GOP leaders ‘on board’ with relief bill,

President WASHINGTON —

Donald Trump and Senate MajorityLeaderMitchMcConnell are “on board” with a $908 billion package to providepandemic relief, according to a member of a bipartisan group that’s seeking legislation before the end of the year.

“President Trumphas indicated that he would sign a $908billionpackage— there’s only one $908 billion package out there and it’s ours,” Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana, said on “Fox News Sunday.” “The pain of the American people is driving this, and I’m optimistic that both of those leaderswill comeonboard.”

House Speaker Nancy PelosiandSenateDemocratic leader Chuck Schumer have endorsed using the bipartisan proposal as the basis for negotiations.

Sen. Dick Durbin, an IllinoisDemocratinvolvedinthe talks, said negotiators “have a lot of work to do and just a few days to do it.”

“This is our last chance before Christmas and the endof the year to bring relief to families across America in the midst of a public health crisis,” Durbin said on ABC News. “We’ve got a few remaining issues. I think we can work them out.”

House and Senate negotiators said there is a sense of urgency to get something passed. “There is absolutely nooptionfor failureonthis,” DemocraticRep. AbigailSpanberger of Virginia, part of the Problem Solvers Caucus in the House, said on “Fox on the Hill.”

“We don’t have a choice now; it’s one of those things that has to be done,” said Democratic Sen. Joe ManchinofWestVirginiaonNBC’s “Meet the Press.”

A fifinal version of the proposedlegislation could come early thisweek, Cassidy said.

A key sticking point is whether to provide liability protection to businesses whose workers fall ill to the coronavirus. Criticshave said some companies, like meatpacking plants, shouldn’t be protected if there are indications they didn’t take adequate precautions. Cassidy said small companies could be drivenout of business just from the cost of the gatheringandexchangingevidence.

“There has to be some liability protection,” Cassidy said, citingwhathedescribed as ambiguity about the need formask-wearingfromhealth experts early in the pandemic.

He said the bill extends unemployment benefifits and lengthens amoratoriumon evictions with aid given to landlords, but there’snoplan to include another $ 1,200 stimulus check to help the economy.

“This is not a stimulus bill but a reliefbill,” Cassidy said. “There may be a stimulus check, but thatwouldbepart of a difffffffffffferent piece of legislation.”

Durbin said the last round of$1,200checkscost$300billion, soitcouldn’tbeincluded when the mandate was to limit the total proposal to $900 million.

“The Democrats have alwayswanted a larger number, but we were told we couldn’tgetanythingthrough the Republicans except this $900 billion level,” Durbin said.