Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer and Trump Officials Fail to Agree on a Coronavirus Stimulus Deal that Could Send $3,400 to Aid Desperate American Families

House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer greet each other Saturday before talks restarted

The top Democrats in Congress are not close to a deal with the White House to pump more money into the U.S. economy to ease the coronavirus’ heavy toll, both sides said on Saturday, after an essential lifeline for millions of unemployed Americans expired.

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer had met with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows for three hours at the Capitol on Saturday morning.

But they failed to make a deal and will now meet again on Monday, Schumer said – but their staff will meet tomorrow.

The meeting came after $600 unemployment boosts brought in under a previous relief package expired on Friday night.

The negotiations are also holding up direct payments to Americans of up to $1,200.

On Friday, President Donald Trump blamed the Dems for the impasse, writing on Twitter: ‘The Democrats are holding back the $1,200 to $3,400 (family of four) checks that were ready to be sent out!’

But Democrats have hit back, saying the Republican plan doesn’t go far enough to help Americans.

After Saturday’s meeting, Schumer said:  ‘This was the longest meeting we had and it was more productive than the other meetings. There are many issues that are still very much outstanding where we’re apart.

‘We’re not close yet, but it was productive discussion. Now each side knows where we’re at and we are going to work very hard to reach an agreement that meets the needs of the moment.

‘Just saying, “We’ll do half way” doesn’t work when people need homes and need jobs and need housing and need help.’

‘We’re still a long ways apart and I don’t want to suggest a deal is imminent because it is not,’ Mnuchin told reporters, adding ‘there are still substantial differences but we did make good progress.’

Pelosi said: ‘What we are doing is not only trying to arrest the virus but to invest in the economy as we help America’s working families. So, today was productive in terms of moving us forward.

‘We have to get through this virus so that we can open our economy, safely open our schools and to do so in a way that does not give a cut in benefits to America’s workers.’

 Republican Mnuchin said: ‘We’re still a long ways apart and I don’t want to suggest a deal is imminent because it is not. There are still substantial differences but we did make good progress.’

Congress for the past several months has been unable to reach an accord for a next round of coronavirus relief, in a pandemic that has killed more than 150,000 Americans and brought on the sharpest economic collapse since the Great Depression.

In a meeting on Thursday night between top White House officials and congressional Democratic leaders, negotiations focused on an extension of the $600 per week in federal unemployment benefits, which Americans who lost jobs because of the health crisis have been receiving in addition to state jobless payments.

Pelosi said before the start of the meeting that she continued to oppose a short-term deal.

She said on Friday that she rejected an offer by Republican President Donald Trump’s administration to continue the $600 payments for another week, saying such a move would only make sense ‘if you are on a path’ toward a deal.

‘We’re not,’ Pelosi told a news conference.

White House officials took their own hard line, accusing Democrats of refusing Trump’s proposals to extend the jobless benefit and a moratorium on home evictions that expired last week.

‘What we’re seeing is politics as usual from Democrats on Capitol Hill,’ Meadows – a former Republican House member – told reporters.

The House in May passed a $3 trillion deal that addressed a wide range of coronavirus responses, including more money for testing, for elections and support to financially strapped state and local governments.

‘There is clearly a desire on their part to do an entire package,’ Mnuchin told reporters. ‘We’ve made clear that we are willing to deal with the short-term issues and pass something quickly and come back to larger issues. So we are at an impasse on that.’

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday unveiled his own $1 trillion package, which met immediate resistance both from Democrats, who called it too small, and from members of his own party, who said it was too costly.

Trump, scrambling to prop up a struggling U.S. economy as he runs for re-election in November, has been pushing for another bill.

In a meeting on Thursday night between top White House officials and congressional Democratic leaders, negotiations focused on an extension of the $600 per week in federal unemployment benefits, which Americans who lost jobs because of the health crisis have been receiving in addition to state jobless payments.

According to a person familiar with the closed-door negotiations, the White House proposed continuing the $600 weekly unemployment payment for one week, which Pelosi and Schumer rejected.

The White House then proposed reducing the $600 weekly payment to $400 for the next four months. While that was a move toward Democrats’ demands, the source said they rejected it as insufficient.

The source, who asked not to be identified, said the White House also hinted it could embrace a deal without the legal protections from lawsuits for companies and schools that McConnell has said must be included.

On Thursday, Senate Republicans tried, without success, to pass a bill reducing the jobless benefit to $200 per week.

What Democrats and Republicans want in the next coronavirus relief package

Republicans and Democrats in Congress are looking to pass a fourth coronavirus aid package, but they will have to overcome significant differences.

The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives passed a $3.4 trillion virus relief bill in May.

Meanwhile the Republican leadership of the U.S. Senate has introduced its proposal for the next coronavirus relief package, a $1 trillion plan called the Heals Act.

Republican President Donald Trump’s administration has weighed in with its own ideas as well.

Below is a look at how it compares with the Heroes Act that passed the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives in May:

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS 

Republican plan: Would reduce the expanded unemployment benefit from the current $600 per week, which expires on Friday, to $200 a week, in addition to state unemployment benefits, and extend the program for two more months. After that, states are to pay employees about 70% of the income they had before they lost their jobs.

Democratic plan: Extends weekly enhanced unemployment payments of $600 through January 2021.

DIRECT PAYMENTS 

Republican plan: Includes $1,200 per individual; Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell promised ‘even more support for families who care for vulnerable adult dependents.’

Democratic plan: $1,200 per family member, up to $6,000 per household.

LIABILITY PROTECTION

Republican plan: Includes as one of its core proposals measures to protect businesses and institutions from coronavirus-related lawsuits if they are following government guidelines.

Democratic plan: did not include anything on this and Democratic leaders have pushed back against the idea.

SCHOOLS

Republican plan: Includes $70 billion for helping schools to reopen and $30 billion for colleges and universities.

Democratic plan: $100 billion to support the educational needs of states, school districts and institutions of higher education in response to coronavirus.

TESTING, CONTACT TRACING AND TREATMENT

Republican plan: $16 billion for coronavirus testing; $25 billion for hospitals.

Democratic plan: $75 billion for testing, tracing and isolation measures, and to support hospitals and healthcare providers and ensure free access to treatment for individuals.

PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM

Republican plan: Would allow the hardest-hit smallest employers, whose revenue has declined by 50% or more, to get a second forgivable loan under the program. To qualify, businesses must have 300 or fewer employees.  

Democratic plan: Gives small businesses more flexibility with how they use loans from this program (previously they were required to use 75% for payroll expenses, or be forced to pay it back as a loan) 

STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

Republican plan: Does not include new money, but Republicans said it would give state and local leaders more flexibility in spending the $150 billion passed into law in March.

Democratic plan: Nearly $1 trillion in aid to state, local, territorial and tribal governments to help pay first responders, healthcare workers and teachers.

SOURCE: Daily Mail,