Congress attempted to put the finishing touches to a coronavirus relief deal on Thursday as Washington neared government shutdown and millions in loss of unemployment benefits.
Leaders on Capitol Hill say they are near an agreement to send $ 900 billion in aid to Americans. Legislators do not have enough time to pass a state funding and pandemic rescue package before federal funding expires on Saturday at 00:01 a.m. CET.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Said in the Senate Thursday that a “bipartisan, bicameral agreement appears to be within reach”. He noted that it was “very likely” that Congress would work through the weekend, and said lawmakers may need to pass a short-term funding measure to buy enough time to pass legislation.
House spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Also said Democrats are nearing consensus Thursday. She told reporters that “we made some progress this morning” and “are waiting to hear back”.
The US spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) walks through the US Capitol in Washington, USA on December 17, 2020.
Erin Scott | Reuters
Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Chairman, DN.Y., had a series of talks with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin through Wednesday evening as the sides try to work out the final details, according to Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill. He said they would speak again Thursday morning.
“All three stressed the urgency of an immediate agreement,” he wrote in a tweet.
If Congress approves another bailout, it would be too late for too many Americans. Thousands of people die from Covid-19 every week as the US death toll rises over 300,000. The virus has overwhelmed hospitals and healthcare workers, and states need money to distribute much-needed vaccines.
At the same time, further cracks have emerged in an already fragile economy. Initial jobless claims rose to 885,000 last week, the highest number since September. This is evident from new data released on Thursday. Millions of Americans have defaulted on rent or gone to food banks for public health meals for the foreseeable future.
If the pandemic’s provisions to expand unemployment expire the day after Christmas, 12 million people will lose benefits. Others across the country will be evicted when a federal moratorium expires at the end of the year.
At the moment, Congress seems ready to meet these deadlines. But even if lawmakers can hit a deal Thursday, they’ll have to write laws and get them through both houses of Congress and across President Donald Trump’s desk – a process that can take days if Washington moves forward as quickly as possible.
“I think we’ll be ready on Saturday,” Ohio GOP Senator Rob Portman told CNBC on Thursday.
Congress leaders want to package the coronavirus relief plan and a $ 1.4 trillion spending bill for the year into one package. They hope to keep the government running until September 30, 2021.
When lawmakers finalize the $ 900 billion bailout plan, many details are unknown. Without going into the details, McConnell confirmed that it would include small business loans from the Paycheck Protection Program, another direct payment, funding for Covid-19 testing and vaccine distribution, and an expansion of the expansion of unemployment benefits in the pandemic.
The package is expected to contain around $ 300 billion in aid to small businesses. It is intended to extend the eviction moratorium. The proposal would also reintroduce a federal unemployment insurance surcharge, possibly at the $ 300 per week level set in a bill proposed Monday by a simple bipartisan group.
Congress can cut the direct payment to about $ 600, which is lower than the $ 1,200 payment made under the CARES bill passed in March. According to reports, families would get more help as they would receive $ 600 per child for at least two children.
Many lawmakers and economists fear the package won’t offer nearly enough help to people who have been suffering for months during the pandemic. A widespread report this week found that nearly 8 million Americans have fallen into poverty since June as pandemic lifelines like the $ 600-a-week unemployment benefit set up by Congress expired.
While many struggling Americans have stayed in their homes due to eviction moratoriums, they still owe thousands of dollars in rent.
“The problem is, at this moment of economic desperation, there is a lot less than the country needs,” Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Told MNSBC on Wednesday about the development plan.
While threatening to halt the legislation if it doesn’t include another $ 1,200 stimulus check, Sanders said he was “glad” lawmakers took the $ 600 payment in.
On Wednesday, President-elect Joe Biden called the $ 900 billion move a “down payment.” He plans to push for another round of relief after taking office on Jan. 20.
Democrats and some Republicans are likely to push for state and local government aid. The move, along with GOP-backed corporate liability protection, is not expected to be included in the $ 900 billion plan because lawmakers have been unable to agree on how the aid will be distributed.
Senator Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat who worked with Portman in negotiating bipartisan legislation released earlier this week, admitted that Congress is likely to consider another auxiliary bill in 2021.
“This is not all to end it all,” he told CNBC on Thursday morning.
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