Despite the calls of US President Donald Trump to speed up the process of passing a coronavirus relief bill, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that Democrats are still waiting for the response of the administration if they will agree to the terms which will move forward the passing of a stimulus bill.
Pelosi's statement comes a day after Trump expressed support for the movement of a new stimulus package. Trump also urged Congress to work together and get things done.
During an interview with "Face the Nation" by CBS News, Pelosi was asked if Trump's remarks meant that they are already close to forging a deal.
However, she stated that it only meant that they need to check whether the administration will agree to the terms they set which emphasized that crushing the virus is essential in the revival of the economy, The New York Post reported.
On Friday, Pelosi has also undergone COVID-19 testing but tested negative.
Pelosi did not give further details on what her statement meant. But on Friday, she emphasized that one of the key things in their proposal is still how the money will be spent on contact tracing and testing. Both points have been pushed by the Democrats for months but were never produced by the administration.
Moreover, the House Speaker also stated on Friday that the president's positive diagnosis could change the course of the discussion. She further added that the president's condition may speed up the agreement between her and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on passing another round of economic relief.
On the other hand, Mnuchin has not given any comments on the statements of Pelosi.
If a stimulus package deal between the two parties is forged, it would call back the house members to Washington. It can be noted that they left on Friday for a recess which would last through the election.
Despite the calls for a new relief bill, Congress has not passed a stimulus bill since the first four which were passed back in March and in April. The previous bill amounted to a total of $3 trillion, CNBC reported.
In May, a $3.4 trillion bill known as the HEROES Act was able to get past the house. However, the White House and Senate Republicans blocked it saying that it was overpriced. One of their biggest objections was on the state and local government supports which cost almost $1 trillion.
After this, the Democrats and Pelosi scaled back their proposal to $2.2 billion, adjusting the timeframe of some initiatives and also reduced the local and state aid by more than half.
Despite the objection of the Republicans who stated that the amount was still too high, the House passed the $2.2 trillion bill on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Mnuchin offered Pelosi to a new round of talks. While both parties have agreed to give another round of stimulus check which amounted to $1,200, they have remained at different sides of the coin in other issues.
The new talks come as many have reported losing their jobs by last week which is a big hit to the economy.
Related article: Trump Urges Congress to Pass a Coronavirus Relief Bill, Tells Them to 'GET IT DONE'
