By getting Congress to pass and the president to sign another short-term continuing resolution (CR) last night, negotiators bought themselves an extra two days to see if they could reach a deal on a COVID relief package. Under last night’s CR, they now have the weekend to come up with something.
Read more about the situation in Politico here and the Washington Post here.
So, even with the intensified negotiations over the past several days on the next COVID relief package, it appears very unlikely that the different sides will reach an agreement before the clock strikes midnight tonight. Even the various sides were to get to an acceptable compromise, it would take time to turn that into legislative text. This means that another continuing resolution (CR) will be needed to prevent a shutdown. The House is currently voting on a two-day CR, which would extend funding through Sunday.
While Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has committed to keeping the chamber in session until a final COVID package is passed, it remains to be seen how long that will actually take.
Cathy McMorris Rodgers (5th District) was chosen yesterday by her conference as the ranking Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee for the 117th Congress. The committee has jurisdiction over a wide range of issues.
Read more about the her selection here.
Earlier today, Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut was chosen by the House Democrats to serve as the chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee when the new 117th Congress convenes in January. She beat out Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida. Marcy Kaptur, who was expected to run as well, dropped out at the last minute.
DeLauro won the vote of Democratic Steering and Policy Committee yesterday but she needed the approval of the full Democratic caucus. She is currently the chair of the Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee and takes over the full committee’s gavel from Nita Lowey of New York, who is retiring at the end of this Congress.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Capitol, Democrat Mark Kelly of Arizona was sworn in yesterday as the newest member of the Senate. He defeated Martha McSally in a special election, which enabled him to be sworn in this Congress. With Kelly, the Republican majority in the Senate now stands at 52 – 48. Two Senate elections are scheduled in Georgia for January 5.
A bipartisan group of Senators have introduced a “middle ground” COVID relief bill which they hope can work for both sides of the aisle and pass before the holidays. The $908 billion bill includes some relief for state, local, and tribal governments, the USPS, $300/week unemployment supplements, help for small businesses, testing and tracing, housing assistance, a reauthorization of the paycheck protection program, and more. The bill does not include another round of $1,200 stimulus checks.
An overview is available here, however the actual bill has not been made available yet.
Some of the $908 billion is repurposed from prior spending bills, rather than new spending.
It is unclear whether the bill has enough support to pass in either chamber, or whether the President would sign it. Democrats continue to push for greater spending while Republicans want a smaller price tag.
Read more here.