Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Signs Of Progress But No Stimulus Deal Yet Between House Dems, White House
The Washington Post: Pelosi, White House Remain At Odds In Coronavirus Stimulus Talks
House Democrats and the Trump administration remained far apart Monday in economic relief negotiations, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said there were signs of progress in the ongoing talks. “We have finally in the last 24 hours...come to a place where they are willing to address the crisis, the coronavirus, to crush the virus,” Pelosi said Monday evening in an appearance on MSNBC. She said the Trump administration had agreed to language the Democrats demanded relating to addressing racial disparities in the virus’s impact. (Werner and Stein, 10/19)
The Hill: Sides Tiptoe Toward A COVID-19 Deal, But Breakthrough Appears Distant
Party leaders racing for an elusive deal on a coronavirus stimulus package claimed more progress on Monday, but the slow, incremental headway appeared far short of the breakthrough needed to get more emergency relief to President Trump's desk before Election Day. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the principal negotiators, spoke by phone for almost an hour Monday afternoon, when "they continued to narrow their differences" on policy specifics, according to Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill. (Lillis, 10/19)
In related news about COVID's economic toll —
USA Today: More Than 6M Households Missed Their Rent Or Mortgage Payment In September
Persistent layoffs are slowing momentum in the labor market, which bodes poorly for the broader U.S. recovery as millions of out-of-work Americans delay their mortgage and rent payments. More than 6 million households failed to make their rent or mortgage payments in September, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Research Institute for Housing America, a sign that the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic is weighing on jobless Americans as Congress stalls on relief measures. (Menton, 10/17)
