Speaker Pelosi for the Democrats, and Steve Mnuchin for the White House, spoke on Sunday and Monday (Sept. 27-28, 2020), and Mnuchin advised Pelosi that Trump would agree to $1.3 trillion, but Senate Republicans proposed spending only $300 billion in their bill introduced in early September (listed as “Fifth Offer” below). So even if Trump is willing to sign a larger package, it’s not a given it would pass the GOP-controlled Senate.
Passing a bill acceptable to Democrats is no problem in the House, but in the Senate, McConnell doesn’t have the Republican votes for even a sharply scaled-down bill, and will need Democratic votes to pass any bill. (Many of the Republican senators, having racked up a $1.1 trillion deficit to finance tax cuts for billionaires, refuse to borrow a dime to help average Americans.)
The parties remain apart on specifics. The parties probably can strike a deal on stimulus payments and unemployment payments. Trump adamantly opposes any aid for state and local governments, which are reeling from tax revenue losses, but Democrats are unlikely to accept a bill that doesn’t include such aid. Republicans are demanding Covid-19 lawsuit immunity for businesses and universities, but it’s very unlikely Democrats will agree to that.
Read the latest news reports here (Daily Mail), here (CNBC), and here (Huffington Post). Here’s where the Democratic and Republican bargaining positions stand as of Tuesday, September 30, 2020, with some details of the newest Democratic proposal:
First Offer
Democrats — $3.4 trillion
Republicans — $1.0 trillion
Second Offer
Democrats — $2.4 trillion
Republicans — $1.0 trillion
Third Offer
Democrats — $2.2 trillion
Republicans — $1.0 trillion
Fourth Offer
Democrats — $2.0 trillion
Republicans — $0.5 trillion
Fifht Offer
Democrats — $2.2 trillion
Republicans — $0.3 trillion
Sixth Offer
Democrats — $2.2 trillion
$1,200 Stimulus Payments (2nd Round)
$600 Weekly Unemployment Benefits through January 2021
$436B for State and Local Governments
$225B for Colleges and Universities
$75B for Covid-19 Testing
$57B for Child Care
Additional money for Paycheck Protection Program and airline industry