Iran Press/ America: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows failed to crack a stalemate over coronavirus relief Thursday when they spoke at length for the first time in weeks.
After a 25-minute phone call between the pair, Pelosi issued a statement saying “this conversation made clear that the White House continues to disregard the needs of the American people as the coronavirus crisis devastates lives and livelihoods.”
She said the sides stood at a “tragic impasse” after the Trump administration again did not meet her demand to roughly double the price of its aid proposal to $2.2 trillion.
“Democrats are willing to resume negotiations once Republicans start to take this process seriously. Lives, livelihoods, and the life of our democracy are at stake,” the California Democrat said in the statement.
A spokesman for Meadows did not immediately respond to a request to comment on the call.
Negotiations between Democrats, led by Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and the White House, led by Meadows and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, collapsed earlier this month amid disagreements on unemployment aid, state and local government relief, and school funding, among other issues. Congress has failed to pass the fifth package to try to combat health and economic crises created by the pandemic even after a $600 per week extra jobless benefit, a federal eviction moratorium and the chance to apply for a small business loan program expired.
As Democrats control the House, the bill likely would not get through both chambers of Congress.
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