LIVE: Pelosi and Schumer Say $908 Billion Plan a Basis for Stimulus Negotiations

(Dec. 3) Democrats are making a bid to break the standoff on a new stimulus package with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer scaling back demands on a relief plan, as President-elect Joe Biden urged Congress to find a bipartisan path forward.

Retreating from the $2.4 trillion pandemic relief package they had been pushing before the election, Pelosi and Schumer said a $908 billion proposal from a bipartisan group of lawmakers should serve as the baseline for negotiations with congressional Republicans and the White House.

“We and others will offer improvements, but the need to act is immediate and we believe that with good-faith negotiations we could come to an agreement,” the two Democratic leaders said in a statement.

The state of the economy, the fast emergence of coronavirus vaccines, pressure from party moderates and Biden’s election all likely influenced the move by Pelosi and Schumer, which was the first real break by either side from long-held positions. The compromise plan would cover a shorter period of time than the leaders’ earlier proposal, providing aid through the winter, with Democrats hoping the Biden administration will help pass another significant relief bill next year.

All that now puts pressure on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell -- who has circulated a plan that largely followed the contours of an earlier roughly $500 billion proposal that was rejected by the Democrats -- to negotiate a deal that can be attached to a year-end spending bill.

Congress has a short window to act this year. And it’s still not clear whether President Donald Trump would sign any relief measure beyond what McConnell has already proposed, despite previously endorsing a $2 trillion-plus stimulus. Both parties expect Biden to propose a bigger tranche of spending once he takes office on Jan. 20 as the pandemic continues threatening the recovery.

While some parts of the economy are doing well and various figures have showed continued improvement, many analysts are increasingly warning that growth will slow further or even deteriorate in coming months with the pandemic still causing shutdowns and impeding consumers. Initial filings for unemployment benefits have increased for two straight weeks, while restaurant reservations have cooled amid the virus spike and colder weather.

Biden on Wednesday encouraged bipartisan action on a stimulus, saying whatever relief plan that could get through Congress now “wouldn’t be the answer but it would be immediate help.” Speaking at an event in Delaware, he said whatever Congress passes would only be a “down payment” on what he’ll be proposing.

Another stimulus package next year is hardly assured. Republicans will still control the Senate unless Democrats can pull off a longshot bid to win both Georgia Senate seats in a Jan. 5 runoff. Although there is a group of Republicans who would back more stimulus spending, there is also faction that sees no need for any additional stimulus and McConnell would control the chamber’s agenda if he remains as majority leader.

McConnell didn’t immediately respond to Schumer’s and Pelosi’s gambit, but the No. 2 Senate Republican, John Thune of South Dakota, said the Democrats were “moving in the right direction.”

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