Democrats urge Pelosi to vote on unemployment

A group of House Democrats are pushing Speaker Nancy Pelosi to vote on a bill to extend additional unemployment benefits when the House meets this weekend.

In a letter dated Tuesday, lawmakers urged California Democrat and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer to pass legislation that would restore the jobless allowance to $ 600 a week until the end of the year. coronavirus-related public health emergency and then phasing it out as the state’s unemployment rates decline.

The House, which left Washington for its August recess before Congress could pass a pandemic aid package, will return on Saturday to vote on a bill that would fund the U.S. Postal Service and reverse the changes. Democrats fear it will be more difficult for Americans to vote by mail. in November.

“We owe it to people who are waiting to return to work across the country not only to extend unemployment benefits to help them pay their bills, but also to tie these benefits to economic conditions so that workers are not held hostage. by another cliff like this ”. Democratic Representatives Scott Peters of California, Don Beyer of Virginia and Derek Kilmer of Washington wrote in the letter shared with CNBC. They referred to the expiration of enhanced unemployment insurance at the end of July.

It is unclear how many other House Democrats will sign the letter. The request to Pelosi highlights pressure from Congress to pass more laws to stem an economic crisis as Washington stalls on an aid deal. Lifelines such as unemployment benefits, a federal moratorium on evictions, and the Paycheck Protection Program small business loan application window have all expired.

Democratic leaders and the Trump administration have not relaunched relief talks since their collapse earlier this month. Pelosi offered a more than $ 3 trillion bailout, but Republicans came up with a roughly $ 1 trillion plan.

The parties have failed to find common ground.

“We have to try to get this deal done now,” Pelosi told Politico on Tuesday. She said Democrats were “ready to cut our bill in half to meet needs now.”

Her spokesperson, Drew Hammill, told CNBC she reiterates her previous position. She said she would restart talks if Republicans double their relief offer by around $ 1 trillion.

NBC News reported on Tuesday that the House is considering voting on a restricted version of the more than $ 3 trillion legislation passed in May.

Earlier on Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC Democrats had failed to come up with a “reasonable deal.” He said he hoped the House’s return this weekend signaled Democrats’ willingness to return to the table.

“I hope that since President Pelosi returns to review the postal services, I hope that she will be more interested in sitting down,” he said.

Mnuchin added that the GOP “agreed to increase [its offer] in several domains. ”

Democrats have repeatedly stated that they will not pass a narrow bill to address parts of the economic and health crisis and instead want a comprehensive approach. Then the House announced that it would return to vote on the Postal Bill.

Trump has also felt political pressure to provide more aid as he faces his reelection in November. He signed executive orders this month to temporarily extend federal jobless benefits to at least $ 300 a week, encourage eviction protections, maintain existing student loan assistance and create a tax holiday on the payroll.

It will take a few more weeks for most states to pay for unemployment insurance. Trump’s existing funding could be redirected to jobless benefits, as Congress controls new spending, is only expected to last a few weeks after that.

Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.