On the Money: Pelosi draws line at $2.2T | Jobless claims dip | Swing-state jobless numbers an issue for Trump

Happy Thursday and welcome back to On The Money. I’m Naomi Jagoda, filling in for Sylvan Lane.

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THE BIG DEAL — Pelosi: ‘Hard to see’ Democrats supporting less than $2.2T in COVID-19 aid

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Thursday said that she’s hopeful the parties will reach an agreement on the next round of coronavirus relief but suggested Democrats aren’t prepared to accept anything less than her last offer — $2.2 trillion — on a deal.

“When we go into a negotiation it’s about the allocation of the resources,” she told reporters in the Capitol. “But it’s hard to see how we can go any lower when you only have greater needs.”

The comments come as both sides are voicing some optimism that, after weeks of stalled negotiations, a bipartisan deal on an emergency coronavirus bill is possible before the November elections.

Background:

• Trump on Wednesday had urged congressional Republicans to seek more emergency funding, and Pelosi subsequently spoke to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, but Republicans and Democrats are still far apart on a top-line number.
• Democrats are asking for a relief package to be at least $2.2 trillion, while Senate Republicans’ most recent proposal was only $650 billion.
• Most House Democrats appear to back Pelosi’s hard-line negotiating demand, but a number of moderates want a vote on another bill even if there’s no agreement with Republicans.

Read more from The Hill’s Mike Lillis here.

LEADING THE DAY — Initial jobless claims dip to 860,000

Initial jobless claims dipped to a seasonally adjusted 860,000 in the week ending Sept. 12, a decrease of 33,000 from the previous week, a sign of gradual but steady improvement for the economy.

Unadjusted claims fell significantly, dropping 8.8 percent to 790,021.

The Labor Department’s weekly report showed that claims the previous week had increased rather than remaining flat, as initially reported.

The report also showed that the total number of people receiving any kind of benefit continued to increase through the end of August, reaching 29.8 million.

The Hill’s Niv Elis has more about the jobless claims data here.

High jobless rates in Florida, Arizona, Pennsylvania point to problem for Trump

Key swing states vital to President Trump’s reelection effort are suffering through unemployment rates higher than the national rate, something that could be a factor in the home stretch of the presidential campaign. 

The unemployment rates in Pennsylvania, Florida and Arizona, three of the tightest contests in the country, stood at 13.7 percent, 11.3 percent and 10.6 percent, respectively, in July, the most recent month recorded. The national jobless rate in July was 10.2 percent, and it fell to 8.4 percent in August.

Niv and Morgan Chalfant take a look here at what these numbers could mean for Trump’s bid to win a second term.

Virtual Event Announcement — Monday, Sept. 21: Ecommerce and the American Small Business

“Online everything” continues to be an essential component of daily life, especially now, as Americans take safety precautions in the ongoing fight against COVID-19. How will the introduction of more small businesses to the digital, global marketplace change the way we buy and sell goods? On Monday, Sept. 21 at 1PM, The Hill Virtually Live discusses steps that can be taken to improve our digital infrastructure, and by extension, our digital economy. Small Business Committee members Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) and Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK) join The Hill’s Steve Clemons. RSVP now for event reminders

GOOD TO KNOW

• Joe Biden‘s presidential campaign on Thursday said that the former vice president views the race as “Park Avenue versus Scranton,” as the campaign sought to contrast the Democratic nominee’s position on taxes with President Trump‘s.
• White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Thursday there was “no sector worse hurt than energy” during the economic downturn due to the coronavirus pandemic.
• The U.S. stock market plunged Thursday, continuing a period of volatility that has seen sudden drops and spikes in recent weeks.
• Mastercard has announced it is launching a massive $500 million investment into Black communities amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has hit those groups disproportionately hard.

OPINION

• Municipal bond investors have to share the burden in state bailouts, by Joshua Rauh, a senior fellow for the Hoover Institution and the Ormond Family Professor of Finance at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
• A deal for coronavirus fiscal relief, by Alex Brill of the American Enterprise Institute and Betsey Stevenson of the University of Michigan.
• New Fed approach takes inflation targeting more seriously, by Scott Sumner, the Ralph G. Hawtrey Chair of Monetary Policy with the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.