Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi delayed the passage of the Senate’s coronavirus relief package on Wednesday, as the House was in session for nearly three minutes and then adjourned until Thursday.
“House Democrats will now review the final provisions and legislative text of the agreement to determine a course of action,” Pelosi said about the nearly $2 trillion emergency relief deal which will be voted on Wednesday afternoon in the Senate after a long night of negotiations. Meaning, the House will not be able to vote on the package for another day. Pelosi also said there is “no way” to pass the bill through the House on Wednesday.
House will not pass coronavirus bill today. Already gaveled in, gaveled out of pro fotm session. Senior sources say House won’t meet again later today
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) March 25, 2020
McConnell said the deal “will get more equipment to the heroes on the front lines” and that “this is a wartime level of investment.” The Majority Leader also added that “this has been a long week for the Senate,” and that the Senate is “going to pass this legislation later today.”
The text is set to come out later Wednesday. Two GOP Senate aides told the Daily Caller there was no way the vote would happen Tuesday night, as many expected it would. North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows was on Capitol Hill late, telling reporters the deal will happen “very very soon.”
Amid all of the negotiations, Pelosi on Monday introduced a massive coronavirus bill with a number of provisions completely unrelated to the crisis. (RELATED: Senate And White House Reach Bipartisan Deal On Nearly $2 Trillion Emergency Relief Package)
Pelosi’s coronavirus bill is 1,119 pages and contains provisions including, “conducting risk-limiting audits of results of elections,” bailing out the postal service, requiring early voting, same-day voter registration, requiring the airlines to fully offset their carbon emissions, gives you chance to look up greenhouse gas emissions from the flights you want to take, and much more that have nothing to do with helping solve the crisis at hand.
Pelosi said Sunday that she will halt negotiations with the Senate and move to pass her own coronavirus package in the House, which could drag things out longer than many expected. Pelosi’s legislation will be a $1.6 trillion emergency package, according to Politico. (RELATED: Speaker Pelosi Moves Forward With Her Own Coronavirus Package, Despite Current Senate Negotiations)
The House is not scheduled to be back until 11 am on Thursday.
