Pelosi knocks GOP for insufficient funds in COVID-19 relief offer
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday that White House negotiators seeking a coronavirus relief deal have simply not offered enough money to bring Democrats on board. Pelosi said she's holding out hope that the sides can reach a deal before the Nov. 3 elections, but they remain far apart on issues like funding for state and local governments."We're hopeful that we can reach agreement because the needs of the American people are so great. But there has to be a recognition that it takes money to do that," Pelosi told reporters in the Capitol.
The Speaker also pointed to another major sticking point preventing a last-minute stimulus deal: the Republicans' demand to continue a $150 billion tax benefit largely serving wealthy real-estate investors — which was tucked into the CARES Act in March — while resisting the Democrats' demand for $54 billion in tax credits for lower-income families. "They still want to keep $150 billion tax break for the wealthiest in our country, and have zero in terms of a refundable child tax credit and earned income tax credit that addresses the poorest of the poor," she said.
Democrats on Monday introduced a $2.2 trillion COVID-19 package featuring most of the same relief provisions offered in their $3.4 trillion HEROES Act, which passed in May. That list includes funding for state and local governments, unemployment benefits, food stamps, rental assistance, coronavirus testing, direct payments to individuals and the Postal Service.
Pelosi and Mnuchin met Wednesday in the Speaker's office in the Capitol, where Mnuchin delivered the White House's counteroffer to the Democrats' package. The administration has proposed $1.6 trillion in new spending, a figure first reported by Roll Call. Pelosi and Mnuchin are scheduled to speak again by phone on Thursday at 1 p.m.
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/519143-pelosi-knocks-gop-for-insufficient-funds-in-covid-offer
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