US Congress Closes in on $900 Billion COVID-19 Aid Bill as Friday Deadline Looms
U.S. congressional negotiators on Wednesday were “closing in on” a $900 billion COVID-19 aid bill that will include $600 to $700 stimulus checks and extended unemployment benefits, as a Friday deadline loomed, lawmakers…
U.S. congressional negotiators on Wednesday were “closing in on” a $900 billion COVID-19 aid bill that will include $600 to $700 stimulus checks and extended unemployment benefits, as a Friday deadline loomed, lawmakers and aides said.
Top members of the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives and Republican-controlled Senate sounded more positive than they have in months on a fresh response to a crisis that has killed more than 304,000 Americans and thrown millions out of work.
Their aides were struggling on Wednesday to draft legislative language as rates of COVID-19 infections are soaring to new highs, even as the United States starts to vaccinate people. The American economy is showing signs of weakening.
Negotiators were looking for a way to shift the approach to aiding hard-hit state and local governments, which has been a key Democratic priority but opposed by Republicans, one source familiar with the talks said. The measure, to be attached to a spending bill that must pass by Friday to avert a government shutdown, is not expected to include new protections for companies from lawsuits related to the pandemic, something high on the Republican agenda.
Senator Dick Durbin, the chamber’s No. 2 Democrat, said the goal was to reach an agreement on Wednesday and have it ready for voting beginning on Thursday.
Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he felt optimistic.
“We made major headway toward hammering out a targeted pandemic relief package,” McConnell said in the Senate. “We need vaccine distribution money, we need to re-up the Paycheck Protection Program to save jobs, we need to continue to provide for laid-off Americans.”
PPP is the federal loan and grant aid program to small businesses suffering from the pandemic.
But the House Democratic leader, Steny Hoyer, said that if the Friday midnight deadline for approving the spending measure is not met, he could envision another stopgap spending bill of three or four days’ duration to keep government agencies open while negotiations continue.
BOOSTING THE ECONOMY