SANTA ‘PAUSE’ IS COMING TO TOWN
D.C. pols won’t leave till budget, bug deal is done
Christmas is not coming early for members of Congress this year.
Lawmakers from both parties were resigned to the fact Thursday that they will all but certainly have to work through this weekend as negotiations stalled again for Congress to avert a looming government shutdown and pass a long-sought coronavirus stimulus package.
The stimulus bill is expected to be in the range of $900 billion and include $600 direct checks for most American taxpayers, relief for small businesses and a federal $300 weekly supplement for the unemployed, among other provisions.
But negotiators couldn’t figure out a compromise for the duration of the unemployment assistance boost, with Democrats wanting it in place for at least 16 weeks while Republicans are trying to cap it at 10, according to Capitol Hill aides familiar with the matter.
There were also disagreements about whether the relief measure should extend an eviction moratorium set to expire early next year. Republicans threw yet another wrench into the process by making a big stink about a proposed pot of federal emergency aid that they fear Democrats will use as a backdoor to the budgetary bailouts for state and local governments they oppose.
With those issues still up in the air and the government set to run out of cash at midnight Friday, congressional brass conceded that a rare weekend session will likely be necessary.
“We’re going to stay right here, right here, until we’re finished, even if that means working through the weekend, which is highly likely,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who has long opposed any major stimulus spending.
Congress is likely to attempt to pass a short-term funding bill Friday to keep the government open through Sunday or Monday while leaders try to cut a stimulus deal, according to aides.
Leaders on both sides of the aisle hope to ultimately attach the stimulus components to a long-term omnibus government spending bill to save time.
Some lawmakers acknowledged that a few members may look to block a short-term spending bill to keep up the pressure for a quick resolution to the stimulus.
“If it’s for a very short amount of time on a weekend, hopefully it’s not going to be something that would be all that harmful,” South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, said of a shutdown.
Despite the loose ends, Democrats and Republicans sounded confident that a deal is imminent, as they continued negotiations behind closed doors.
“We’re doing fine, and we’ll have our announcement when we have our announcement,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
The stakes for another stimulus could hardly be higher.
The weekly jobs report Thursday showed nearly 900,000 Americans filed for first-time unemployment benefits. That’s the highest total since September and shows the economy has stalled as the feared second wave of the pandemic spreads. The COVID-19 death toll and caseload is also soaring, with nearly 3,700 Americans perishing Wednesday alone.
The new stimulus proposal on the table amounts to a dramatic compromise after months of partisan deadlock. It’s much smaller than what many say is needed, but much more than what
Republicans originally wanted to spend.
The deal leaves out budgetary aid to hard-hit states and cities like New York that are facing massive pandemic bills that could lead to punishing layoffs and budget cuts.
But Democrats apparently are seeking to secure some local aid through budget side doors at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, though Republicans were catching on to that.
Since the first $2.2 trillion CARES Act stimulus passed in March, Republicans have resisted a costly new package.
With Americans groaning for relief, Democrats scaled back their expectations dramatically to get some help out the door before President Trump leaves office.
Regardless of this stimulus, Dems hope to enact another one after the inauguration of Joe Biden, who has called the current relief proposal a “down payment.”
But the GOP may be less likely to lend a hand when Biden’s the man in the White House.
“I don’t see it that way,” Thune said of Biden’s “down payment” comment. “If we address the critical needs right now, and things improve next year ... there maybe less of a need.”