Congressional Leaders Discuss Virus Relief, Spending Bill

The group will meet again late Tuesday.

“We’re continuing to work. I think there’s progress. We’ll get back together,” Mr. McCarthy said following the afternoon meeting.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who spoke to Mrs. Pelosi earlier Tuesday for more than an hour, also joined the first meeting by phone.

The talks were held one day after a bipartisan group of lawmakers largely wrapped up their work on a compromise coronavirus relief proposal. That agreement included an extension of unemployment insurance and funding for schools, vaccine distribution and small businesses, among other provisions.

But the bipartisan coalition came up short in its efforts to reach a broad deal on the thorniest issue: liability protections for businesses and other entities operating during the pandemic. Instead, lawmakers released a $748 billion bill bundling together many of the less-controversial proposals but excluding liability protections backed by Republicans and $160 billion in state and local aid sought by Democrats.

GOP leaders said last week that Congress should end the standoff by leaving out the liability provisions and state and local aid and proceeding with the other relief measures.

Ahead of the meeting with other top leaders, Mr. McConnell repeated his call to omit the two issues from the bill, pointing toward another relief bill under the Biden administration as another opportunity to address them. He said the Senate wouldn’t leave Washington until the two parties reached a deal.

“We all know the new administration’s going to be asking for yet another package. It’s not like we won’t have another opportunity to debate the merits of liability reform and state and local government in the very near future,” Mr. McConnell said.

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, a member of Senate GOP leadership, said the decision to split off the more controversial issues indicated an awareness that only the bill with wide consensus had a path to becoming law.

“It is just my impression on the way that the negotiating group has separated those two issues—it seems to take Sen. McConnell’s advice and leave those to the side and do what we can,” Mr. Cornyn told reporters Tuesday.

Mr. Schumer on Tuesday declined to comment on whether he was open to approving a bill without state and local aid. He has previously said such aid was necessary.

“On state and local, everyone knows my position, it has broad bipartisan support, and I’m not going to get into negotiations in any way. That will occur at four o’clock,” Mr. Schumer said.

Mr. Schumer also said that he wants to provide more money for vaccine distribution, beyond the $6 billion the bipartisan group proposed, and that he supports sending another $1,200 direct check to many Americans.

Regarding the meeting, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said that President Trump, who has called for a new round of checks to most Americans, would wait and see what a possible deal looks like.

“He’s said that he would really like to see those stimulus checks in there, but his priority at the end of the day is getting relief to the American people,” she said. “We’re hopeful there will be some sort of agreement.”

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, a member of Senate Democratic leadership who was involved in the bipartisan talks, said that he supported moving forward with the $748 billion bill.

“While the fight continues over these issues, we must provide some emergency relief for the American people before we go home for the holidays. I support the $748 billion bipartisan package,” he said in a statement Monday night.

Congressional leaders have said they hope to attach a coronavirus-relief package to a full-year spending bill currently being completed. The government’s current funding expires at 12:01 a.m. ET Saturday.

Write to Kristina Peterson at [email protected] and Andrew Duehren at [email protected]