Pelosi Slams Trump’s Pandemic Talks – ‘One Step Forward, Two Steps Back’

Pelosi Trump

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) spoke out on Saturday to once again blast Donald Trump’s latest $1.8 trillion coronavirus relief offer as “insufficient,” saying that the president’s proposal still falls short when it comes to state and local aid, unemployment benefits and measures to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pelosi Pens Letter To Democrats

“This proposal amounted to one step forward, two steps back,” Pelosi wrote in a letter to her fellow Democratic lawmakers, according to Fox News.

However, she made sure to add that she is still in talks with the White House about finding a help American workers and businesses that have been impacted by COVID-19.

“At this point, we still have disagreement on many priorities, and Democrats are awaiting language from the Administration on several provisions as the negotiations on the overall funding amount continue,” Pelosi continued.

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This came one day after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin made his biggest offer yet to Pelosi, giving a figure between $1.8 and $1.9 trillion.

This was an increase from the White House’s previous offer of $1.6 trillion, and it included a “reload of the Paycheck Protection Program, an employee retention tax credit, a second round of direct stimulus payments, and support for the airlines and school reopenings,” according to Tyler Goodspeed, acting chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers.

“We think that this was a very solid offer, and it’s up to the speaker to be reasonable,” Goodspeed added.

Pelosi Reveals Her Problems With New Proposal

In her letter to Democrats, however, Pelosi laid out what she feels are the problems with this proposal:

  • “absence of any response on a strategic plan to crush the virus”
  • funding for state and local governments “remains sadly inadequate”
  • $200 billion less than what Democrats want for expanded unemployment benefits
  • the inclusion of coronavirus lawsuit liability protections for businesses and not including stronger new worker safety standards
  • plan doesn’t include additional refundable tax credits: Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit and Child Dependent Care Tax Credit
  • a $25 billion offer on child case assistance when Democrats want $57 billion

“At this point, the Trump proposal is insufficient in meeting families’ needs, in stark contrast to the Heroes Act, which secured tens of billions for direct relief and refundable credits,” the Speaker wrote, referring to the $2.2 trillion legislation the House passed.

Lawmakers have been unable to come up with a deal for months when it comes to coronavirus aid deals. While lawmakers like Pelosi play political games, millions of Americans continue to suffer.

READ NEXT: Nancy Pelosi Comes Unglued After Trump Decides To End Stimulus Talks

This piece was written by James Samson on October 10, 2020. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

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