Senator Mitch McConnell, Senate majority leader, and Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the House minority leader, issued a joint statement on Monday urging colleagues to “find consensus on COVID relief before the holidays.”
BIPARTISAN GROUP UNVEILS $ 908 Billion CORONAVIRUS RELIEF PROPOSAL AS END OF YEAR DEADLINE LOOMS
“Congress has tackled two critical issues this week: funding the government and providing vital COVID assistance to families, workers and businesses across the country,” the statement read. “It is time for Republicans and Democrats in the Senate and House to reach consensus on COVID aid before the holidays. We hope our Democrat counterparts share our sense of urgency. “
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Spoke by phone with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin Monday night and continues to push for help for troubled states and places. But top Democrats backed a $ 748 billion plan offered by a bipartisan group of lawmakers and hinted they won’t push for a battle for state and local aid now.
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A bipartisan group of lawmakers has unveiled a detailed aid proposal in the hope that it would serve as a model for their struggling leaders to follow when negotiating a final deal.
But the group failed to compromise on provisions sought by the GOP that protect companies from COVID-related lawsuits, a major priority of McConnell and other Republicans.
Kayleigh McEnany, the White House press secretary, said some Democrats are not giving in to the aid because of the lawsuit.
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‘I have with the [White House] chief of staff [Mark Meadows] about it this morning. He said Nancy Pelosi unfortunately puts the importance of litigation attorneys first. These litigation attorneys are the ones who go after small businesses. That’s the last thing they need if they’re trying to get through COVID, it’s all this liability on their hands, ”added McEnany.
Joshua Q Nelson and the Fox News Associated Press contributed to this report