House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that House Democrats may offer their latest stimulus proposal as legislation if revived talks with the Trump administration do not yield a deal her party can get behind.
“Look, I have been willing to come below $3.4 trillion. We have come all the way down,” Pelosi told CNN’s Jake Tapper, referring to the price tag of a stimulus proposal House Democrats passed in May. “I don’t know why the press decides that this is equivalent for me to come own further while they’re not going up any further. So we are having our conversations.”
Where things stand: Weeks after the last round of stimulus talks fell apart, where both sides were dug in behind topline funding numbers that were more than a trillion dollars apart, Pelosi expressed optimism Sunday that she could reach a deal in negotiations with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. CNN has reported that some House Democrats have become anxious to get some kind of stimulus legislation passed before Congress breaks for the campaign season, fearing anger from voters if they fail to do so.
“When I have a conversation with the administration it is in good faith. I trust Secretary Mnuchin to represent something that can reach a solution, and I believe we can come to an agreement,” Pelosi said.
Although House Democrats have prepared a new proposal with a price tag of around $2.2 trillion, Pelosi said the stimulus her party envisions may end up costing more.
“The President’s denial of the virus and just resistance to doing anything to crush it has made matters worse in so many ways,” she said, citing restaurants, small businesses and American workers. “So we may need more money than that. We will reveal what that is in a short period of time.”
Pressed by Tapper on whether she would offer the proposal as a bill if a deal remains elusive, Pelosi did not rule out the prospect.
“That is definitely a possibility. But I’m hoping for a deal. I’d rather have a deal which puts money in people’s pockets rather than to have rhetorical argument,” she said.
The Trump administration has floated $1.5 trillion as the highest topline figure it is willing to consider, meaning the two sides still don’t agree on the scope of the problem.