The House won’t return until Friday at the soonest as senior Democrats continue haggling over the details of their latest multitrillion-dollar coronavirus relief bill.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi had initially hoped to vote on the coronavirus relief measure this week but the legislation isn’t expected to be finished until Tuesday at the earliest, according to multiple senior Democrats and aides with knowledge of the discussions.
And House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) has promised to give lawmakers 72 hours notice before they are required to return to Washington, pushing the vote until Friday at the earliest.
“Members are advised that conversations surrounding additional [coronavirus] legislation and a rule change related to remote work are ongoing,” Hoyer said in an announcement sent to lawmakers Monday morning. “[P]ending introduction of legislation, it is possible that the House may meet this week, no earlier than Friday.”
Some Democrats are predicting the vote will likely slide into next week at this point, raising the question of whether the House would come in for just one week before leaving for the May 25 Memorial Day weekend or if the chamber would work through the holiday, eschewing the traditional recess that comes with it.
Top House Democrats have been scrambling to put the finishing touches on the mammoth relief bill, which could cost upward of $2 trillion, as they attempt to reassure an anxious American public that more help is on the way.
The package is expected to deliver more than $1 trillion in aid to state and local governments, while expanding key safety nets, like food assistance and unemployment insurance. Pelosi has also said there will be funding to ensure that mail-in voting is accessible to the public ahead of November.
Democrats say the bill, which will be drafted without GOP input, is intended as an opening bid to Republicans and the White House. But Republicans have already panned the bill, saying its little more than a wishlist of Democratic priorities.
The earliest the House could vote is May 15 — two weeks after the Senate returned to Washington for votes on President Donald Trump’s nominations.
Senate GOP leaders have, so far, lacked interest in another trillion-dollar relief bill. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has said congressional leaders need to “press the pause button” until they can evaluate the effectiveness of the $3 trillion that’s already been pumped into the economy.
But Pelosi and her Democratic Caucus have been adamant that more help is urgently needed. More than 80,000 people have died from the virus and 33 million Americans have sought unemployment aid, the most since the Great Depression.
“These numbers require action that we have never had to take before. This is an historic challenge and therefore momentous opportunity for us to meet the needs of all Americans,” Pelosi wrote in a “Dear Colleague” letter to her members on Sunday night, again urging them to “think big” in their response.
John Bresnahan contributed to this report.