Pelosi calls $3T coronavirus relief bill Democrats' starting offer as White House issues veto threat | Fox News

Pelosi calls $3T coronavirus relief bill Democrats' starting offer as White House issues veto threat | Fox News

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Pelosi calls Democrats' $3T coronavirus relief bill a starting offer as White House threatens veto: 'We're open to negotiation'
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi acknowledged Thursday that the Democrats' $3 trillion coronavirus relief legislation does not have a good chance of becoming law and suggested the massive bill could be a starting point for talks with the White House and Senate.

"We're putting our offer on the table, we're open to negotiation," Pelosi said Thursday on the eve of the planned vote on the HEROES Act. Her comments came just as the White House issued an official veto threat on the proposal, accusing Democrats of wanting to pass "long-standing partisan and ideological wish lists" rather than addressing the nation's public health and economic challenges.

The White House chided Democrats for looking to make some illegal immigrants eligible for a second round of $1,200 direct payments, and for including a $25 billion "bailout" for the U.S. Postal Service and funding vote-by-mail and same-day registration.

But at the Capitol, Pelosi framed the legislation -- the biggest relief package in history -- as a necessary expense to deal with the unprecedented economic and health crisis that has left nearly 85,000 Americans dead and 36 million jobless. Click here for more on our top story.

Other related developments:
- EXCLUSIVE: McConnell predicts 'high likelihood' of new stimulus bill, dismisses Dem proposal as 'parade of absurdities'
- Democrats' $3T coronavirus relief bill is too small for some progressives
- Mnuchin: Dem plan 'not in the spirit of anything that has been bipartisan'