Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) are both under pressure due to continued delays in encouragement, eight months after the CARES Act aid package was passed by the Senate.
While further stimuli on both sides of the corridor were supported by the COVID-19 crisis in some form, disagreements over the specifics of such action led to a protracted stalemate over agreeing measures.
The House passed two more Democrat-led packages, the Heroic Law and an updated version of it, but these were rejected by the Senate.
The GOP leadership in the Senate, meanwhile, proposed smaller packages with lower overhead spending, which supporters called more targeted. However, they did not gain adhesion in the upper chamber in a similar manner.
Both sides blamed the other for not compromising. McConnell has been a constant target for Democrats, who in recent months have provoked anger among his rival members of Congress at several points.
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“Mitch McConnell refuses to do anything,” Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) said on MSNBC A Reidout on Tuesday. “All we need is Mitch McConnell, just enter the courtroom.”
He said McConnell rejected negotiations with Democrats because he was “afraid of splitting his government.” Murphy commented on Republicans opposed to the stimulus, adding, “Mitch McConnell is about to bring the unity of his government before the nation survives.”
Coming, Pelosi and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) have called for further talks with McConnell, with their colleagues recently discussing possible routes.
McConnell had previously received criticism that the Senate had broken Thanksgiving Day despite the aid package not being adopted.
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While McConnell is the center of much Democratic rage, Pelosi also faced calls to change his position to some extent.
He faced pressure within his own party to adopt an incentive package on top of which Republicans could enjoy spending in order to help the public before the end of 2020.
Republicans have put forward so-called skinny bills and plans with lower overhead spending than Democrats ’proposals. Pelosi had previously suggested that they did not contain enough substantial measures to adequately overcome the crisis.
He also rejected the White House’s bids, and some moderate Democrats had previously spoken of regretting not accepting his top bid.
At a recent press conference, Pelosi said: “We need to do something. And again they have resisted many things that we treat as a priority, but everyone knows that people are hungry, people are afraid of being evicted. to the rest. I don’t care how they comment on all this. “
Democrats also cut their top-line spending, which he relied on to show their willingness to compromise. The original HEROES Act had a price tag in excess of $ 3 trillion, while the updated version was about $ 2.2 trillion. Pelosi also insisted on content as opposed to spending.
McConnell spoke earlier this month about his unwillingness to go as high as Democrats called for in terms of the cost of a package, continuing to support earlier Republican proposals for $ 500 billion in measures.
“I gather [Pelosi] and in the Senate, the Democratic leader is still looking at something dramatically bigger. I don’t think it’s a place we’re willing to go to, ”he said, Reuters wrote.
“But I think we need another package. Hopefully we can get over the dead end.”
The last major bill, the CARES Act, was passed by the Senate on March 25 and signed by President Donald Trump on March 27.
Newsweek contacted the offices of Pelosi and McConnell to comment on the stimulus situation.
