Democrats Release New $2.2 Trillion Stimulus Proposal With $417BN In State And Local Aid

Late on Monday, in an apparent attempt to break the covid fiscal stimulus impasse in Congress but without actually providing a tangible compromise, House Democrats released a fresh $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief bill proposal, which Nancy Pelosi said was a “compromise measure that reduces the costs of the economic aid” which will allow the Democrats to go to the public and say “we tried, the Republicans killed it.”

The plan follows through on discussions last week to prompt a last-ditch attempt at negotiations with the White House to break an impasse on Covid-19 relief that’s lasted since early August.

In a letter to Democratic lawmakers released by Pelosi’s office, she said the legislation “includes new funding needed to avert catastrophe for schools, small businesses, restaurants, performance spaces, airline workers and others.”

“Democrats are making good on our promise to compromise with this updated bill,” she said. “We have been able to make critical additions and reduce the cost of the bill by shortening the time covered for now.”

The problem is that since the total bill remains at a level that Senate Republicans have previously rejected. Furthermore, the proposal also includes $238 billion for State Fiscal Relief and $179 billion in Local relief, both of which Trump has previously said remains a non-starter.

• State Fiscal Relief – $238 billion in funding to assist state governments with the fiscal impacts from the public health emergency caused by the coronavirus, including $755 million in CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Fund repayment for the District of Columbia.
• Local Fiscal Relief – $179 billion in funding to assist local governments with the fiscal impacts from the public health emergency caused by the coronavirus.

Shortly after the bill was published, Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin spoke at 6:30 p.m. via phone according to press reports. The two agreed to speak again tomorrow morning.

While the latest Democrat proposal has a virtually nil chance of passing, readers can read the 87 proposal in its entirety below (pdf link):