Pelosi: House Will Stay in Session Until Pandemic Relief Agreement Is Reached

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) speaks during a press conference before the vote on the 'Delivering for America Act' to protect the postal system, on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Aug. 22, 2020. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

The House of Representatives will stay in session for as long as it takes to come to an agreement on a stimulus package, coming about a month after talks between top Democrats and the White House stalled, it was announced on Tuesday.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) confirmed in a televised interview: “We are committed to staying here until we have an agreement.”

Pelosi said she will extend the House’s recess date to at least Oct. 2 if Republicans and Democrats cannot come to an agreement.

It came after Rep. Ann Kuster (D-N.H.), a member of the New Democrats, said that Democrats want to stay there to negotiate, coming just weeks before the November election.

“We are not in any way attempting to undermine the Speaker’s negotiating positions,” she said on Monday. “Having said that we are taking the position that we want a deal and we don’t think we should adjourn until we have it.”

House Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told reporters that most of the Democratic caucus is in agreement that they should stay in session until a deal is hashed out.

“It’s clear to me, based on the calls that have taken place up until this point and the caucus meeting today, that the overwhelming consensus amongst the members is that we stick around until we get something done for the American people,” he said on Tuesday.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington on Aug. 1, 2020. Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo

Despite the promises, it is not clear if Democrats and Republicans can come to an agreement on a stimulus package. In May, the House passed the $3.4 trillion HEROES Act, which has not been taken up by the Republican-controlled Senate and would likely be rejected.

Last week, Republicans tried and failed to advance a smaller bill that excluded key demands of Pelosi and Democrats. However, the move has fueled GOP criticism of Pelosi, with President Donald Trump saying that Democrats don’t want a deal at all before the election because it could benefit him politically.

At the same time, a bipartisan group of lawmakers is planning to present a $1.5 trillion plan to aid the economy, which has been ravaged by the CCP virus.

“This is just a framework to hopefully get the negotiators back to the table,” Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), the co-chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, said ahead of the unveiling of the measure. That proposal includes $1,200 checks, unemployment benefits, and $500 billion for local and state governments.