Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) are thinking big for the next coronavirus stimulus bill.
Rather than the $1.8 to $2.2 trillion Pelosi was discussing with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin immediately prior to the election, the Democratic lawmakers now say the $3.4 trillion HEROES Act that House Democrats passed earlier this year should be a "starting point" for negotiations on future relief measures.
"The HEROES Act should be the starting point, not an emaciated bill that prioritizes protections for corporations and considers the needs of American families as an afterthought," Schumer said Thursday.
The first coronavirus relief bill, passed and signed into law in March, cost $2.2 trillion.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said Thursday that a "dramatically larger" relief package is "not a place I think we're willing to go."
"But I do think there needs to be another package," he said. "Hopefully we can get past the impasse we've had now for four or five months and get serious about doing something that's appropriate."
