White House offers new $1.8 trillion stimulus package plan

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin made an offer of more than $1.8 trillion offer for a coronavirus relief package that would include stimulus checks and help for airlines and small businesses, The Washington Post reported.

The offer from the White House comes after a week of on-and-off-again negotiations highlighted by President Donald Trump abruptly calling an end to the talks, only to say they were back on two days later. However, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, said her terms still have not been met.

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The negotiations between Pelosi and Mnuchin have been ongoing since September with some narrowing of the gap between the two sides, but no sign yet of a deal. Pelosi and Mnuchin spoke for 30 minutes Friday afternoon, according to the Post.

“Of special concern, is the absence of an agreement on a strategic plan to crush the virus,” Pelosi’s spokesman, Drew Hammill, said on Twitter after Pelosi and Mnuchin spoke. “For this and other provisions, we are still awaiting language from the administration as negotiations on the overall funding amount continue.”

“Covid Relief Negotiations are moving along. Go Big!” Trump tweeted Friday.

A relief package has seemed nearly impossible, with neither side wanting to move too far off their proposals. Democrats amended the Heroes package passed in April, bringing the cost to $2.2 trillion, down from $3.5 trillion. Republicans had upped the money in their Heals Act plan from $1.1 trillion to a beefier plan that would total $1.6 trillion.

Cox Media Group