Even as the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, the second round of pandemic relief packages is nowhere in sight because of a nonagreement between the House Democrats and Republicans. However, on Tuesday, Nancy Pelosi said that the House will not go into recess until a COVID-19 rescue package deal has been made. 

During a conference call, Pelosi told her party members that everyone will be staying till a deal has been secured. 

The statements come after several Democrats have signed a COVID-19 rescue package proposed by the Bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus. The caucus has around 50 members from both parties who want to come to terms so that they can release a round of relief packages as soon as possible. 

Some Democrats Sign A Bipartisan COVID-19 Rescue Package

The bipartisan COVID-19 rescue package includes measures from both the parties. They include funds for local and state governments, reinvigorating unemployment benefits, and aiding schools during this tough time. 

This package is significantly lower than $2.2 trillion, which is what the House democrats have argued for. However, it should also be noted that it’s much more than what the Senate GOP is pushing for, which is $650 billion. The bill proposed by the Senate GOP failed in the past week since the Democrats heavily opposed it. 

The White House and Pelosi had been negotiating until last month. Ever since the negotiations failed, it was assumed that talks on COVID-19 rescue packages would not begin again before the November presidential elections. 

Drew Hammill, Pelosi’s representative, said on Tuesday that Pelosi is determined as ever to get their deal approved. 

A Deal Before Elections Unlikely

However, several lawmakers expressed skepticism over a possible deal between House Democrats and the White House. Moreover, several moderate Democrats have also expressed displeasure over this nonagreement by showing support to the bipartisan bill. Even so, historically, a bipartisan proposal does not have much success rate. 

Representative Dusty Johnson told media sources that a bipartisan agreement is how Congress should ideally work. He further mentioned that the bipartisan COVID-19 rescue package has tried to include necessary measures from both the parties. They hope that the two parties can come to an agreement and get the relief packages rolling. 

Representative Kurt Schrader also showed support to the bipartisan bill and said that the top leadership should pay attention and understand how a compromise is made. 

Democrat Steny Hoyer From Maryland stated that although the bipartisan bill has developed some useful measures, they are still not doing enough to address the rapidly falling economy due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Hoyer further added that a compromise is necessary but doing so without thinking of reviving the economy is going to cost the national economy even more. 

The bipartisan COVID-19 rescue package took in the second round of stimulus checks. They have also proposed to shield businesses, who have reopens, from any lawsuits. Furthermore, they also proposed to extend the pandemic unemployment benefits. 

Some Democrats have criticized the package saying that it leaves out too much.