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Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin offered a $1.62 trillion COVID-19 relief proposal in talks with Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday, offering more state and local assistance than GOP negotiators have to date in a sign of potential progress toward a deal. A person briefed on Mnuchin’s plan said it included $250 billion for state and local governments, which is $186 billion less than Democrats want in their latest $2.2 trillion package, but $100 billion more than the White House offered in talks that broke down over the summer. (McPherson, 9/30)

Mnuchin and Pelosi held their first in-person talks since August on Wednesday, yet fell short of reaching an agreement that would bridge the gaps between the administration and Democrats on further aid for the U.S. economy. Both sides face increased pressure to act as more companies announce job cuts, including airlines that had received help under earlier rounds of federal support. (Wasson and House, 10/1)

“Secretary Mnuchin and I had an extensive conversation and we found areas where we are seeking further clarification. Our conversations will continue,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a statement after their 90-minute meeting. Democrats pulled back plans to vote on their $2.2 trillion stimulus bill, which is opposed by House and Senate Republicans and has no chance of becoming law. Democratic leaders delayed that vote to allow more time for a bipartisan deal to emerge. (Werner, Stein and Bade, 9/30)

A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about safety procedures at a meatpacking plant whose workers were falling ill at an alarming rate early on in the pandemic is raising new questions from Democrats about possible political interference at the agency. On April 22, the CDC issued a report with basic health recommendations to control the spread of the novel coronavirus at a meatpacking plant run by Smithfield Foods in Sioux Falls, S.D. (Rosenberg, 9/30)

The Senate on Wednesday passed a bipartisan government funding bill that averts a shutdown and will relax Medicare loan repayment terms for healthcare providers.The president is expected to sign the bill into law. The stopgap measure pushes the deadline for government funding and bankrolling several Medicare and Medicaid programs, including cuts to Medicaid disproportionate-share hospital payments, to Dec. 11. The bill passed the Senate on a 84-10 vote. (Cohrs, 9/30)