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The high-risk deadlock is likely to continue for weeks or even until September, according to lawmakers and advisers on both sides.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin met with House of Commons President Nancy Pelosi (California Democrat) and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (Democrat by N.Y.) on Wednesday to meet, after nearly a week without face-to-face meetings. But in a statement, the two most sensitive Democrats on Capitol Hill said there is no explanation for why to continue discussions right now, as the White House does not replace their position on many political struggles that have stalled the talks.
“The White House is moving from its position on the extent and scope of a legislative package,” Pelosi and Schumer said in a statement. “We have made management transparent that we are ready to resume negotiations once they start taking this procedure seriously.”
But Mnuchin said earlier in the day that it is the Democrats’ political ambitions that derailed the negotiations, suggesting that Pelosi and Schumer need not point out an agreement that can be perceived as a benefit to President Donald Trump.
“Democrats are very educated in politics,” Mnuchin said Wednesday morning at Fox Business. “If Democrats are willing to be reasonable, there is a compromise. If Democrats are in politics and don’t need to do anything that succeeds the president, there will be no agreement.”
Among the main notable problems is the overall value of the next aid program for coronavirus. Republicans in the White House and Senate must keep the package charge around $1 trillion, while Pelosi and Schumer first of all pushed for the nearly $3.5 trillion HERO act that the House passed in May.
During last week’s negotiations, Pelosi and Schumer were offered to cut $1 trillion if the White House went up to $1 trillion, however, Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows turned down the offer. Democrats have pointed out that this offer is a sign that it is the White House that is unreasonable and blocks a bipartisan agreement.
On Wednesday, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) continued to blame Democrats for stalling negotiations, accusing them of “playing political games like this is a typical mundane negotiation” and raising investments for unrelated disorders. -19.
“The spokesman and the Democratic leader say nothing can move unless each and every one of those far-left elements is repeated,” McConnell said in the Senate. “These other two people let the wish lists of wealthy coastal elites stand between each and every circle of relatives in the United States and the additional assistance they deserve.”
At a sign that negotiators will not reach an agreement in the short term, top members of Congress left Washington for the classic August recess, 24 hours in advance to return. The Senate is technically in session, but Meadows, one of the White House’s wisest negotiators, is out of town and Schumer on Long Island on Wednesday for an event.
Mnuchin and Meadows have made common calls with the Senate Republican Conference to inform senators of the negotiations, however, there is no indication that the discussions are making significant progress. In reaction to stagnation, Trump launched a series of executive actions over the weekend that would order federal agencies to take steps to decrease deportations, make larger student loan suspensions, increase federal unemployment benefits to a lower rate, and defer payroll taxes.
Democrats have ruled out Trump’s measures as completely inadequate.
Other key political conflicts come with the reinstatement of the benefits of improved federal unemployment. Democrats are pushing for an extension of the $600 percent federal who gain the benefits of the March CARES Act, which expired in July. Republicans, however, argue that weekly pay discourages work. In closed-door negotiations last week, the White House submitted a weekly offer of $400 through mid-December, but Democrats rejected that decision. Pelosi and Schumer are pushing to increase the payment until 2021.
In addition, Democrats are pushing for substantially greater investment for state and local governments. But Republicans argue that most of the CARES cash has still been spent.
“We settle for a bill that has nothing for state and local governments,” said Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.).