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Schumer and Pelosi back bipartisan $908 billion COVID-19 stimulus plan

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Wednesday said they would support a slimmed down $908 billion bipartisan stimulus plan unveiled by lawmakers on Tuesday — signaling more relief may be in sight after months of gridlock.

In a joint statement, the top Democrats in Congress said they believed the proposal, which includes more funding for small businesses and $300 weekly unemployment insurance, should form the basis of further negotiations.

“While we made a new offer to Leader McConnell and Leader McCarthy on Monday, in the spirit of compromise we believe the bipartisan framework introduced by senators yesterday should be used as the basis for immediate bipartisan, bicameral negotiations,” the pair said in the statement.

“Of course, we and others will offer improvements, but the need to act is immediate and we believe that with good-faith negotiations we could come to an agreement,” they wrote.

Frustrated by Pelosi’s all-or-nothing approach to the negotiations — she has insisted on sticking to the $2.4 trillion bill laden with non-emergent funding lines that was passed by the House — senators on both sides of the aisle presented their own plan which would include a $300 per week federal unemployment boost, $160 billion for state and local governments, and $45 billion for struggling airlines and mass-transit systems.

McConnell is also finalizing a slim relief measure with an expected price tag of $500 billion, telling reporters on Tuesday that there was no more time “for lengthy negotiations” and “messaging games.”