As of Wednesday, a deal on another coronavirus relief package remains unlikely after a call between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin moved them no closer to an agreement. House of Representatives Speaker Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) have not met in person with Treasury Secretary Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to hash out a pandemic aid package since Friday. Meanwhile, President Trump signed four executive orders over the weekend to provide some economic relief, however it remains unclear how effective those will be. Although the Senate is still in session, the majority of senators have left Washington, D.C., but they will be given 24-hour notice to return if a coronavirus (COVID-19) deal is reached or if a vote is scheduled. In the House, there will be no votes until the week of September 14th, unless there is an agreement before then. Democrats have made it clear that they will not combine a COVID-19 bill with a continuing resolution if negotiations push to the end of September.
On Sunday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Democrats need to accept a lower amount of assistance for state and local governments to resume negotiations, “I think we've been very clear that they need to come back with a compromise on the state and local from their trillion dollars, and the unemployment benefits, and if so we’ll respond. I think the majority of the other issues, we've reached a compromise on.” Additionally, a Moody’s Analytics report estimated that without additional federal aid, state and local budget shortfalls will total roughly $500 billion over the next two fiscal years. RCRC continues to advocate for additional relief monies beyond the CARES Act and that those monies be made available to low-populations counties directly.