Deal Elusive as Pelosi, Mnuchin Discuss US COVID-19 Aid; House Debates Democrats’ Plan

U.S. House Speaker 👤Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary 👤Steven Mnuchin remained far from agreement on COVID-19 relief in key areas on Thursday, after they failed in a phone discussion to bridge what Pelosi described as differences over dollars and values.

Congressional Democrats led by Pelosi have proposed a $2.2 trillion package to respond to a pandemic that has killed more than 207,000 Americans and thrown millions out of work. In the absence of a deal with the White House, the Democratic-majority House of Representatives began debating the partisan relief bill and planned to vote on it later Thursday evening.

Republican President Donald Trump’s negotiating team has suggested a $1.6 trillion response, and the White House on Thursday dismissed Democrats’ offer as not serious.

As lawmakers prepared to leave Washington for the remaining weeks of the 2020 presidential and congressional campaign, Pelosi and Mnuchin differed over aid to state and local governments, Democratic demands for a child tax credit and stronger worker safety protections, healthcare provisions and aid for small businesses.

“The two discussed further clarifications on amounts and language, but distance on key areas remain. Their conversation will continue this afternoon,” Drew Hammill, Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff, wrote on Twitter. He said the phone call lasted about 50 minutes.

The House of Representatives was due to vote around 7 p.m. EDT (2300 GMT) Thursday on the Democratic package, after a day’s delay to give more time for a deal with the White House to come together.

“Negotiations are continuing and I ardently hope that we can soon return to this floor with a bipartisan agreement,” House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey said during a debate. In the meantime, she said a strong vote on the Democratic bill would demonstrate a “will to act.”