This post was originally published on this site
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday were optimistic that a compromise trillion-dollar coronavirus stimulus bill would be agreed to later in the day.
McConnell, speaking at the opening of Tuesday’s Senate session, said he believes negotiators are on “the five-yard line.”
“Today we can make all of the Washington drama fade away,” the Kentucky Republican said. “We are very close.”
Related: As talks drag on, Senate debate for stimulus to combat coronavirus turns snippy
Earlier on CNBC, Pelosi also saw reason to be upbeat.
“There is real optimism we could get something done in the next few hours,” Pelosi said.
Estimates of the cost of the measure range from $1.6 trillion to $1.8 trillion. It would include direct checks for Americans, expanded unemployment insurance and an unprecedented lending program to small- and medium-sized businesses using the Federal Reserve’s emergency-lending powers.
There was no doubt that everyone appreciates the gravity of the moment, Pelosi said, but added the problem were “poison pills” in the Senate Republican bill that have to be stripped out.
She said she was working to add more provisions that assist workers struggling as their firms shut down.
Pelosi said there was agreement on oversight of the $500 billion fund to assist companies hurt by the shutdown of the economy. “I think we’re on a good track,” Pelosi said.
U.S. equity benchmarks were sharply higher Tuesday. Market experts said the Fed’s massive bond buying and emergency lending was beginning to improve market function and there was also hope a stimulus deal could be approved. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +7.22% was up 1,447 points in morning trading.
