Pelosi, Mnuchin push coronavirus relief talks as U.S. Senate votes on
limited bill
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[October 20, 2020]
By Susan Cornwell
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate
Republicans are preparing to bring up legislation on Tuesday to
replenish a program that helps small businesses slammed by the
coronavirus, as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steve
Mnuchin discuss a larger stimulus package.
Pelosi and Mnuchin, who have been negotiating intermittently since
August on a fresh coronavirus aid plan, plan to speak again on Tuesday
after they "continued to narrow their differences" in a nearly hour-long
call Monday, Pelosi's spokesman, Drew Hammill, wrote on Twitter.
Pelosi, the top elected U.S. Democrat, has set the end of the day
Tuesday as a deadline for agreement with the White House, if a
comprehensive coronavirus relief bill is to get through both chambers of
Congress before Election Day on Nov. 3.
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President Donald Trump's administration has proposed $1.8 trillion,
while Pelosi has been pushing for a $2.2 trillion aid and stimulus
package. That is in addition to the $3 trillion in coronavirus relief
Congress already approved in the spring.
While Pelosi said on Sunday she was optimistic a deal could be reached
on a fresh package, and a spokeswoman said Monday the White House was
also "cautiously optimistic," optimism was in shorter supply in the
Republican-run Senate, where many Republicans oppose passing more
coronavirus aid.
A senior Senate Republican, John Thune, expressed doubt Monday that
there would be enough Senate Republican votes to pass a comprehensive
bill as large as the White House bid of $1.8 trillion.
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![](../images/102020pics/news_L27.jpg)
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin speaks during a news
conference to announce the Trump administration's restoration of
sanctions on Iran, at the U.S. State Department in Washington, U.S.,
September 21, 2020. Patrick Semansky/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
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"It'd be hard," Thune, the Senate Republican whip, told reporters.
Instead, Senate Republicans will propose on Tuesday a new round of
funding just for the Paycheck Protection Program, a popular program
that was launched earlier in the pandemic with bipartisan support to
provide loans to small businesses.
The measure is not expected to advance, because Senate Democrats
have already given notice they consider such targeted efforts
inadequate.
McConnell said the Senate also plans a vote on Wednesday on a $500
billion-plus Republican proposal to include unemployment benefits
and aid to schools. It would provide people with $300 in federal
weekly unemployment benefits, while the Democrats want to return to
the $600 weekly level in a measure approved earlier this year.
Democrats blocked a similar Republican proposal last month and the
measure on Wednesday is also expected to fail.
(Reporting by Susan Cornwell; Editing by Scott Malone and Rosalba
O'Brien)
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