Democrat leadership, including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), brought momentum on the Republicans’ proposed coronavirus relief package, unveiled Monday, to a screeching halt Tuesday morning, refusing to cooperate or compromise on the bill unless it restores a full $600-per-week supplement unemployment benefit to out-of-work Americans.
Republicans have resisted extending the $600-per-week benefit over concerns that the federal supplement is encouraging unemployed individuals to remain unemployed, even as the economy slowly reopens to activity. Instead, the GOP has proposed rolling back the supplement to $200 per week until the next expiration date, sometime in the early fall.
CNBC reports that negotiations on the package began Monday night, and while the White House team — Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin — were left hopeful by initial discussions, Democrats took to the airwaves after the meeting to express their concerns with the bill.
“Unfortunately, we’re pretty far apart right now, although I’m optimistic we could have a good solution at the end,” Schumer said.
“We are somewhat frustrated. We had hoped there would be a bill, and instead, in the Senate they’ve put little pieces here and there and everywhere. It’s pretty clear they don’t have 51 votes in the Senate for a proposal,” Schumer added. “We hope they can get their act together. We very much want to get something done for the needs of the people and the needs of the country.” – READ MORE
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