Congress Avoids Government Shutdown Amid Deadlock Over Stimulus Package

People walk past the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on December 16, 2020. ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/Getty Images

Lawmakers gave themselves the weekend. Congress approved a two-day spending bill to avoid a lapse in funding over the weekend as lawmakers continue to try to unlock negotiations over an almost $1 trillion COVID-19 economic relief measure. President Donald Trump signed the bill late Friday. The two-day deadline suggests lawmakers are optimistic they’ll be able to come to an agreement but there are several unresolved issues that are preventing things from moving along, including an argument over the Federal Reserve (Slate’s Jordan Weissmann explains the disagreement in detail). “We’ve been close for a while now. And we still are,” summarized Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

As lawmakers continue negotiations through the weekend, there is lots of frustration that many of them have no idea what the deal will actually include as the leaders negotiate. “It’s beginning to reach the point of absurdity,” Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri said on Friday. Other lawmakers also did not hide their frustration that the negotiations on what would be the largest relief package since spring was taking so long. “This is ridiculous,” said Democratic Rep. Jahana Hayes of Connecticut. “We should have a deal — we should’ve had a deal a long time ago. It’s unconscionable that we’re even here the weekend before Christmas.”

The stimulus package would provide $600 checks for individuals, while also delivering more than $300 billion in aid to business and revive a supplemental federal unemployment benefit of $300 per week. The measure would also include money for vaccine distribution, as well as assistance for renters and funds for schools and the Postal Service, among others. Besides the fight over the Republican push to restrict the Federal Reserve’s emergency lending program, which Democrats see as an effort to tie the hands of President-elect Joe Biden, other key sticking points include disagreements over who would be eligible to direct payments as well as how much money to give to cultural centers affected by COVID-19 lockdowns and how much aid should go to local governments, among other issues.

The Senate is scheduled to convene Saturday morning and a vote is expected to take place Sunday afternoon, according to Rep. Steny Hoyer. The deadline now to approve more funding is Sunday at midnight.

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