Congress faces more pressure than ever this week to pass another coronavirus relief bill, CNBC reported.
Lawmakers’ ability to break a longstanding logjam and send more help will play a massive role in how much more the crisis ravages Americans’ health and wallets.
Congressional leaders aim to approve both pandemic aid and a spending package before government funding lapses Saturday. Republicans and Democrats still need to strike a deal on both fronts with only days to spare before millions would face eviction or the loss of unemployment benefits.
A bipartisan group hopes to spur movement toward legislation that can get through the GOP-controlled Senate and Democratic-held House. Lawmakers from both chambers released a $908 billion rescue package Monday, split into two bills as the negotiators did not agree across the board.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a New Jersey Democrat and co-chair of the bipartisan House Problem Solvers Caucus that helped to spark the deal, said he hoped the bill would help to shape a proposal Congress can pass this week.
“It doesn’t have to be every single word that we hand [congressional leaders] … but this is a clear road map for them,” he told CNBC on Monday morning before the legislation was unveiled.
Members of both parties have stressed the need to send relief before they go home for the holidays. What they have not agreed on since April is what help exactly the health-care system and economy need until widespread vaccination reins in a disease killing thousands of Americans every week.
“It’s time for this body to collectively recognize that finger pointing doesn’t put food on the table for struggling families,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has done his share of blaming Democrats for the aid delays, said Monday.
The Kentucky Republican called for a bill this week that addresses areas including Paycheck Protection Program small business loans, vaccine distribution funds and an extension of a pandemic-era unemployment insurance expansion. He notably did not address the merits of the bipartisan legislation before its introduction. McConnell previously rejected the plan after negotiators released an outline.
Ahead of the bill release Monday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said “we look forward to reviewing” what the group introduces. He added that his party is “100% committed” to approving more relief this week.
Congress has very little time. The House is not expected to take any votes before Wednesday, according to Majority Leader Steny Hoyer’s office.
In one sign of efforts to find consensus, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke for about 30 minutes on Sunday about spending and stimulus. The pair plans to talk again Monday, according to Pelosi’s spokesman, Drew Hammill.
Congress has come closer to checking off at least one part of its to-do list this week. Lawmakers are close to a deal on legislation to fund the government through Sept. 30, 2021, NBC News reported. Appropriators hope to introduce a spending bill as soon as Tuesday, according to NBC.
Pelosi and McConnell have said they want to tie coronavirus relief measures to the funding legislation.
Congress faces a challenge in trying to resolve several sticking points before Friday.
The parties have failed to settle disputes over proposals to give businesses immunity from coronavirus-related lawsuits and send aid to cash-crunched state and local governments. Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., have threatened to delay passage of a bill if it does not include another direct payment to Americans. The bipartisan proposal does not include a second $1,200 check.
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