With lawmakers shifting their focus to the election of Ruth Bader Ginsburg to fill a Supreme Court vacancy and the looming September 30 deadline for the federal budget, the possibility of a second stimulus package seems increasingly remote

Last weekend, progress on a second stimulus bill seemed possible after a bipartisan group of House members proposed a $15 to $2 trillion compromise and President Trump expressed support for increased spending

However, as Bloomberg points out, partisan wrangling on other issues may further detract from agreement on a second round of stimulus Some economists believe that the continued stalemate could hurt the chances of an early economic recovery

Stimulus benefits have not yet completely fallen off the radar At a hearing on Tuesday, House Democrats pressed Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on the merits of providing $1,200 to eligible Americans

Mnuchin expressed support for a second stimulus package and a larger comprehensive stimulus package, but noted that it was unlikely to happen without the support of Senate Republicans (Three weeks ago, Mnuchin said the White House could expand the stimulus package to $15 trillion)

However, White House Economic Advisor Larry Kudlow suggested to reporters that the economic recovery "does not depend on the package," and the true position of the Trump administration remains unclear

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (R-Calif), who has held firm on the $22 trillion package currently demanded by Democrats since negotiations stalled in mid-August, said this week, especially in the wake of the November election, that other priorities would help rather than hinder stimulus talks He suggested that there is a possibility that

Pelosi said that pressure from voters could be "so great that Republicans would agree to a plan to finally address the coronavirus crisis and finally crush the virus," Bloomberg reported [Other members of Congress are of the same opinion A bipartisan group of House members is pressuring the leadership to keep all members of Congress in Washington until a consensus is reached and a new bailout is passed (See their letter here)

Pelosi has already declared that she will keep the House in session until the bill is passed, but she is allowing members to vote remotely from their local districts

The Senate recently failed to pass a $500 billion, nearly symbolic "skinny" bill The bill removed any mention of a second stimulus check for eligible Americans

Meanwhile, the bipartisan House Problem Solvers Caucus introduced a bill that would provide a new round of direct payments and some federal subsidies for unemployment benefits

The proposal, which would cost between $15 trillion and $2 trillion, depending on how long the additional unemployment benefits would last, comes close to bridging the divide between Democrats and the Trump administration

In May, the Democrat-controlled House passed the $34 trillion HEROES Act It would send an expanded alimony package to those who received $1,200 checks under the $22 trillion CARES Act

The HEROES Act also gives billions of dollars to state and local governments to resume federal unemployment benefits at $600 per week

The Republican leadership in the Senate ignored the HEROES Act and instead proposed the HEALS Act, which would have had similar provisions to Check 2 of the stimulus package, but would have cut unemployment benefits high and has not been brought to a vote

At the start of negotiations with Republicans in July, Pelosi lowered the spending request to $22 trillion, hoping the other side would meet it halfway So far, that has not materialized