Pelosi and Schumer beat the Republican Party for ‘mess’ before unemployment cliff

President of the house Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiPelosi says Trump’s decision to reverse the fair housing rule is a “betrayal of our nation’s founding values.” The Trump administration sending a border tactical team to Seattle Trade negotiations must not interrupt internal debate PLUS (D-Calif.) And minority leader of the Senate Charles SchumerChuck SchumerPelosi, Schumer: Republican Party’s emerging coronavirus plan ‘falls far short’ New York group beat Schumer for lack of benefits for immigrants on relief measures How a progressive populist appears to have ousted Engel MORE (DN.Y.) hit Republicans on Friday, blaming their “mess” for the impending expiration of the biggest unemployment benefits.

“This weekend, millions of Americans will lose their unemployment insurance, risk being evicted from their homes, and could be fired by the state and local government, and there is only one reason: Republicans have been vacillating for months while America crisis deepens, “Democratic congressional leaders said in a joint statement.

As part of the March $ 2.2 trillion coronavirus relief bill, Congress agreed to provide a $ 600 per week increase in unemployment benefits. The biggest benefits will expire on July 31.

Lawmakers are struggling to agree on how to move forward.

House Democrats passed a bill in May that extends payments until the end of the year. Republicans have yet to come up with their own coronavirus proposal, but the Treasury Secretary Steven MnuchinSteven Terner MnuchinSenate GOP Releases Coronavirus Package Next Week On The Money: Mnuchin Says GOP Has “Fundamental” Agreement On Coronavirus Relief Package T | Inside the republican stimulus proposal | Weekly jobless claims rise to 1.4 million Trump blames Democrats after Republican Party rejects payroll tax cut MORE he told reporters that he would provide a salary replacement of about 70 percent until the end of the year.

Approximately 32 million Americans are unemployed and the national unemployment rate is just over 11 percent. In the past week, 1.4 million applied for unemployment insurance, according to Labor Department data released Thursday, the first increase since March.

Both administration officials and Pelosi have said they want to reach an agreement by Friday, July 31, a deadline that is almost guaranteed.

White House Chief of Staff Mark MeadowsMark Randall MeadowsSenate GOP Releases Coronavirus Package Next Week On The Money: Mnuchin Says GOP Has ‘Fundamental’ Agreement On Coronavirus Relief Package T | Inside the republican stimulus proposal | Weekly jobless claims rise to 1.4 million Trump blames Democrats after Republican Party rejects payroll tax cut MORE He told reporters that if they cannot reach an agreement on a broader coronavirus agreement, they should divide unemployment into separate legislation. He said the problem could be paired with school funds and liability protection.

But both Democrats and Senate Republicans have rejected that idea, saying Congress should agree to a deal instead of multiple coronavirus packages.

Pelosi and Schumer noted in their joint statement that they hoped to negotiate over the next weekend. Since Republicans are not expected to release their opening offer until Monday, those talks are not expected to take place.

“It is simply unacceptable that the Republicans have had all this time to reach consensus among themselves and continue to agitate. Time is of the essence and lives are being lost,” they added.