Congressional vote on coronavirus aid bill postponed
Reaction and analysis from Rep. Lee Zeldin, Rep. Andy Biggs, and Rep. Matt Gaetz.
As she told Democratic members that the House of Representatives was close to a "bipartisan agreement" on a second bill to fight the coronavirus pandemic, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., also telegraphed overnight that the chamber would begin work on a third coronavirus-related spending measure.
The move came after the worst day on the stock market since 1987, with stocks plunging 10 percent and after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell canceled his chamber's recess scheduled for next week. Pelosi has not indicated whether the House of Representatives will do the same.
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"Time is of the essence, and this bill must be passed and sent to the Senate," a Thursday night Dear Colleague letter from Pelosi to House Democrats read. "The House will then get to work on a third emergency response package that will take further effective action that protects the health, economic security and well-being of the American people."
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Friday morning, major futures indexes showed gains of 3.5 percent, potentially on hopes of a second piece of legislation dedicated to fighting the novel coronavirus and shielding the economy from its effects. That increase indicates that investors may be calming down for now after an anxiety-filled week that culminated in Thursday's rapid-fire headlines of closures, cancellations and shutdowns of schools, sporting events, government agencies and even Disneyland.
It's unclear what would be in a third coronavirus bill from the House, though there was significant disagreement between Republicans and Democrats over the details of the second one. Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin negotiated throughout Thursday to tweak the second coronavirus bill and reach a compromise the president could sign. Pelosi expressed a sense of urgency to pass legislation to help families in need with the scheduled recess looming.
McConnell slammed Pelosi's initial proposal as an "ideological wish list." Trump had wanted a payroll tax cut that Pelosi didn't include. Republicans also raised concerns about the expansiveness of new paid sick leave programs and not including language to ban federal funds for abortion.
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Trump first signed an $8.3 billion coronavirus-related spending bill last week.
It's unclear what time Friday the House may vote on the second coronavirus bill. It is expected to be voted on as a "suspension," meaning the measure would come directly to the House floor and need a two-thirds vote to pass, requiring a sizable number of Republicans to back the legislation.
On Thursday, Pelosi said the House would vote on the second coronavirus bill Friday "one way or another."
Fox News' Marisa Schultz, Chad Pergram and Vandana Rambaran, and Fox Business' Ken Martin contributed to this report.
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