Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin today offered separate proposals intended to break the partisan stalemate on virus relief legislation.

This evening, Sec. Mnuchin presented to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) a $916 billion proposal, which is $8 billion more than the bipartisan proposal put forward last week by several Senators and members of the Problem Solver's Caucus. "This proposal includes money for state and local governments and robust liability protections for businesses, schools and universites," Sec. Mnuchin said in a press statement. He noted that the plan would repurpose $140 billion in unspent funds from the Paycheck Protection Program and another $429 billion in Treasury funds.

Separately, Sen. McConnell today suggested the path to compromise may be to set aside any liability protections, as well as leaving out any federal assistance to state and local governments. At least for political purposes, the two issues appear inextricably tied to one another in the negotiations. Republican efforts to include liability protection has been met with stiff opposition from Democrats, who likewise have run into GOP opposition to their demands for a major funding package for states and localities.

Sen. McConnell's proposal to drop both issues, at least for now, was met with strong opposition from Speaker Pelosi, who warned it could impede vaccine efforts. "With vaccine distribution being administered by the states, state and local funding is central to our efforts to crush the virus," the Speaker said. "The bipartisan negotiations involving Senators and Members of the House have made good progress and must be allowed to proceed without Leader McConnell's obstruction."

The Speaker has not yet commented publicly on this evening's proposal from Sec. Mnuchin.

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