Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a letter to House members that she is working on a fourth spending bill aimed to combat the coronavirus, according to ABC News.
In the letter, Pelosi said that she plans to bring the legislation up for a vote sometime this month, after Congress is ostensibly expected to return from recess on April 20th.
“House Democrats will continue to work relentlessly and in a bipartisan way to lift up American families and workers to protect their health, economic security and well-being,” Pelosi’s letter stated in part. Among the specifics she hinted at are further payments to small businesses, more direct payments to American taxpayers, and increased unemployment benefits.
Pelosi had previously come under heavy fire for her attempts to rewrite the most recent coronavirus stimulus bill, which was set to include numerous pork provisions that had nothing to do with the coronavirus.
Initially rejecting the Senate version by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Pelosi’s version of the bill would have included, among other things, nationwide legalization of “ballot-harvesting,” mandated “diversity requirements” for corporate boards, and tax credits for companies that utilized wind and solar energy. Pelosi ultimately backed down after criticism from McConnell, President Trump, and other Republicans, and agreed to pass McConnell’s $2.2 trillion version.