Dems to redo relief plan in bid to jump-start talks
House could vote on scaled-down version of past bill next week
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday directed House committee leaders to put together a more slender coronavirus relief package than the one that previously passed the chamber, in their latest offer in talks with the White House.
The House could vote on that as-yet-unreleased $2.4 trillion bill as soon as next week if GOP cooperation doesn’t materialize, according to Democratic lawmakers. But Democrats say they’re hoping for renewed talks with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and a compromise agreement that can become law.
Democrats will need to trim about $1 trillion from the legislation the House passed in May that previously served as their starting point in the talks. That’s a hefty task for party leaders seeking to appease the rank-andfile, given the ongoing economic downturn, record unemployment and the likely upcoming surge in hospitalizations during cold and flu season.
And Pelosi wants to add more provisions that weren’t in the earlier bill, such as aid to airlines and restaurants.
There is considerable pressure to vote on something next week before heading home to campaign. The House is scheduled to be in session next week, though some are holding out the possibility of being in Washington even longer.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said after a leadership meeting Thursday that
negotiators are working on a “short time frame.”
Thursday’s developments come as moderate Democrats in competitive reelection races have been pressing leaders to become more flexible.
Some participated in drafting a $1.5 trillion bipartisan bill that fell flat when outlined last week.
Pelosi and other Democratic leaders, however, say they are uninterested in a “message vote” that offers political cover but
fails to catch on with the Senate or the White House.
Pelosi had largely dismissed the protests from moderates to pare back leadership COVID demands or schedule a floor vote. Some of the dissenters, however, had threatened to sign onto a GOP procedural effort to pass a renewal of aid for small businesses, a step with the potential to embarrass her.
White House officials have said they can go as high as $1.5
trillion, which is the number included in a bipartisan plan offered by Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., and others last week.
Republicans reacted cooly, especially at the prospect of a partisan floor vote if the effort doesn’t spark constructive talks.
“It’s a waste of time,” said Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, saying a Democrats-only approach won’t go anywhere. “She could pass 10 more partisan bills. That won’t get us an inch closer.”
Hoyer said leadership’s goal in presenting the new plan was to get back to the bargaining table.
“We want to get a deal with Secretary Mnuchin and the Senate because we want to get people help, not just messages,” he said. “So hopefully in the next few days we can get a deal.”
The decision to reduce spending totals represents a reversal from the last few months. Pelosi had repeatedly told members they needed to hold the line on the House’s original $3.4 trillion proposal in order to maximize negotiating leverage.
Pelosi went so far as telling House Democrats not to be a “cheap date” on a Sept. 10 conference call, according to a source who heard the comment.
Pelosi left her options open Thursday but suggested she still prefers a bipartisan deal.
“I’m talking with my caucus, my leadership and we’ll see what we’re going to do,” she said. “But we’re ready for a negotiation. That’s what we’re ready for.”
If negotiations resume, it will be the first time congressional Democrats and the White House have held serious talks since efforts broke down in early August.
Since then, Pelosi has repeatedly said that needs are growing as COVID-19 cases continue to crop up across the country. The U.S. coronavirus death toll topped 202,500 with nearly 7 million infections Thursday, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
Democrats’ new $2.4 trillion proposal will still be substantially higher than what Senate Republicans have offered.
In July, the GOPput forward a $1 trillion series of bills, but Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was forced to shelve that effort after blowback within his conference over the price tag.
McConnell later released a scaled-down $650 billion aid package that was more than halfway offset by rescinding unspent funds from the $2 trillion relief law enacted in March. That measure had nearunanimous support among Republicans, but couldn’t muster any Democratic votes to get over the Senate’s 60-vote threshold.