WASHINGTON - As the contentious COVID-19 relief negotiations continue to become increasingly rooted in partisanship, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave the White House a 48-hour deadline for it to be resolved.
The federal aid discussion triggered both Republicans and Democrats into their back-and-forth battle on Capitol Hill, where they still fight about their upcoming deal provisions.
The office of the House Speaker shared that Pelosi had an hour-long phone call conversation on Saturday evening with Steven Mnuchin, the Secretary of the Treasury.
However, consequences are still not clear if the set deadline will not be met by Monday.
According to The Daily Mail, the Chief of staff of the House speaker, Drew Hammill, tweeted that the speaker and the Treasury secretary spoke at 7:40 p.m. for over an hour.
He also added that despite the numerous encouraging news regarding testing, there is still a lot of work that remains to be done. There is a need for a comprehensive testing plan, including contact tracing and additional measures to address the virus and its disproportionate impact on communities of color.
Hamill also mentioned that there is still an array of other differences as they review each provision, which needs to be addressed comprehensively in the following 48 hours.
He even reached the line of White House and informed them about his commitment to reaching an agreement regarding the relief aid.
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Hammill also wrote on Twitter that the White House must make the decisions to show that the Administration is serious in reaching a bipartisan agreement that will be provided to Americans with the greatest needs during this global health crisis, Washington Post reported.
Mnuchin's spokesperson also shared in an interview that the Treasury Secretary and the House Speaker were expected to have another conversation on Monday night.
The majority leader of the Senate, Mitch McConnell, shared that the Senate was scheduled to vote seven days after regarding the programs' relief.
McConnell also mentioned that the Senate would vote next week about hundreds of billion dollars for the relief programs; even Democrats did not oppose the plan.
In McConnell's statement, he also took a jab at Pelosi. He stated that working families have already waited too long for the Marie Antoinette act to stop, but McConnell testified to make the law.
The estimated $500 billion proposals include the funding for schools, unemployment insurance, the coronavirus testing, and even other provisions.
On Tuesday, the Senate will be voting for more funds about the PPP or the Paycheck Protection Program, which expired in August.
The latest reports also show that the Senate will be unveiling the estimated proposal, which involves the money behind the proposal, which came by a week after the House Democrats passed the 2.2trillion just this month, The Washington Times reported.
Despite the efforts made by both parties regarding the financial assistance, still, they are currently struggling about locating the common ground regarding important common ground.
The disagreements have raised concerns about the state and local government officials to decide whether businesses should also receive legal assistance and protection.
Related article: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Says He Will Stick To a $500 Billion Stimulus Package
