Democrats, GOP far apart as virus aid talks intensify

WASHINGTON (AP) — Negotiations launched, the differences over the next coronavirus aid package are vast, a gulf between Democrats' $3 trillion proposal and Republicans $1 trillion counteroffer, with millions of Americans' jobless benefits, school reopenings and eviction protections at stake.

As top White House negotiators return to Capitol Hill on Tuesday the leverage is apparent: They are meeting at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office. Republicans are so deeply divided over the prospect of big government spending it’s leaving Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell with a weakened hand.

It's unclear whether any agreement can be reached between Congress and President Donald Trump before Friday's deadline for expiring aid.

“We cannot afford to fail,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said as the chamber opened.

The outcome will be a defining one for the president and the parties heading into the November election as an uneasy nation is watching and waiting for Washington to bring some end to the health crisis and devastating economic fallout.

Key to the debate is the $600 weekly unemployment benefit bump that is expiring for millions of jobless Americans. Republicans want to slash it to $200 a week as an incentive to push people back to work. Democrats have shown flickers of willingness to curb the federal aid, but are refusing to go that low.

McConnell is defending cuts to unemployment assistance saying Democrats “pretend it's controversial." Republicans, he argued, believe the federal supplement is too generous, on top of state benefits, and people should not be paid more while they are at home than they would if they were on the job.

“The American people don't call that a controversy, they call that common sense," he said.

Pelosi dismissed the...