The White House and congressional Democrats say the U.S. is nearing a deal to expand funds to small businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We're very close," Vice President Mike Pence said on Sunday in a talk show on Fox News on Sunday about the negotiations on replenishing the Paycheck Protection Program, whose entire $349 billion funding was exhausted by last Thursday.

"We're going to work to expand that so that no one working in a small business in America would have to worry about missing a paycheck."

The U.S. is the world's worst affected country by the COVID-19 pandemic, having registered more than 735,000 cases and over 39,000 deaths.

The pandemic has affected many businesses in the country, forcing some to shut down and send millions of workers home.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin expressed hope a deal to avail more funds to small businesses could be reached and passed by Congress in the coming days.

"I think we're very close to a deal today," Mnuchin told CNN.

Source: News18