Nancy Pelosi To Keep House In Session Until Coronavirus Stimulus Bill Passes

Speaker Nancy Pelosi told the House Democratic Caucus Tuesday lawmakers will stay in session until the next round of coronavirus stimulus is approved – and she’s not willing to accept a “skinny” bill. The comments came as a bipartisan group unveiled a compromise to break the deadlock with the White House.

The House in May approved a more than $3 trillion relief package that included $600 in supplemental unemployment benefits, aid for cash-strapped states and municipalities and direct payments to taxpayers. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declared the bill dead on arrival, and the Republican alternative totaled just $1 trillion, paring back the unemployment compensation and providing no funds for states and municipalities.

A $650 billion proposal that included funding for schools, a $300 supplement to unemployment compensation and aid for the Postal Service failed to garner enough votes in the Senate last week to advance.

“We have to stay here until we have a bill,” Pelosi told fellow Democrats on a conference call, saying a “robust” package is needed and adding “a skinny bill is a Republican bill.”

The White House has said it won’t accept $3 trillion in spending but indicated it might go along with a slight increase in the original Republican proposal.

Negotiations collapsed Aug. 7.

Lawmakers are under a time crunch with many eager to start campaigning before the Nov. 3 general election, raising the specter of no action until after Election Day. Presidential adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner told CNBC any deal may have to wait until after the election.

A bipartisan group released a $1.52 trillion compromise measure Tuesday. The 50-member House Problem Solvers Caucus conceded the bill stands little chance of approval but could serve as a basis for a renewed negotiations.

The proposed bill would provide for a $450 a week supplement to unemployment compensation – as long as it didn’t exceed a recipient’s working wage – replacing the lapsed $600 supplement that was part of the CARES Act adopted in March, revives the Paycheck Protection Program and provides for a direct payment to taxpayers. It also would send $500 billion to state and local governments, half of what Democrats proposed in the May bill but and nearly double what the White House has indicated it could support.

In addition, the measure provides $15 billion for the Postal Service and $400 million in election assistance.