WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 31: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks during her weekly news conference at the U.S. Capitol on July 31, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday she may keep the chamber in session, and House lawmakers in Washington, until another fiscal stimulus deal is done, raising the ante on the issue.
“We are committed to staying here until we have an agreement, an agreement that meets the needs of the American people. We’re optimistic that the White House at least will understand that we have to do some things,” Pelosi said in an appearance on CNBC.
Odds for another major stimulus package to be passed before the Nov. 3 presidential election dimmed considerably earlier after Pelosi, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell all said the focus should be on passing a temporary spending bill to keep the government operating after Sept. 30.
A stimulus package had been expected to hitch a ride with the yet-to-be negotiated continuing resolution, but once the decision was made to keep the issues separate, prospects for a standalone stimulus plan faded. Senate Republicans united behind a narrow bill last week in their first week back in session since August, but it was blocked by Senate Democrats.
Republicans have said Democrats refuse to negotiate and that much less stimulus is needed than Democrats desire. Pelosi has said Democrats have lowered the amount they are seeking but Republicans and the White House have not proposed packages big enough to deal with the coronoavirus pandemic and its economic impact.
The House is currently scheduled to recess to allow lawmakers to hit the election campaign trail on Oct. 2, two days after the Sept. 30 fiscal year end deadline. Pelosi made similar comments about canceling the traditional August break if no deal was reached, but ultimately sent lawmakers home except for one weekend to vote on postal legislation.
Pelosi’s hardline stance has rankled some in her caucus, who would rather have a small deal than go into the last weeks of the fall campaign season empty handed.
Some House Democrats are part of a bipartisan group that calls itself the Problem Solvers Caucus, which is set to propose a $ 1.5 trillion plan as a compromise, according to reports.
Pelosi Tuesday continued to downplay the benefits of a narrow deal, in part because she said it was unlikely other issues would be taken up later.
“There is no later with this administration. This is the opportunity,” she said. “A skinny deal is a Republican bill. That is not a deal, at all.”
