Democrats report coronavirus relief progress as McConnell says he is prepared to support a deal

Democratic leaders left a meeting with Trump administration officials Tuesday saying they are plodding toward a coronavirus relief deal. 

As the sides grind through a bevy of differences to try to strike to a relief agreement, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — another major voice in the process — said he expects to back whatever aid agreement they reach.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., met with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows for about 90 minutes on Tuesday. Speaking to reporters after the huddle, Schumer said, “We’re making progress.” 

“We really went down issue by issue by issue, slogging through them,” he said. “They made some concessions, which we appreciated. We made some concessions, which they appreciated. We’re still far away on a lot of the important issues, but we’re continuing to go at it.” 

Entering the meeting, the sides appeared to have resolved few of the thorny issues at stake in the talks. More than a week has passed since Republicans unveiled a counteroffer to the legislation Democrats passed in May.

McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, said Tuesday that opposition to pieces of a deal Democrats and the Trump administration craft may not stop him from trying to pass it in the Senate. 

“Wherever this thing settles between the president of the United States and his team, that have to sign it into law, and the Democrat not insignificant minority in the Senate and majority in the House, is something I’m prepared to support even if I have some problems with certain parts of it,” he told reporters after the weekly Senate Republican policy lunch. Mnuchin and Meadows attended the meeting with the GOP caucus.

By Tuesday morning, the parties had come close to a consensus in only a few areas, such as extending funding for Paycheck Protection Program loans for small business, an administration official told CNBC on Monday night. Mnuchin has said Democrats and the GOP agreed on the need to send another direct payment of up to $1,200 to Americans. 

But neither side had budged on plans for extending extra federal unemployment insurance or offering relief to budget-crunched state and local governments, among other topics. Negotiators have failed to crack the impasse even after the $600-per-week jobless benefit and a moratorium on evictions from federally backed housing expired. The end of both policies puts millions of Americans at risk of poverty or homelessness during an economic collapse.

As the stalemate drags on, it appears unlikely Congress can pass a rescue package before the end of next week. Pelosi has told House Democrats she does not expect an agreement until next week, according to Politico.

“In some cases we’re inching along and in others we’re making more progress,” she told reporters after the meeting with Mnuchin and Meadows on Tuesday.

Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/04/coronavirus-stimulus-bill-updates-talks-on-unemployment-evictions-continue.html