Pelosi Cites Progress on Stimulus With Two Sides Still Far Apart

(Bloomberg) -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said negotiations on a new virus relief package are making progress, but the two sides remained at an impasse on major issues with their self-imposed Friday deadline for an agreement looming.

With no deal immediately in the offing, President Donald Trump said Thursday he is ready to sign orders extending enhanced unemployment benefits for the jobless and imposing a payroll tax holiday for employers and workers.

Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer are scheduled to meet again Thursday with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows for another round of negotiations to try to bridge the gap between them on the cost and breadth of another stimulus plan.

“We have been making some progress, proceeding in a positive way,” Pelosi said at a news conference. “We’re not there yet.”

With progress slow, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on the Senate floor accused the two Democrats of “stonewalling” in the talks.

But Pelosi faulted McConnell for waiting until last week -- after earlier rescue measures expired -- to make a counteroffer to the $3.5 trillion stimulus plan that the House passed in May.

“The fact is, when they showed up last week, it was already too late” to prevent a lapse of extra unemployment insurance benefits, Pelosi said.

Staff members from each team were working on various proposals ahead of the negotiating session among the four principals scheduled for 5 p.m. in Washington.

Neither side indicated it would walk away if an agreement can’t be reached by Friday. But Mnuchin and Meadows said that unless some compromise can be found soon, more talks may be fruitless.

“Our objective is to try to reach an understanding of the major issues by Friday,” Mnuchin told reporters after Wednesday’s meeting with Pelosi and Schumer. “If we can’t reach an agreement on the major issues, it’s going to be hard to complete a deal.”

Meadows said the two sides are still “trillions of dollars apart” on a compromise.

Meadows also said the administration and Republicans have already given more ground than Democrats in talks. He said the administration has been looking at legal issues with the president using his executive authority to take steps, that also include extending a moratorium on evictions and forbearance on student loans.

The administration is looking at the possibility of using money from the $2 trillion stimulus passed in March that hasn’t been spent to extend the supplemental unemployment benefits, according to a person familiar with the matter. But there are are potential legal hurdles to redirecting the money.

“I don’t think they know what they’re talking about,” Pelosi said about the White House redirecting money.

She said she supported the president extending the eviction moratorium, though more money will be needed to help those behind on rent catch up.

The talks take on added urgency as time passes. The November general election is 89 days away and economic data show signs that the economy is still hobbling along. The Labor Department reported that applications for unemployment benefits fell more than expected, to the lowest since the pandemic started. But with claims still exceeding 1 million on a weekly basis, the job market has a long road to fully recovering.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby said negotiations were “at an impasse right now.”

“There’s optimism and then there’s pessimism,” the Alabama Republican said. “Sometimes they’re far apart and get close together on some things. We might not get a deal.”

Meantime, McConnell is officially postponing the Senate’s scheduled August break, which was to begin on Friday. He said senators can return home, but will be called back if there’s a vote on a relief bill. The House is on break, but lawmakers there have been told they could be recalled to Washington on 24 hours’ notice.

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