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WASHINGTON, DC – Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) arrives for her weekly news conference in the House Visitors Center at the U.S. Capitol on October 1. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin were set to talk again early Thursday afternoon in what could be a turning point for economic stimulus plan negotiations.
The pair are set to talk by phone at 1 p.m. Eastern time, acccording to a source familiar with the issue.
Pelosi said Thursday she remained “hopeful” on the talks, but also said there were several issues where the two sides remained far apart. At the White House, Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the latest House Democrats bill worth $2.2 trillion, unveiled Monday, was “not a serious offer.”
Read more: White House spokeswoman says Pelosi ‘not being serious’ in talks on coronavirus aid
Mnuchin said Wednesday evening the White House’s offer was “in the neighborhood” between $1.5 trillion, the amount offered by a bipartisan group of House lawmakers, and the Democrats’ $2.2 trillion proposal. He also said the composition of a package, not just its size, was still in dispute.
On Thursday, Pelosi focused on a tax issue where the sides remain far apart, saying the administration disagreed with a provision in the Democrats bill to pare back the treatment of business net operating losses that had been liberalized in the March CARES Act.
“They still want to keep a $150 billion tax break for the wealthiest in our country and have zero in terms of a refundable child tax credit, earned income tax credit that addresses the poorest of the poor,” she said at her weekly press conference. Refundable tax credits are those where the recipient gets a tax rebate above the amount of tax liability owed.
Time is running short to reach a deal, and even if Mnuchin and Pelosi were to come to an agreement lawmakers would still need a few days to get legislative text written and voted on. With government funding into December approved, lawmakers are eager to get home and get on the election campaign trail.
In the Senate, which Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has largely been absent from the talks, it is unclear that a big package could be approved.
“I’m wishing them well,” McConnell said Thursday. “I’d like to see another rescue package. We’ve been trying for months to get there. I wish them well.”
