Two days after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (R-CA) announced amendments to the HEROES bill, a scaled-down version of the $22 trillion stimulus package, Democrats are awaiting a positive response from the White House

Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin agreed earlier this week to come to the negotiating table for a second stimulus package According to the latest reports, the two held a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill on Wednesday (September 30)

According to the Washington Post, even White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows is hopeful of a possible agreement; according to Politico, Meadows met with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) while Mnuchin was meeting with Pelosi He said he went to meet with her

Pelosi is hoping that Republicans will come up with a workable counterproposal This counter-proposal is expected to be close to the $15 trillion that the Trump administration has been pressuring for weeks Meanwhile, House Republican leaders have already rejected the Democrats' proposal, sending a memo to lawmakers on Tuesday attempting to block the new bill

Even if a bipartisan agreement cannot be reached, Democrats reportedly intend to move forward with their proposal and will likely vote on it within the next few days, possibly as early as Wednesday evening

Centrist lawmakers are pressuring Pelosi to move something forward as Election Day approaches, hoping to show voters that an attempt at additional easing has been made

"Passing a bipartisan COVID-19 bailout should be a top priority in the coming days," the House members wrote in a letter to Democratic leadership

However, even a joint House-White House bill could falter in the Senate, where Politico reports that McConnell has shown little willingness to work on a stimulus package before November 3 The Senate is instead focused on pushing through the Supreme Court nominations, which are just a few weeks away

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) told Politico that he does not believe Pelosi and Mnuchin's talks will produce anything that budget-minded Republicans will vote for

"The higher the price goes, the fewer Republicans will vote for it Can it pass?" Maybe But it would take 47 Democrats and 13 Republicans to pass it Depending on those (spending) numbers, I don't know where those 13 Republicans will come from"

The House Democrats' latest proposal (text here) would cost considerably less than the original $34 trillion HEROES Act passed in May, but includes some benefits that Americans might expect

For example, the bill would reinstate the $600 per week federal unemployment benefit supplement and again provide $1,200 in direct payments to eligible individuals and families

Although only half of the first version of the HEROES Act, there are still funds to assist state and local governments and to support COVID-19 testing and tracking

The bill also includes provisions promoted by both Republicans and the White House, such as financial assistance to airlines and an extension of paycheck protection programs