Congressional Democrats and the White House were Thursday scrambling to beat a self-imposed deadline for a compromise coronavirus stimulus plan worth around $2 trillion.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin say they are making progress toward an elusive deal but they remain several hundred billion dollars apart.
Democrats put a last-minute hold on plans to enact their own $2.2 trillion proposal to allow leaders more time to cut a deal.
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows says President Trump wants a deal and has given the green light to a counteroffer valued at about $1.6 trillion.
The two sides both say they must reach an agreement Thursday or the high-wire talks will collapse.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are anxious to return to the campaign trail and want to get their messages to voters straight in the home stretch before Election Day on Nov. 3.
Despite progress, insiders caution it’s a long shot to expect any important bipartisan compromise so close to a presidential vote.
Underlining the stakes for the American people, airlines went ahead with furloughs of tens of thousands of workers after a provision in a previous stimulus measure expired.
A new measure would likely include a new round of $1,200 checks to taxpayers and some version of the federal weekly emergency unemployment assistance, which was pegged at $600. It would also extend aid to small businesses and airlines.
The two sides are still far apart on how much aid to give state and local governments like New York City and state that are facing catastrophic budget crunches after being slammed by the pandemic.
Republicans also want provisions to exempt businesses from liability lawsuits from workers or customers who contract COVID-19, a proposal that Democrats fiercely oppose.
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