(CNBC) House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has called on the Trump administration to reconcile remaining disputes on coronavirus stimulus legislation within 48 hours as lawmakers attempt to pass a bill before the 2020 election.
Pelosi set the 48-hour deadline on negotiations after speaking with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Saturday night for more than an hour. They agreed to speak again on Monday.
In an interview on ABC News on Sunday, Pelosi said the deadline applies to lawmakers’ ability to get a deal done before the Nov. 3 election. The speaker said she’s optimistic about negotiations but that the outcome ultimately depends on the White House.
“The 48 only relates to if we want to get it done before the election, which we do,” Pelosi said. “We’re saying to them, we have to freeze the design on some of these things — are we going with it or not and what is the language? I’m optimistic, because again we’ve been back and forth on all this.”
Stimulus talks have dragged on for months even as the coronavirus spreads across the U.S. and millions of Americans remain unemployed…
Democrats, who have passed a $2.2 trillion relief bill in the House, dismissed the Trump administration’s latest $1.8 trillion proposal as insufficient.
The two sides disagree on major policy issues including funding for state and local governments and protections for businesses during the pandemic.
