Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House will pass a bipartisan coronavirus relief package before adjourning this month.
“We must get it done before we leave,” the California Democrat said Friday. “We cannot leave without it.”
Pelosi’s pledge is the strongest signal yet from House and Senate leaders that a new round of funding could clear Congress with just a few days of legislative days left in the year.
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The renewed effort to pass an aid bill after months of stalled talks follows nationwide surges in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations and a November jobs report showing slowed job growth as officials implement new virus lockdowns.
Under pressure from party lawmakers, Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, announced this week they will support a $908 billion aid package proposed by a bipartisan group of House and Senate lawmakers.
The measure falls far short of the $2.2 trillion legislation Pelosi and Schumer had been seeking.
Pelosi explained Friday she is willing to back the smaller funding bill now because Democrat Joe Biden, who she said “is committed to a scientific solution,” will become president next year.
Pelosi said the emergence of several effective vaccines also swayed her to back the bipartisan plan.
“That is a total game changer,” Pelosi said. “A new president and a vaccine.”
Pelosi said the coronavirus package will have to ride along with a major spending bill to fund the government through 2021.
Bipartisan House and Senate lawmakers have yet to negotiate an accord on the government spending bill. Pelosi rejected the idea of passing another stopgap bill if no deal is reached.
The government is currently operating under a short-term spending measure that is set to expire Dec. 11.
House Democrats planned to adjourn by Dec. 11, said Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat.
Democrats also plan to take up a critical defense policy bill next week that President Trump has threatened to veto.
Despite the packed schedule, Pelosi said lawmakers can also pass the coronavirus aid package.
Lawmakers are currently drafting the legislative text of the proposal.
“There is momentum,” Pelosi said. “I’m pleased that the tone of our conversations is one that is indicative of the decision to get the job done.”
