在另一个两党长达数月的僵局之后冠状病毒众议院议长南希·佩洛西和财政部长史蒂文·姆努钦于2006年10月16日提出了刺激缓解法案最后的谈判周三，看不到达成协议的迹象。
但是众议院民主党领导人仍然对两党达成协议抱有希望，并将他们计划中的2.2万亿美元刺激法案的投票推迟到周四。一名熟悉谈判的民主党高级助手表示，众议院民主党人最初计划在周三晚些时候就该法案进行投票，但将其推迟到周四，以给谈判者更多的谈判空间。
民主党的大流行救助法案主要是象征性的，是众议院5月通过的3.4万亿美元英雄法案的精简版。
该法案有望在下议院获得通过，但它预计不会被占用由共和党控制的参议院，它嘲笑高价格标签。
参议院多数党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔(Mitch McConnell)明确表示，在选举日之前，两党达成流行病救助协议的可能性越来越小，他周三表示，“我们相距非常非常远。”
曼努埃尔·巴尔奇·塞内塔/美联社
2020年9月30日，华盛顿，财政部长史蒂文·姆努钦(中)在离开国会大厦时发表了简短的评论。
“在过去的几天里，我们取得了很大的进展，我们仍然没有达成一致，但是我们有更多的工作要做。我们将看看我们的结局，”姆努钦周三告诉记者。
姆努钦已经成为白宫和佩洛西会谈的首席谈判代表。周三，两人在她的国会山办公室进行了近90分钟的会谈，这是自8月初两党谈判破裂以来的首次面对面讨论。
姆努钦向佩洛西提出了一个还价，类似于本月早些时候两党众议院问题解决者核心小组提出的框架，价格约为1.5万亿美元。
佩洛西和几名众议院委员会领导人拒绝了该计划，认为该计划“不足以拯救生命和刺激经济”。
艾琳·斯科特/路透社
2020年9月30日，众议院议长南希·佩洛西走过华盛顿的美国国会大厦。
“今天，姆努钦部长和我进行了广泛的交谈，我们找到了需要进一步澄清的领域。我们的对话将继续，”佩洛西在她的办公室发布的一份声明中说。
声明称:“我们今晚将继续对更新后的《英雄法案》进行投票，以便在谈判中正式向共和党人提出解决我国健康和经济灾难的建议。”但几小时后，民主党人改变了方向，将投票推迟到周四。
当天早些时候，佩洛西和姆努钦都对在经济低迷和失业人数继续飙升的情况下达成协议的前景更加乐观。
参与谈判的消息人士表示，最大的障碍包括对地方和州政府的援助以及责任保护。
众议院预计将通过的法案将恢复7月到期的600美元联邦失业福利，并将包括对美国人的另一轮直接检查，每个纳税人1200美元，每个受抚养人500美元。
该法案还将延长工资保护计划，以帮助小企业，这一福利已于8月初到期。
这项立法还包括为受疫情严重影响的餐馆、航空公司、儿童保育中心和演出场所提供资金，以及为邮政服务提供资金，民主党人表示，邮政服务需要在选举日之前到位。
奇普·索莫德维拉/盖蒂影像公司
参议院多数党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔在2020年9月30日于DC华盛顿州国会山哈特参议院办公楼举行的每周一次的参议院共和党政策午餐会后对记者发表讲话。
麦康奈尔周三表示，民主党提出的2.2万亿美元的提议“过高”且“古怪”，表明他无意支持该提议。
虽然预计参议院不会就2.2万亿美元的刺激法案进行投票，但预计众议院将于周三就一项连续分辨率这将资助政府到12月11日。
一旦参议院批准该法案，它将在午夜关闭截止日期前几个小时被送到总统的办公桌上。
Pelosi, Mnuchin fail to strike coronavirus stimulus deal but talks will continue
After a months-long stalemate on another bipartisancoronavirusstimulus relief bill, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin emerged fromlast-ditch negotiationsWednesday with no semblance of a deal in sight.
But House Democratic leaders are still holding out hope for a bipartisan deal and delayed a planned vote on their $2.2 trillion stimulus bill to Thursday. House Democrats had initially planned to vote on the bill late Wednesday night but pushed it off to Thursday to give negotiators further room to talk, according to a senior Democratic aide familiar with negotiations.
The Democratic pandemic relief bill -- largely symbolic -- is a slimmed-down version of the $3.4 trillion Heroes Act the chamber passed in May.
The bill is expected to clear the lower chamber but it'snot expected to be taken upby the Republican-controlled Senate, which has scoffed at the high price tag.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made clear that a path to a bipartisan pandemic relief deal is increasingly unlikely ahead of Election Day, saying Wednesday, "We are very, very far apart."
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, center, makes a brief comment as he leaves the Capitol, Sept. 30, 2020, in Washington.
"We made a lot of progress over the last few days, 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 Wednesday.
Mnuchin has taken over as the lead negotiator in talks between the White House and Pelosi. The two sat down for a nearly 90-minute meeting on Wednesday in her Capitol Hill office -- their first in-person discussion since bipartisan talks collapsed in early August.
Mnuchin brought a counteroffer to Pelosi that resembled the framework that the bipartisan House Problem Solvers Caucus put forward earlier this month, which carried a price tag of around $1.5 trillion.
Pelosi and several House committee leaders rejected that plan, arguing that it "falls short of what is needed to save lives and boost the economy."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi walks though the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Sept. 30, 2020.
"Today, Secretary Mnuchin and I had an extensive conversation and we found areas where we are seeking further clarification. Our conversations will continue," Pelosi said in a statement released by her office.
"We will be proceeding with our vote tonight on the updated Heroes Act in order to formalize our proffer to Republicans in the negotiations to address the health and economic catastrophe in our country," the statement said, but then hours later, Democrats reversed course and delayed that vote to Thursday.
Earlier in the day, Pelosi and Mnuchin both sounded more optimistic about the prospect of reaching an agreement amid a tanking economy and jobless numbers that continue to skyrocket.
Sources involved with the talks said the biggest hang ups include aid for local and state governments, as well as liability protections.
The bill the House is expected to pass would restore the $600 federal unemployment benefits that expired in July and would include another round of direct checks to Americans at $1,200 per taxpayer and $500 per dependent.
The bill would also extend the Paycheck Protection Program to help small businesses, a benefit which expired in early August.
The legislation also includes money for restaurants, airlines, childcare centers and performance venues hit hard by the pandemic, as well as funding for the Postal Service, which Democrats have said is needed before Election Day.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell talks to reporters following the weekly Senate Republican policy luncheon in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill, Sept. 30, 2020, in Washington, DC.
McConnell said Wednesday that the $2.2 trillion proposal from Democrats was "too high" and "outlandish," indicating that he has no intention of supporting it.
While the Senate is not expected to vote on the $2.2 trillion stimulus bill, the chamber is expected to vote Wednesday on acontinuing resolutionthat would fund the government through December 11.
Once the Senate clears the bill, it will be sent to the president's desk just hours ahead of a midnight shutdown deadline.
