Rush to agree second round of stimulus checks before TODAY’S shutdown deadline
LAWMAKERS are rushing to reach an agreement on a second round of stimulus checks before today’s shutdown deadline.
The US Congress has until midnight on Friday to agree on a new government funding bill, which includes coronavirus relief, approve stopgap funding, or allow for another government shutdown.
FOX News’ Chad Pergram tweeted on Friday morning: “Work continues behind the scenes on coronavirus bill.
“Still no bill text. Government funding expires tonight at 11:59:59 pm et.
“Interim bill likely to avert shutdown tonight. Weekend work likely in Congress to finish up.”
The looming government shutdown and possible deal between the GOP and Democrats comes as the United States has seen more than 310,000 Covid-related deaths.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell appears to understand the need for a quick decision.
He said on Thursday: “We must not slide into treating these talks like routine negotiations to be conducted at Congress’ routine pace.
“So we need to complete this work and we need to complete it right away. That’s what I’ve said – the Senate is not going anywhere until we have Covid relief out the door.”
When Nancy Pelosi was questioned a whether a relief plan would pass the House on Friday she said: “We’ll see” and insisted “were doing fine.”
The hurry to come up with a decision comes one day after Democrat Tim Kaine spread hope and told reporters that a new coronavirus deal was very close.
The senator said on Thursday morning that a stimulus deal with $600 is near as Democrats and Republicans have “basically reached” an agreement.
A hoped-for announcement on Wednesday failed to materialize as lawmakers hammered out details of the legislation and top negotiators continued to trade offers.
It’s the first significant legislative response to the pandemic since the landmark CARES Act in March, which delivered $1.8trillion in aid.
Since then, Democrats have repeatedly called for further federal steps to provide relief, while Republicans have sought to more fully reopen the economy and to avoid padding the government’s $27trillion debt.
President-elect Joe Biden is eager for an aid package to prop up the economy and deliver direct aid to the jobless and hungry, even though the package falls short of what Democrats want.
Republicans, too, are anxious to approve some aid before going home for the year.
“We’re still close and we’re gonna get there,” McConnell told reporters on Wednesday evening as he left the Capitol.
During a Senate GOP lunchtime call earlier this week, party leaders pushed the need for an agreement before the upcoming Georgia Senate runoff election.
Lawmakers in both parties said leaders had agreed on a top-line total of about $900billion, with direct payments of possibly $600 to most Americans and a $300-per-week bonus federal unemployment benefit – which would partially replace a $600-per-week benefit that expired this summer.
It also includes the renewal of extra weeks of state unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless.
Meanwhile, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris said Americans are “suffering” as they continue to wait for a decision on the next coronavirus stimulus package.
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In a Wednesday interview with ‘Good Morning America’, Harris said she “doesn’t understand the hesitation.”
She added: ‘The moratoriums on evictions and foreclosures are about to end. The extension that people need of benefits is very real.
“And the people here in Washington, DC, have got to stop living in a bubble.”