The top House and Senate leaders from both parties will meet with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin Tuesday in what appears to be the final negotiations on a coronavirus aid package that is on track to pass as early as this week.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, talked by phone with Mnuchin on Tuesday afternoon, her spokesman Drew Hammill said.
Pelosi and Mnuchin have had several phone exchanges over the past few days in an effort to work out a deal on the virus aid package, as well as fiscal 2021 spending.
Later Tuesday, Pelosi and Mnuchin will meet privately with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, likely to hammer out a deal on one large bill that encompasses both fiscal 2021 spending and a new coronavirus aid package.
The bipartisan meeting suggests the parties are close to a deal and eager to pass it by this week.
Hammill said earlier this week that Pelosi recognized “the need to advance a final agreement on both matters together and quickly this week” in her calls with Mnuchin.
Congressional leaders are under intense pressure to pass a new round of COVID-19 aid after weeks of increasing cases, hospitalizations, deaths, and new lockdowns have taken a toll on communities and businesses.
The deal at hand is likely to encompass a $748 billion bill proposed by a bipartisan group of House and Senate lawmakers that provides new money for small businesses, schools and day cares, rental assistance, extended unemployment insurance supplements, and higher food stamp benefits.
