House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrives Monday to speak outside her office on Capitol Hill. The day was filled with back-and-forth in the Senate over the House Democrats’ financial stimulus package. Andrew Harnik/AP hide caption
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Andrew Harnik/AP
A Senate agreement on a third wave of emergency funding to address the coronavirus could be “hours” away, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday, as Republicans and Democrats seemed close to bridging disagreements that have stalled a deal on the approximately $2 trillion package.
“I think there is real optimism we could get something done in the next few hours,” Pelosi said in an interview on CNBC.
She said she was pleased by the plan’s new provisions, such as new oversight of funds that could be distributed to larger industries hit hard by the pandemic and support to local and state governments.
She said Democratic negotiations have also made progress in blocking moves to fund corporate buybacks, CEO pay and other concerns.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., echoed Pelosi in remarks on the Senate floor in which he said he believes a deal can be reached Tuesday.
“We’re on the 5-yard line. It’s taken a lot of noise and a lot of rhetoric to get us here,” he said. “If we act today, what Americans will remember and what history will record, is that the Senate did the right thing.”
The potential for a deal was good news for U.S. stocks that have been battered by the uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up nearly 7.5% in early trading.
Pelosi acknowledged there were some details to hammer out, but say they aren’t “deal breakers,” such as a call for new worker protections and expanded medical leave.
“I think we are getting to a good place if they stay there — the problem is it moves,” she said of the legislation’s changes. She said she hopes the House could approve the bill under unanimous consent, but if that’s not possible, they can call members back to amend the Senate bill or pass their own proposal and go to conference to hammer out a final bill.
“The easiest way to do it is for us to come to put aside some of our concerns for another day and get this done,” Pelosi said.
However, she said an ultimate deal is within reach.
“We think the bill has moved sufficiently to the side of workers,” Pelosi said. She later added, “I think we are on a good track.”
Tuesday’s optimism was in sharp contrast to Monday’s back-and-forth in the Senate. House Democrats had introduced their own proposal, which a House Democratic aide said was valued at $2.5 trillion and focused on boosting health care access, unemployment insurance, the health care industry and payments to workers.
McConnell had blamed Democrats on Monday for delaying progress on the bill even as Democrats continued to negotiate with White House officials.
The Senate majority leader called for the Senate to support a GOP-drafted bill that includes expanded unemployment insurance, aid for small businesses and loans for large corporations.
“The American people have had enough of this nonsense. They’re wondering where we are. They’re looking to us to solve this problem,” McConnell said.
But late Monday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he was “very, very close” to an agreement with the White House.
“Secretary Mnuchin called the president, we told him we are very, very close to an agreement and he seemed very happy with that,” Schumer said.
He met with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin four times Monday, including a meeting shortly after 8 p.m. ET, a Schumer spokesman had said.
