Speaker Nancy Pelosi is addressing reporters at her weekly press conference on Friday, amid negotiations over new coronavirus relief legislation. Along with a potential relief bill, Congress also must pass a government funding omnibus within the next week, as well as renew the National Defense Authorization Act before the end of the month in order to extend defense funding for the next year.
Pelosi told reporters that she and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had spoken on Thursday about attaching a coronavirus relief bill to the omnibus, although the omnibus must still be written first.
Pelosi’s press conference comes after a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers introduced a $908 billion coronavirus relief plan earlier this week. Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have said they believe the proposal should form the basis for any further negotiations, and the plan has received support from several Republican senators.
On Friday, Pelosi said that she believed the plan – once written – “could be a basis for real bicameral negotiation.”
“There is momentum,” Pelosi said about the negotiations. She added that “we have the time” to create an omnibus and a coronavirus relief plan, even though the deadline to extend government funding is only one week away. She said that the House would not leave until a deal was reached.
Although Democrats had previously expressed opposition to accepting any relief bill below $2 trillion, Pelosi said that she was now willing to consider the $908 billion proposal because President-elect Joe Biden had a plan to address the virus.
“Joe Biden committed to ending and crushing the virus,” Pelosi said, adding that a vaccine was an “answer to our prayers.” “That is a total game changer. A new president, and a vaccine.”
Coronavirus legislation is sorely needed, as several relief programs and policies expire at the end of the year. Greater assistance is also needed for unemployed Americans, particularly since the U.S. only added 245,000 new jobs in November, fewer than expected.
Meanwhile, Congress must also pass the NDAA, although President Trump has threatened to veto the current proposal due to a provision that would create a commission to study renaming bases honoring Confederate officials. He also believes the NDAA should include a provision repealing a protection for social media companies.
