Unfortunately the jobless benefits extension is caught in the middle since it technically runs out Friday….
It WILL be extended….
The weekly amount is up in the air….
Both parties do NOT want it actually stop before the election …..
House Speaker Pelosi and Minority Senate Leader Schumer will extract concessions against the GOP ….
McConnell has to be a bit wary that he and Schumer maybe exchanging positions come January….
Trump maybe just a passenger on this as his ‘juice’ seems to be slipping away already by events beyond his control…
The $1 trillion coronavirus relief package unveiled Monday by the White House and Senate Republicans is being dismissed as a non-starter by Democrats, setting the stage for lengthy negotiations as various federal assistance programs are set to expire.
Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.) and Speaker Nancy Pelosi(D-Calif.) met for almost two hours with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchinand White House chief of staff Mark Meadows in the Speaker’s office Monday evening for an initial round of negotiations but made little progress.
Democrats say the GOP legislation falls short of providing enough money for state and local governments, fails to protect renters from eviction and doesn’t invest enough in lower-income communities hit hard by the pandemic.
Congress is also under immense pressure to reach a deal quickly, as millions of Americans will see their supplemental federal unemployment assistance benefits expire this week. But the tone from Democrats after Monday’s meeting indicated an agreement is unlikely anytime soon, with Schumer calling the GOP plan “pathetic” and Pelosi saying the package “isn’t serious.”
“We are somewhat frustrated. We had hoped there would be a bill, and instead in the Senate they’ve put little pieces here and there and everywhere. It’s pretty clear they don’t have 51 votes in the Senate for a proposal,” Schumer told reporters Monday night after the meeting.
“We hope they can get their act together. We very much want to get something done for the needs of the people and the needs of the country,” he added.
Pelosi added that the public has waited for months only to get a “piecemeal” set of Republican proposals.
Mnuchin and Meadows were tight-lipped as they left Pelosi’s office in the Capitol on Monday evening….