WASHINGTON _ Speaker Nancy Pelosi insisted Friday that she and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer aren't being unreasonable in coronavirus negotiations, even as the White House has threatened to end the talks and go it alone due to Democrats' alleged intransigence.
"No, we haven't overplayed our hand," Pelosi said Friday on MSNBC. "We are not overplaying our hand when we're factually presenting what our needs are for our families, for our teachers, for our schools, for ending the virus."
At a news conference Friday, Pelosi and Schumer said Democrats have made a major concession by offering to cut the size of their $3.4 trillion package that passed the House by some $1 trillion. That could be achieved, Pelosi said, in part by shortening the amount of time certain benefits might be available.
But Pelosi said White House officials rejected that offer, which would be at least $1 trillion above the Republicans' starting point. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin confirmed that was a "nonstarter" as he walked into a hastily scheduled meeting in Pelosi's office Friday.
That the meeting between Democratic leaders, Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows was taking place at all Friday was a sign of life in the relief negotiations, however. As of late Thursday, there were doubts another in-person meeting would occur and White House aides were already drawing up plans for executive orders on unemployment insurance, eviction protections, student debt and a payroll tax suspension.
It's unclear the meeting will lead to any significant movement towards a deal after nearly two weeks of negotiations have failed to bring the parties closer together on the big issues.
Friday morning's employment report had something for both parties to point to: While the economy added nearly 1.8 million jobs last month, the pace of growth slowed substantially and less than half of jobs lost in the early months of the pandemic have returned. Permanent job losses remained steady last month, but the number of unemployed for 15 to 26 weeks _ after which typical state unemployment benefits are exhausted _ more than tripled to 6.5 million.
Pelosi said she'd make the offer again Friday to cut the cost of a package to somewhere in the $2 trillion to $2.5 trillion range.
"We didn't specify where or when," Schumer said of the proposed cut. "And it's mainly in terms of dates. But that's OK."
Pelosi said some of the provisions in the Democrats' bill last through Sept. 30, 2021 and that they'd be willing to move up that date to reduce the cost. But Meadows expressed skepticism that the proposal was anything more than a budget gimmick.
"I don't know that that's a reduction, as much as she's just changing the time frames. So I don't think she's come off of her number other than just made it a shorter time," Meadows said as he headed into Friday's meeting.
Pelosi acknowledge during the MSNBC interview that moving up expiration dates in the bill would likely lead to more congressional negotiations when those deadlines arrive.
"We could go for a shorter time and revisit the issue after the first of the year," she said.
Nonetheless, Schumer claimed the offer shows Democrats are willing to compromise.
"The spin that they're putting on that we haven't moved off (our opening position) is belied by what happened," he said.
Schumer said House Democrats wouldn't have the votes to pass a bill that dips below $2 trillion.
One area where Pelosi and Schumer definitely haven't moved is on enhanced unemployment benefits. They are demanding that the $600 federal weekly contribution be continued.
"We have insisted that we get the biggest number possible for that enhancement and reject the notion that the Republicans are putting forth is that people are staying home because of that," Pelosi said on MSNBC.
Pelosi also claimed Republicans have only offered $150 billion for state and local governments, far below the $915 billion Democrats proposed.
"This is a different kind of a negotiation," she said. "This isn't just about dollars. It's about values. And our bill was very precise in terms of what the needs were and meeting those needs. Now we can come down in terms of the length of time."
Mnuchin acknowledged after Thursday's meeting that state and local funding was still an area where negotiators were "far apart" but he did suggest Republicans were open to compromise.
"The president is prepared to do something for state and locals that deals with the issue of additional coronavirus expenses, deals with making sure that first responders, the hospitals, the police, the firemen all have proper funding and the school teachers," he said.
Friday's jobs report showed a bright spot in state and local government employment in July, with 274,000 jobs gained, mostly in education. But some analysts say those gains could evaporate unless states and localities get relief from Congress soon.
Even issues like school funding, where the parties should be able to find common ground are proving to be difficult to negotiate.
"We had major disagreement between us on the schooling in terms of the dollar amount but also how the money would be spent," Pelosi said. "The president is insisting that most of the money that they are allocating will go to schools that are opening, actually when the evidence is that across the country school districts are saying largely, overwhelmingly that they will be opening virtually or in a hybrid fashion."
In the Senate Republicans' relief package, out of $70 billion allocated to K-12 schools, two-thirds would be set aside to help schools reopen. Overall, Pelosi wrote in a letter to Democratic lawmakers Friday, the two sides are "a couple hundred billion dollars apart" on education funds.
Pelosi also said that while the parties agree on extending an eviction moratorium for renters, Republicans have offered zero money for rental assistance.
Mnuchin offered a different take Thursday night.
"We said we'd consider some payments on rental assistance as well," he said.
Trump has said he's prepared to take executive action to extend the eviction moratorium and the enhanced unemployment benefits if negotiators can't reach a deal on legislation. He's also talking about executive action to suspend payroll taxes, even though that's not part of legislative talks.
Pelosi dodged a question in the MSNBC interview about whether they'd pursue legal action to block those executive orders, saying Democrats are putting their energy into finding common ground.
Pelosi wouldn't commit to continuing relief negotiations with Republicans if Trump follows through on his threat to take unilateral action.
"If and when he does it, we'll let you know," she said.
