Pelosi, Schumer reject White House's latest stimulus package proposal
The White House proposed a $916 billion stimulus package that included $600 direct payments but not federal unemployment insurance
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer have rejected the White House's latest stimulus package proposal.
The White House proposed a $916 billion stimulus package that included $600 direct payments but not federal unemployment insurance.
“While it is progress that Leader McConnell has signed off on a $916 billion offer that is based off of the bipartisan framework, the president’s proposal must not be allowed to obstruct the bipartisan congressional talks that are underway," the Democratic leaders said Tuesday evening in a joint statement.
"Members of the House and Senate have been engaged in good-faith negotiations and continue to make progress. The bipartisan talks are the best hope for a bipartisan solution. The President’s proposal starts by cutting the unemployment insurance proposal being discussed by bipartisan members of the House and Senate from $180 billion to $40 billion. That is unacceptable," they added.
A bipartisan working group of lawmakers is crafting the legislative language of a $908 billion framework for a relief package that does not contain direct payments at this time. Key House members of the bipartisan group told Just the News that the final package will not include direct payments. The proposal does contain $180 billion for additional federal unemployment insurance.
"Direct payments were discussed, they were in prior packages, but they weren't in this package, because just consensus couldn't be reached at this point in time given where folks were at," said New York Republican Rep. Tom Reed, co-chair of the House Problem Solvers Caucus. "And so that being the case, you take what you can, and $908 billion without the direct payments is where the 80%, 75% consensus was. And so you have to move on."