US House coronavirus package hits snag
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin were continuing to work on the package on Monday
This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by John Bresnahan and Marianne Levine on politico.com on March 16, 2020.
The US Senate will return to Washington Monday to work on a multibillion-dollar coronavirus package, but the bill remains hung up in negotiations between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the White House, according to multiple Capitol Hill sources.
The Senate is expected to take up this week the massive bipartisan emergency package from the House to address the pandemic, after cancelling its week-long recess. But much uncertainty remains over timing and logistics, despite mounting public pressure and the stock market taking a serious hit as the global pandemic continues to spread and daily life in the US is severely disrupted.
Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin were still working on the details Monday.
House sources said Monday that “major differences” remained between the White House and House Democrats over what was adopted and needed to be changed. This is slowing down the time table for House completion of the bill and sending it onto the Senate.
Pelosi and administration officials still remain hopeful they can achieve a workable compromise, but were tight lipped about the state of play on Monday.