Anxious Democrats amp up pressure for vote on COVID-19 aid
By Mike Lillis and Scott Wong - 09/24/20 12:59 PM EDT
House Democrats, increasingly anxious about leaving Washington without acting on coronavirus relief, are amping up the pressure on Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to bring emergency aid to the floor before Congress heads home next week.
Pelosi has held firm that she will not lower her demand for a $2.2 trillion package, but a growing number of uneasy centrists are clamoring to vote on some new stimulus legislation — even without a deal — before Oct. 2, when the House is scheduled to recess for the final leg of campaigning ahead of the Nov. 3 elections.
“There's an awful lot of concern amongst members that things be done,†said Rep. John Larson (Conn.), the former head of the Democratic Caucus.
The pressure is emerging in different forms.
Moderate Democrats have taken the remarkable step of threatening to endorse a Republican effort to force a floor vote on a single provision of the relief blueprint — help for small businesses — even against the wishes of their own leadership.
The Problem Solvers Caucus, a bipartisan group of centrist lawmakers, continued this week to press leaders in both parties to act immediately on a package topping $1.5 trillion.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/house/518025-anxious-democrats-amp-up-pressure-for-vote-on-covid-aid