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US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has indicated to delay or cancel August recess from Congress if negotiators need more time to reach a deal on a coronavirus relief package. The package is expected to include a renewal of beefed-up unemployment benefits and more federal assistance to state governments in order to address the Covid-19 pandemic. Pelosi said in an interview with CNN and said, “We absolutely have to. We also have to come to an agreement. The timetable is the timetable of the American people needing their unemployment insurance, their direct payments, their assistance for rent and mortgage foreclosure forbearance, and other federal aid programs Democrats have proposed”.

Pelosi also pointed to canceling the August recess and said it would be a highly unusual move in an election year. Legislators normally use the time away from Washington as a stretch-run opportunity to touch base with their constituents and drum up political support in their home states and districts before Election Day in November 2020. Republican congressional leaders and White House economic advisers have increasingly signaled their willingness in recent weeks to engage Democrats on another coronavirus relief package, but the parties are still weeks away from a deal. Point to be noted that the US government has already spent at least $2.7 trillion on earlier coronavirus relief efforts.

House Speaker added that it is roughly 13% of GDP and could cause concerns among Republicans about mounting federal debt. Top economic adviser of Donald Trump, Larry Kudlow has said it has become increasingly clear the government will need to spend big again to bolster the US economy and health care system. He delivered his words during an interview with Fox Business and said, “We will try to make it targeted. We will try to incentivize not just work, although work is crucial and going back to work. We want to incentivize investments. We want a pro-growth package”. House Democrats passed a $3trn package that outlined their priorities for a compromise bill with the GOP-controlled Senate and White House in May 2020.