Many on Capitol Hill are skeptical anything will pass.

Republicans in the Senate, led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, are starting to piece together their own package. But it comes after weeks of ignoring Democratic demands to move more urgently as Republicans have argued they needed to assess how roughly $3 trillion in already-approved stimulus money was being spent.

Sources involved in the talks said Wednesday that discussions centered around a GOP plan roughly one-third of the size of the $3 trillion proposal House Democrats pushed through their chamber in May. Republicans are looking at a plan in the range of $1.3 trillion, sources said, though they cautioned that number could change.

Sen. Patty Murray, the Senate's No. 3 Democrat, told CNN Wednesday that such funding would be "inadequate" to meet the needs of millions of jobless Americans as well as hospitals, the education system and others hurt by the pandemic ravaging the country.

"They have to recognize where we are as a country," the Washington Democrat said of the GOP, citing the rise of coronavirus cases in the US. "If they ignore that, they are ignoring the public safety, health and well-being of our nation. And I will fight them."

Partisan differences

The differences between the two sides are enormous -- both over the scope of what's needed as well as the details of the policy. Republicans demand liability protections for businesses opening up in the pandemic, an idea Democrats reject. Democrats want roughly $1 trillion for state and local governments -- a number that the GOP says is far too high as many states have not exhausted their existing emergency aid. Democrats want another round of enhanced unemployment benefits, something top Republicans say would discourage businesses from rehiring.

And amid President Donald Trump's demands to reopen schools, Vice President Mike Pence suggested that the White House wants state and local aid conditioned on schools reopening, just as Senate Democratic leaders have proposed $430 billion to assist with schools reopening. Republicans are looking at a small fraction of that amount, potentially in the range of $30 billion.

"It is unclear to me right now how we will resolve several contentious issues," Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware, told CNN Wednesday. "Until McConnell begins to negotiate with Democrats, we are not going to get anywhere. ... It's going to be a rough road. There are a lot of competing interests. A lot."

"It needs to start now or it's not going to be able to get done," said Murray, who is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, referring to bipartisan negotiations.

McConnell's refusal to begin bipartisan talks over the last several weeks "has created needless uncertainty and pain for millions of families who are still reeling from the public health and economic crises," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday.

Indeed, bipartisan talks have yet to begin, as Mc

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