House Democrats said Tuesday they plan to stay in session until a new coronavirus relief deal is reached with the White House.
“We expect to be here as long as it takes to get something done on behalf of the American people,” House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries, New York Democrat, said. “The Caucus remains unified, committed to get something done that’s meaningful and to remaining in town as long as it takes for that to happen.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, first told her members Tuesday morning on a conference-wide call, according to sources on the call.
Rank-and-file Democrats have called for additional House votes on coronavirus legislation for weeks now, although Mrs. Pelosi has resisted those calls as she doesn’t want to take a slimmed-down approach.
Democrats, who passed their $3 trillion package back in May, have put the blame on Republicans for the lack of movement on a deal, arguing they’ve only put forward unserious proposals.
Members of the Problem Solvers Caucus, a coalition of Republicans and Democrats, are set to formally unveil their own bipartisan proposal Tuesday morning, aiming to carve out middle ground on unemployment payments, and state and local governments.
Mrs. Pelosi was not receptive to that proposal, according to a source on the conference call.
Talks between the White House and Democratic leaders on the Hill collapsed in August after they couldn’t agree to a middle ground price tag for the package.
The parties also remain hundreds of thousands of dollars apart on spending for local and state governments. The Democrats’ last request was for $900 billion in additional aid, while the Republicans’ bill didn’t include any new funds.
After a $500 billion GOP package was shot down in the Senate last week, lawmakers were left with little hope there would be a deal before the November election.
• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
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