Pelosi defends smaller COVID-19 relief proposal

(4 Dec 2020) Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is defending her willingness to accept a smaller proposal for a COVID-19 rescue package, which would now be in the $1 trillion range. Current negotiations include a huge drop in Democratic demands, from more than $2 trillion to less than $1 trillion. When asked by a reporter on Friday whether it was a mistake to not accept a "half-a-loaf" offer earlier in the year, Pelosi said, "That was not a mistake. It was a decision. And it's taken us to a place where we can do the right thing without other, shall we say, considerations in the legislation that we don't want." "Now, the fact is I'm very proud of where we are," she added. The path forward is cluttered with obstacles, however, including a tight time window and hard feelings from months of futile talks and a poisonous election. But the $908 billion cost is what many Republicans, McConnell included, signaled they were willing to accept this summer. Optimism about delivering long-sought COVID-19 relief is building on Capitol Hill after additional rank-and-file lawmakers voiced support for a bipartisan, middle-of-the-road plan taking shape in the Senate and as top congressional leaders connected on the topic for the first time in months. Pelosi also said that she's willing to negotiate a smaller package because she's optimistic more will be approved once President-elect Joe Biden takes office, which she called a "game changer" along with positive news on the vaccine front. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...