Still no relief deal, House leader says

Pelosi: Ball in White House’s court

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday that there’s no deal yet on a new coronavirus relief package as Democrats wait to see whether the Trump administration will agree to terms.

Pelosi, D-Calif., spoke a day after President Donald Trump, hospitalized with covid-19, tweeted his support for more stimulus legislation, writing, “WORK TOGETHER AND GET IT DONE.”

Pelosi was asked on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” if the president’s comment suggested that a deal was in hand or close.

“No, it means that we want to see that they will agree on what we need to do to crush the virus so that we can open the economy and open our schools safely,” Pelosi said.

She did not elaborate, but had said Friday that agreeing

on language on how to spend new testing and tracing money remained a sticking point. Democrats have pushed for months for a national testing strategy that the administration never produced.

Pelosi also suggested Friday that Trump’s positive diagnosis could change the dynamic and help speed an agreement in the new round of economic relief talks that restarted about a week ago between her and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

Negotiations continued over the weekend, but there was little sign a breakthrough would be imminent. Pelosi on Friday asked airlines to hold off on impending furloughs of tens of thousands of workers pending a deal. United and American, the major carriers that have threatened furloughs, have said they can reverse them if there is a deal to extend the payroll support for the industry that just expired, but Congress must act quickly.

“What I said to the airline executives in a public statement is: Don’t fire people; you know that relief is on the way and it will be retroactive, so let’s keep them employed,” Pelosi said Sunday.

As to whether a deal could come together this week, Pelosi said: “It just depends on if they understand what we have to do to crush the virus. You can’t just say we need to do something but we’re going to let the virus run free. Now it’s even run free in the White House.”

Mnuchin’s office had no comment on Pelosi’s remarks.

TESTING NEGATIVE

Pelosi herself was tested for the coronavirus Friday and was negative. She said Sunday that she would continue to get tested regularly, a step she had not previously committed to publicly.

House members left Washington on Friday for what was supposed to be a recess through the election, but if a deal does emerge, they could be called back to vote on it. Moderate House Democrats in tough races are pushing hardest for a deal, and helped prod Pelosi to reengage in talks with Mnuchin, which had broken down in early August.

Congress has not enacted any new relief since the four packages passed in March and April totaling about $3 trillion.

The House passed a $3.4 trillion bill called the Heroes Act in May, but Senate Republicans and the White House dismissed it as overly costly, objecting to nearly $1 trillion for state and local governments.

Pelosi subsequently scaled back the bill to $2.2 trillion, largely by shortening the time frame of the initiatives, reducing the state and local aid portion to $436 billion. Republicans say it’s still too high, but the House passed the $2.2 trillion version late Thursday over united GOP opposition.

Mnuchin’s offer to Pelosi in the new round of talks was about $1.6 billion. The two sides agree on another round of $1,200 stimulus checks but have remained apart on other issues, including tax credits for children and families and enhanced unemployment benefits. Pelosi wanted to renew $600 in additional weekly benefits, but the administration offered only $400 per week.

The new talks come amid worrying signs for the economy, which was propped up by the stimulus over the spring but has since started to slow by some measures. A cascade of new layoffs was announced last week, including by Disney and Allstate. The total number of people claiming unemployment benefits rose slightly, to 26.5 million, for the week ending Sept. 12.

SCHUMER: HEARING UNSAFE

In another congressional development, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer said it won’t be safe for the Senate to move ahead with Supreme Court hearings for Amy Coney Barrett given the virus outbreak that has sickened three Republican senators.

While acknowledging that Democrats can’t block the hearings, he said they plan to use “every tool in the toolbox” to try to delay a final confirmation vote for Trump’s nominee.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said the hearings would go forward as scheduled next Monday and senators could attend remotely. Two members of the committee — Mike Lee of Utah and Thom Tillis of North Carolina — have tested positive for covid-19, as well as a third Republican, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin.

McConnell has said he plans to seek a two-week recess of the full Senate for all but brief pro-forma sessions. He is likely to get bipartisan consent for the plan today, according to a Senate aide.

“If it’s not safe for the Senate to be in session, it’s not safe for the hearings to go forward,” Schumer said at a news conference in New York.

Schumer said holding the hearings would endanger senators and staff, and he dismissed virtual hearings as insufficient for a lifetime appointment that he said could cast deciding votes on ending abortion rights, protections for preexisting health conditions and more.

Schumer also said McConnell has blocked a coronavirus testing plan for all senators and staff at the Capitol.

“I have asked McConnell repeatedly that all of our senators and staff get testing,” but he has resisted, Schumer said. “I think he is very, very wrong.”

McConnell on Friday in Kentucky dismissed a question about Schumer’s call for a testing regime, saying that the Senate had been successfully following CDC recommendations.

Schumer also demanded “full transparency” about the health of the president and others at the White House who have been infected with the virus.

He pointed to the “super spreader” Rose Garden ceremony for Barrett eight days ago as an example of risky behavior he said Trump had repeatedly encouraged and participated in.

“Loads of people, sitting closely together for long periods of time, with no masks, most of them,” Schumer said. “In fact, when they were inside, they were encouraged to take off their masks.”