The House of Representatives canceled its vote on the new stimulus check bill on Tuesday night just hours after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tweeted that the vote was going forward. Pelosi let her followers know that U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had agreed to resume negotiations with her on the financial aid bill. She claimed that the vote was going forward, but multiple reports soon contradicted this tweet.
“Today, [Mnuchin] and I had an extensive conversation and we found areas where we are seeking further clarification. Our conversation will continue,” Pelosi wrote. She added that the house would still vote on this updated stimulus bill “in order to formalize our proffer to Republicans in the negotiations to address the health and economic catastrophe in our country.” However, less than two hours later, top Democratic aides told outlets like CNBC that the vote would be delayed until Thursday.
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The House will be proceeding with our vote tonight on the updated #HeroesAct in order to formalize our proffer to Republicans in the negotiations to address the health and economic catastrophe in our country.
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) September 30, 2020
Pelosi and other House Democrats are working on an updated version of the HEROES Act, with the overall cost dropping from $3.4 trillion to $2.2 trillion. It includes some of the compromises identified throughout the negotiations with the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate over the last few months. However, Republicans have shown less interest in debating this legislation recently, focusing instead on appointing a new Supreme Court justice.
Republicans have tried to change the conversation from one overarching stimulus package to a smaller, targeted bill, claiming that more stimulus could be passed later if necessary. Pelosi has resisted this effort on behalf of the Democrats, believing that this would cost her party bargaining power in the long run.
Republicans have set a price limit of $1 trillion, and she fears that they will not let anything past that amount through the U.S. Congress, no matter how badly it was needed.
“We still don’t have an agreement, but we have more work to do. And we’re going to see where we end up,” Mnuchin told reporters on Wednesday.
Many economists and market analysts are agreed that the U.S. needs another stimulus package not just for struggling individuals, but for the economy as a whole. Without more aid, many of the effects of the first stimulus check will begin to collapse, leading to rippling effects that could take generations to overcome.
The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on the new HEROES Act on Thursday, Oct. 1. It is unclear how the Senate will respond to this proposal.
