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced Saturday that the Senate will vote Wednesday on a narrow $500 billion bill, essentially the same legislation Democrats blocked last month. The bill will include money for schools and health care, liability protections, small business spending and enhanced unemployment insurance but lower than the $600 weekly that expired July 31. It does not include new relief checks for individuals.