Pelosi urges all members to return to D.C. for Friday vote on largest stimulus in U.S. history

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is urging the chamber's more than 400 members to return Friday to Washington to vote on the largest legislative package in U.S. history.

The $3 trillion, coronavirus-related measure – titled the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act, or HEROES Act – includes $1 trillion for state and local government assistance, vote-by-mail expansion, rent-assistance programs, more funding for testing and other initiatives.  

"In preparation for our vote on the floor on Friday, I encourage you to consult the resources on The Heroes Act prepared by Committees of Jurisdiction, a section-by-section summary, state-by-state estimations for the state fiscal stabilization education fund, and a resource on relief provisions for your district and state," Pelosi wrote to lawmakers Thursday about the roughly 1,800-page bill. "I urge you to support this life-saving legislation and to be present on Friday."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has dismissed the bill and continues to say that his chamber will not consider additional stimulus legislation until after Memorial Day, given that Congress has already passed measures over roughly the past two months worth trillions of dollars.

“This is a totally unserious effort. Even the mainstream media says, quote, 'neither this bill nor anything resembling it will ever become law. It’s a Democratic wish list,' " the Kentucky Republican recently said. 

House Democrats "gave themselves no assignments for two months except developing this proposal," McConnell also said. "Yet it still reads like the speaker of the House pasted together random ideas from her most liberal members and slapped the word 'coronavirus' on top of it."

Pelosi acknowledges that some members won't be able to come to Capitol Hill over concerns about the coronavirus but still expects the House to formally vote Friday on the bill.

"We're putting our offer on the table, we're open to negotiation," she said Thursday, in response to opposition from some Republicans worried about the rising federal deficit. "We’re saying, OK, here’s our offer. Let’s see where you are. You have supported our heroes with state and local support before. You have supported testing." 

The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the deficit will hit a record $3.7 trillion by the end of the year. To justify the hefty price tag of the HEROES Act, Pelosi argued that the Republicans passed a tax cut bill in 2017 that was projected to reduce government revenue by $2 trillion over 10 years. The last stimulus bill, the $2.2 trillion CARES Act, passed with a voice vote in the House at the end of March.