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Pelosi rejects latest White House stimulus offer as 'wholly insufficient'

Oct 12, 2020, 16:56 IST
Business Insider
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks during a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Oct. 9, 2020.Ting Shen/Xinhua via Getty
  • House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday sent a letter to her Democratic colleagues calling the Trump administration's latest stimulus offer "wholly insufficient."
  • Over the weekend, the White House proposed a $1.8 trillion measure, a figure that's too high for many Senate Republicans and too low for House Democrats.
  • On Sunday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and the White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, urged Democrats to pass a measure repurposing leftover funds from the Paycheck Protection Program.
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent a letter to her Democratic colleagues on Sunday describing the Trump administration's latest stimulus proposal as "grossly inadequate," suggesting Congress and the White House are no closer to a deal on a coronavirus relief package.

Over the weekend, the White House proposed a $1.8 trillion measure, angering both Senate Republicans, who consider that number far too high, and House Democrats, who passed a $2.2 trillion proposal last month.

The White House proposal includes a $400 boost in weekly unemployment insurance, $1,200 direct payments for US adults, and $1,000 payments for each child, The Washington Post reported.

Democrats have pushed for a $600 increase in weekly unemployment benefits and $1,200 payments for child dependents as well as substantially more funding for state and local governments.

In her Sunday letter, Pelosi decried the administration's proposal, saying the disagreements had to do with more than the top-line numbers.

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"In terms of addressing testing, tracing, and treatment, what the Trump administration has offered is wholly insufficient," she wrote.

Senate Republicans are equally unimpressed, CNN reported. "I don't get it," Sen. Rick Scott of Florida told White House officials on a phone call this weekend, two sources told the news outlet. Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee said the larger White House proposal would "deflate" the GOP base, the sources said.

With a deal between the White House and Congress seemingly out of reach, the Trump administration is also lobbying for legislation that would repurpose $135 billion in leftover funds from the Paycheck Protection Program, Politico reported.

Democrats have shown little interest in the idea, complaining about a lack of transparency with respect to how PPP funds were used — and seeking a much larger relief package for an economy in recession.

In their appeal, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and the White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, urged an end to the impasse, which last week saw President Donald Trump call off negotiations before reversing himself in the wake of bipartisan anger.

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"The all-or-nothing approach is an unacceptable response to the American people," the officials wrote.

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