Dems Plan Vote On $2.2T Virus Aid Package: BLOG

ACROSS AMERICA — As a newly released report confirms the U.S. economy sank to unprecedented levels this spring, the back-and-forth dance between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin continued Wednesday as both leaders met to talk compromise on new coronavirus aid for pandemic-weary and financially strapped Americans.

Pelosi and Mnuchin said they "made progress" in a 90-minute meeting, according to the New York Times. In fact, both indicated negotiations on a $2.2 trillion aid package would continue.

However, the Democratic-controlled House plans to move forward with a vote on the relief package, with or without Republicans. The measure is all but guaranteed to die in the GOP-led Senate, however.

Speaking on CNBC on Wednesday, Mnuchin said he was giving the talks “one more serious try" and was prepared to offer a package of $1.5 trillion, similar to a bipartisan aid package presented earlier this month. Pelosi and key Democratic lieutenants, however, rejected the figure as inadequate.

Meanwhile, the U.S. economy plunged this spring and, even with a record rebound expected in the just-ended third quarter, is likely to shrink overall in 2020.

The gross domestic product, or the economy’s total output of goods and services, fell at a rate of 31.4 percent in the April-June quarter, only slightly changed from the 31.7 percent drop estimated one month ago, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

The government’s final look at the second quarter showed a decline that was more than three times larger than the 10 percent drop recorded in the first quarter of 1958 when Dwight Eisenhower was president, according to The Associated Press. Previously, that was the largest recorded decline in U.S. history.

Economists believe the economy will expand at an annual rate of 30 percent in the current quarter since businesses have reopened and millions of people have gone back to work. That would shatter the old record for a quarterly GDP increase, a 16.7 percent surge in the first quarter of 1950 when Harry Truman was president.

Meanwhile, the coronavirus is infecting more American children and teens, a trend authorities say appears is fueled by school reopenings as well as resumed school sports, play dates and other activities.

Children of all ages now make up 10 percent of all U.S cases, up from 2 percent in April, the American Academy of Pediatrics reported Tuesday.

According to The Associated Press, citing a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, the numbers of COVID-19 cases among school-age children began rising in early September as many returned to classrooms. About two times more teens were infected than younger children, the CDC report said.

Among the cases in infected children, most were mild. Hospitalizations and death rates among children and teens are still much lower than among adults.

Meanwhile, seven former commissioners of the Food and Drug Administration wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post, accusing the Trump administration of interfering politically with the agency. The commissioners allege the interference had potentially catastrophic effects on public trust in a coronavirus vaccine.

The op-ed details a pattern of interference, including President Donald Trump’s threat to reject proposed FDA guidance on criteria the agency will use to judge a coronavirus vaccine.

Among the op-ed authors are board members of Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson, two companies currently developing vaccines.

At least 918 new coronavirus deaths and 43,470 new cases were reported in the United States on Tuesday, according to a New York Times database. Over the past week, there have been an average of 43,144 cases per day, an increase of 13 percent from the average two weeks earlier.

As of Tuesday, 30 states and Puerto Rico remained above the positive testing rate recommended by the World Health Organization to safely reopen. To safely reopen, the WHO recommends states remain at 5 percent or lower for at least 14 days.

More than 7.2 million people in the United States have tested positive for the coronavirus as of Wednesday evening, and more than 206,800 have died, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Stay up to date on current coronavirus news via The New York Times or Washington Post.

Read More From Across America:

• Instagram Account Shares Stories Of Overcoming Coronavirus
• Pandemic Inspires New Jersey Mom, Son To Open Store In Montclair
• 3 Titans Test Positive For COVID, Vikings Close Eagan Facilities
• 28,000 Employees Laid Off At Disneyland, Walt Disney World
• Gov. Murphy: 11 Coronavirus Outbreaks At NJ Schools In New Data
  
• CT Coronavirus Hospitalizations Exceed 100
• 1 PA County Remains In COVID-19 Red Zone: White House Task Force
• Rutgers Experts Explore Concerns Over COVID-19 Vaccine Trials
• Hospitalizations In Georgia Top 28,000
• Rescue Squad President Steps Down After Coronavirus Posts
• Safer And Scarier: Basement Of The Dead Adapts To Coronavirus
• Lawsuit Demanding High School Sports Start In Illinois Moves Forward
• Fauci Says Florida Reopening Bars And Restaurants Is 'Very Concerning'