U.S. senators departed the Capitol for a pre-election break yesterday, making the logistics for passing a fiscal stimulus package by next Tuesday practically impossible, even as the coronavirus continues to infect tens of thousands of Americans daily and inflict economic damage, Bloomberg News reported. “We’ll come back in November. The question might be, will there be something then?” Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) said yesterday. The chances of a coronavirus relief bill before Nov. 3 are “very, very slim,” he added, referring to Election Day. The Senate’s departure after the confirmation vote for Amy Coney Barrett to join the Supreme Court left House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to continue haggling over a package. After their latest call yesterday, agreement remains pending on both the size — the Trump administration was last at $1.9 trillion, with the Democrats at $2.4 trillion — and language of a bill. Failure to reach an accord carries human and economic as well as potential political costs. The coronavirus has strengthened its grip across much of the U.S. with record numbers of cases, and the economy remains fragile. The realization that any new stimulus would almost certainly have to await the election contributed to the worst selloff in U.S. stocks since early September on Monday. Even in the unlikely event Pelosi and Mnuchin could come to terms, writing a complex bill and pushing it through House and Senate procedures before Election Day would be an all but impossible task.
