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Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Monday that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will “hopefully” unveil a new coronavirus relief bill next week. In an interview on Fox Business Network, Mnuchin was asked about the collapse of talks with Democrats over COVID-19 response and stimulus legislation. The secretary responded that he and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows have been regularly speaking with McConnell. “Hopefully Mitch will enter new legislation next week,” Mnuchin said. (Klar, 8/31)

If Joe Biden wins the presidency, he might need a trillion-dollar stimulus bill in January, just to buy enough time to push through his nearly $3 trillion "Build Back Better" plan later in spring 2021. That's according to Biden advisers who are growing increasingly worried that the economy is deteriorating by the day. (Nichols and Salmon, 8/30)

House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer laid out the chamber’s agenda for September, including marijuana legislation and anti-discrimination bills, but in a letter to colleagues Monday he acknowledged that there is no appropriations deal in sight as the end of the fiscal year approaches. Committees will take the lead the week of Sept. 8, with floor action expected to resume the following week. The House will vote on three bills focused on discrimination protections in workplaces and education, including a bill that would outline workplace protections and accommodations for workers whose ability to perform a job is limited by pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition. (Tully-McManus, 8/31)

Lawmakers in both parties urged their colleagues Monday to invest in and work to develop a new, diverse generation of American scientists and researchers to help close the innovation gap with foreign rivals. In discussions held during The Hill’s “Science & American Advancement” event Monday, Democratic and Republican members of the House voiced support for boosting research funding and increasing the public interest in developing crucial technologies. (Lane, 8/31)

Cal Cunningham, the Democratic candidate in North Carolina’s US Senate race, pointed out that the US is capable of coming together for the national good — just not, apparently, on Covid-19. “If it had been a terrorist attack, there would have been an address to the nation, probably to a joint session of Congress. There would not have been a hesitation to invoke things like the Defense Production Act,” Cunningham, a military veteran, told me in a phone interview. “There would have been clear communication from the top to every corner of America about how we fight that enemy. Here, we were told it was a hoax.” (8/31)