������ý

Congressional leaders and the White House have yet to reconcile differences on COVID-19 emergency aid proposals.

U.S. senators departed the Capitol for a pre-election break Oct. 26, making the logistics for passing a fiscal stimulus package by Nov. 3 practically impossible, leaving the economy more vulnerable to damage from a resurgent coronavirus pandemic.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin Oct. 23 put the onus on each other to re-energize flagging stimulus talks as prospects for action on virus relief legislation before the election are fading fast.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are “just about there” on a deal for a coronavirus relief package even as there are outstanding differences still being negotiated.

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said the goal in talks with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is a deal on a coronavirus relief package within the next 48 hours.

After months of on-again, off-again talks on an increasingly needed fiscal-stimulus package, Oct. 20 is shaping up as a do-or-die moment for Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to get a virus relief deal done in time for Election Day.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will hold a call the afternoon of Oct. 19 on a fiscal-stimulus package, a day before Pelosi’s deadline for a pre-election package expires.

Even with the U.S. still reeling from the coronavirus pandemic, Washington fell short in delivering more stimulus before the election, whipsawed by President Donald Trump and hobbled by the diverging agendas of the top Republican and Democrat in Congress. Now, voters will help decide what happens next.

The chances for a preelection stimulus for the U.S. economy from Congress are all but over, with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Oct. 14 pointing to political dynamics undermining the monthslong negotiations.

Prospects for U.S. fiscal stimulus before Election Day dimmed on Oct. 13, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi demanding the White House revamp its latest offer and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell pushing a smaller-scale strategy that Pelosi quickly rejected.