Democrats and the Trump administration remain "miles apart" on the ongoing negotiations surrounding the coronavirus relief deal, and it doesn't help much when people ask why that is, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday.
“It doesn't help when people say, how come you can't resolve your differences?," the California Democrat told MSNBC's Craig Melvin. "It's a chasm because they do not share our values, they don't believe in science, they don't believe in governance.”
But, Pelosi added, "as a practical matter, they're going to have to come to the table."
For example, she said, there are "millions of food-insecure children" in the United States, and the Democrat plan calls for $60 billion for help through the Women, Infant and Children program, food stamps, food banks and more, but the Republican plan allows the programs $240,000.
"Not million, not billion, $240,000," Pelosi said. "For families who are concerned about evictions, children have housing insecurity is a very threat to their well-being. We have the Princeton Eviction Lab and other institutions of credibility saying we need at least $90 billion to stop the evictions and to have not only a moratorium but money. The Republicans have zero in their bill."
Both sides are also "very far apart" on the money necessary to send children back to school, as there is not a recognition that it takes the same amount of money to send them back in any form, whether it's in-class, virtual, or a hybrid of the two, said Pelosi.
However, President Donald Trump has said he wants money only to go to schools "that are actually there, when nearly three-quarters of the largest school districts are saying that they're going to be virtual," she added.
Pelosi also commented on Joe Biden's decision to choose Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate, saying that what is important is that she is the "best person" that Biden could have named.
"There are many people who would do no harm, there are many people who could be president, but to have those two combined with the person he had the comfort level with to serve, it's about governance," said Pelosi.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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