WASHINGTON, DC – House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (MD) joined the Washington Post today to discuss the current standing of coronavirus negotiations. Below are excerpts from his interview and a link to the video:
“I talked to the Speaker this morning, Rhonda, and she is optimistic. I won't say hopeful, but she is optimistic that they can get to an agreement. I think [Secretary] Mnuchin and [Speaker] Pelosi are relatively close. I think the real problem is the White House and the U.S. Senate Republicans are very, very, very far apart. And when I say that, they’re $1.3 trillion apart. I understand that Senator McConnell is, first of all, going to offer a single bill today and then tomorrow – I may not have the sequencing correct – a $500 billion bill. That’s $1.3 trillion less than what Secretary Mnuchin and the White House are talking about. So it’s clear that the Republicans don’t have agreement among themselves, which makes it very difficult to get an agreement with us. The most difficult thing is, Senator McConnell has not come forward with any kind of reasonable compromise close to what the White House and the Speaker are talking about, or the Speaker and [Secretary] Mnuchin are talking about.”
“State and locals is a definite sticking point. For whatever reason, [President] Trump and [Senator] McConnell want to let the states and local governments be on their own, not give them any help. Yet they are carrying the major burden in our communities. Particularly they hire the teachers, they hire the police, they hire the fire and emergency medical response teams, sanitation workers. These are people who are critical to operating our society in a safe way. And, unfortunately, the White House and the Senate doesn’t want to give them any help.”
"We were at $2.2 [trillion]; the Senate still has not passed a piece of legislation that we can negotiate on. It’s very nice to have the White House come up with a figure – the $1.8 trillion sounds good – but they don’t have any idea that the Senate Republicans will agree to such a figure."
