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Congress is barreling toward a rare weekend session as lawmakers race to wrap up a sweeping agreement to fund the government and provide badly needed coronavirus relief, The Hill reported. Leadership is homing in on a deal that would attach roughly $900 billion in coronavirus relief to a $1.4 trillion bill to fund the government until Oct. 1, 2021, in what is the last major piece of legislation Congress needs to pass before it wraps up its work for the year. But lawmakers appear poised to drive over Friday night’s funding cliff, when the government will shut down at least temporarily without new legislation. Even if talks wrap by Friday night, it’s expected to take days for Congress to pass it. “There’s still just a lot of loose ends we’re trying to tie down.... It’s a little bit of whack-a-mole, whack it here and something else pops up. There’s a lot of interaction between the moving parts of all this,” said Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.). Congress had been expected to depart for the year Friday, as lawmakers itch to get out of town for the holidays. But leadership is warning rank-and-file members to expect to be marooned in Washington through at least the weekend as talks drag on. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) warned senators to stay in town to vote on nominations, saying the chamber would be “productive.” Read more. 

A new potential roadblock to a $900 billion coronavirus economic relief bill emerged in the U.S. Congress yesterday as some Senate Republicans insisted on language ensuring that expiring Federal Reserve lending programs cannot be revived, Reuters reported. Both parties were scrambling yesterday to strike a deal on a new compromise aid package. They have set aside Democratic demands for a new funding stream for state and local governments and Republican demands that companies be shielded from coronavirus-related lawsuits. But Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) wants to ensure that the Fed and Treasury are stripped of the authority to restore pandemic lending facilities that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will allow to expire on Dec. 31, including the Main Street program for mid-size businesses and facilities for municipal bond issuers and corporate credit and asset-backed securities. Read more. 

In related news, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said that he will go to the floor today to ask for a vote on his proposal to provide a second round of $1,200 stimulus checks, The Hill reported. “Tomorrow I will go to the Senate floor to ask for an up or down vote on my bill to provide a direct payment of $1200 to working Americans, $2400 for couples, $500 for kids,” Hawley said in a tweet. He’s also teamed up with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to try to get it passed by the end of the year as part of a sweeping agreement, which is still being negotiated, to fund the government and provide long-stalled coronavirus relief. Under the Senate rules any one senator can ask for a vote, but any one senator can object. Read more. 

After months of stalemate, congressional leaders yesterday were on the verge of cementing a roughly $900 billion stimulus deal to deliver emergency aid to individuals and companies devastated by the toll of the worsening pandemic, racing to finish the details and stave off a government shutdown on Friday, the New York Times reported. The measure, which has been under discussion for months as the coronavirus has ravaged the economy, is expected to provide a new round of direct payments to millions of Americans as well as additional unemployment benefits, food assistance and rental aid. It would prop up sputtering businesses with federally backed loans and provide funding for schools, hospitals and the distribution of a just-approved vaccine. While the agreement was not yet final, Republicans and Democrats alike signaled that they were ready to coalesce around the main elements. It was unclear when a final agreement would be reached, as lawmakers and staff haggled over what House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) referred to as “just the fine details we’ve got to get done.” The measure, which builds off a $748 billion bill proposed by a bipartisan group of moderates this week, is expected to include $25 billion to establish a program that would provide emergency rental assistance to families affected by the pandemic, as well as billions for vaccine development and distribution, broadband and schools across the country. Negotiators were still discussing the possible inclusion of House legislation that provides funds to distribute to states and cities and to fully cover the costs of emergency work during the pandemic. They were also still haggling over an expansion and extension of unemployment benefits and how long they would last. The agreement is expected to revive lapsed enhanced unemployment benefits at about $300 a week, half of the original benefit approved in March, which lapsed over the summer. In addition to the jobless aid, the plan would provide a one-time direct payment to Americans, expected to be about $600 per person, also half the amount provided under the March stimulus law.

Biweekly survey data from the Census Bureau shows that 85.4 million American adults, or 35.6 percent, report trouble paying for typical household bills such as food, medicine and rent, The Hill reported. That figure, which covers the period of Nov. 25 through Dec. 7, is up significantly since early September, when it hovered at 76.5 million, or 31.9 percent. The survey shows steady increases in other areas of concern in recent weeks as well. The number of people without enough to eat rose from 22.4 million, or 10.3 percent, to 27.4 million, or 12.7 percent. The number of adults who aren't sure they can make their rent or mortgage payments rose from 9.9 million, or 7 percent, in early October, to 12.9 million, or 9.1 percent, in December. Expectations of job loss spiked as well, with 76.7 million, or 31 percent, saying they expect that they or someone in their household will lose employment in the coming month. That figure is up from 58.3 million, or 28.3 percent, two months earlier.

Top congressional leaders said they were coming closer to reaching an agreement on another coronavirus relief package, broadcasting progress after months of fitful efforts to approve more aid, the Wall Street Journal reported. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) met repeatedly yesterday, the group’s first meeting in weeks. Lawmakers are hurrying to craft another aid package this week, before the holidays and the expiration of several key aid provisions. The talks were held one day after a bipartisan group of rank-and-file lawmakers largely wrapped up their work on a compromise coronavirus relief proposal. That agreement included an extension of unemployment insurance and funding for schools, vaccine distribution and small businesses, among other provisions. But the bipartisan coalition came up short in its efforts to reach a broad deal on the thorniest issue: liability protections for businesses and other entities operating during the pandemic. Instead, lawmakers released a $748 billion bill bundling together many of the less-controversial proposals but excluding liability protections backed by Republicans and $160 billion in state and local aid sought by Democrats.

The U.S. poverty rate has surged over the past five months, with 7.8 million Americans falling into poverty, the latest indication of how deeply many are struggling after government aid dwindled, the Washington Post reported. The poverty rate jumped to 11.7 percent in November, up 2.4 percentage points since June, according to new data released today by researchers at the University of Chicago and the University of Notre Dame. While overall poverty levels are low by historical standards, the increase in poverty this year has been swift. It is the biggest jump in a single year since the government began tracking poverty 60 years ago. It is nearly double the next-largest rise, which occurred in 1979-1980 during the oil crisis, according to James X. Sullivan, a professor at Notre Dame, and Bruce D. Meyer, a professor at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy. Sullivan and Meyer created a Covid-19 Income and Poverty Dashboard to track how many Americans are falling below the poverty line during this deep recession. The federal poverty line is $26,200 for a family of four. The economists say the sharp rise in poverty is occurring for two reasons: Millions of people cannot find jobs, and government aid for the unemployed has declined sharply since the summer. The average unemployment payment was more than $900 a week from late March through the end of July, but it fell to about $300 a week in August, making it harder for the unemployed to pay their bills.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers released proposed COVID-19 relief legislation that may provide momentum for breaking a months-long impasse, by separating out coronavirus liability protections and state aid — the two most contentious and partisan items, Bloomberg News reported. After Republicans and Democrats failed to come to a consensus on a liability shield for employers, the group that has been working on a bipartisan compromise released two separate legislative proposals. One is for $748 billion and includes areas of accord like vaccine funding and aid to small businesses, and the other wraps the two most contentious items, including $160 billion for regional authorities. Senator Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in that chamber and one of the negotiators, said that state and local aid and liability are both “critically” important but said that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell should allow votes on the $748 billion consensus measure in coming days. He said the aid it contains is “desperately needed.” McConnell has for days said that the two biggest roadblocks should be set aside, with lawmakers proceeding with the remainder — which includes aid for small businesses, help for the unemployed, funding for vaccine distribution and rescue money for airlines and other transportation providers. If endorsed by Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a separate vote on the $748 billion in COVID-19 relief could offer the first bipartisan backing of both houses of Congress for a stimulus bill since the spring — after months of stalemate. Pelosi and Schumer have argued that the funding for states and localities is too important to allow consideration for a more targeted bill. The bipartisan group’s $748 billion package includes $300 billion for help to small businesses, including through the Paycheck Protection Program, $180 billion for additional unemployment insurance, $45 billion for transportation including airlines and $82 billion for education. Other provisions include $25 billion for housing assistance, $16 billion for vaccine distribution and testing, and $10 billion each for child care, the U.S. Postal Service and rural broadband. Also offered is $25 billion in emergency rental aid and an extension in a moratorium on evictions to Jan. 31. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have warned about the potential bankruptcy of smaller enterprises across the country without a renewal of the Paycheck Protection Program. Read more.

Click here to access the bill text of the Bipartisan COVID-19 Emergency Relief Act of 2020. 

Click here for bill text of the Bipartisan State and Local Support and Small Business Protection Act of 2020. 

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is splitting its $908 billion coronavirus relief proposal into two packages as it prepares to release text today, The Hill reported. The plan will include a $160 billion proposal that ties together the two most controversial elements: more money for state and local governments and protections against coronavirus-related lawsuits. The second proposal will total $748 billion and include ideas that garner broader support, including another round of Paycheck Protection Program funding for small businesses, unemployment benefits, and more money for vaccine distribution, testing and schools. Members of GOP leadership, while saying the bipartisan group has been helpful at finding common ground, argue that a final agreement will need to be hashed out by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Democrats view state and local money as a top priority, and the Senate GOP leader has long called including protections against coronavirus lawsuits a "red line." Read more. 

In related news, ongoing revelations about how big businesses and chains were able to secure hundreds of millions of dollars in funding from the Paycheck Protection Program are shaping discussions in Congress about which employers should be eligible if another $300 billion is approved under another proposed stimulus package. Two leading senators on small-business issues, Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.), agree that a new round of funding should permit businesses to receive a second PPP payment. More funding would also likely require businesses to show that they’ve lost income due to the pandemic to receive loans, which turn into grants if used properly. Read more. 

Additionally, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), indicated yesterday that Democratic House leadership was open to accepting a COVID-19 relief deal with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) that doesn't include aid to state and local governments, The Hill reported. "I mean, I think we need to get an agreement, and we need to get this bill passed," Hoyer told CNN's Abby Phillip during an interview on "Inside Politics." He added, "If we can get [state and local assistance], we want to get it, but we want to get aid out to the people who are really, really struggling and are at great risk." Read more. 

The attempt to draw up a pandemic relief package hit another roadblock yesterday as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s top lieutenants said key portions of a compromise proposal from a bipartisan group of lawmakers aren’t likely to get backing from a majority of Republicans, Bloomberg News reported. Senator John Thune, the chamber’s No. 2 Republican, said the group of GOP and Democratic senators trying to forge a compromise likely cannot produce a solution to limiting the liability of employers in connection with COVID-19 infections that will satisfy Republicans. Democrats probably won’t like the result either, he added. The bipartisan group yesterday removed one of the last remaining hurdles to a complete stimulus framework when they agreed on a needs-based formula to distribute $160 billion in state and local aid, according to two congressional aides. But they are still haggling over the liability shield for employers that Republicans have demanded as part of the package. The group is discussing an enhanced pause in COVID-19 lawsuits, combined with a process for developing a future liability standard along with a standard that would apply now. Read more. 

In related news, a second round of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans that lawmakers hope to include in the next COVID-19 relief package would expand eligibility and provide more flexibility for businesses, a top GOP lawmaker said yesterday, The Hill reported. Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), the ranking member on the House Small Business Committee, said that components of a $908 billion bipartisan coronavirus relief proposal circulated this week would accommodate businesses with very few employees, create new eligibility requirements for a second loan and simplify the loan forgiveness process. “We’re close to having a second round of PPP loans available, and there would be a set-aside there for microbusinesses, those that have 10 or fewer employees,” Chabot said. “A lot of them weren’t sophisticated enough to get in the first round. We want to make sure that those who didn’t get one in the first round or businesses who maybe did get one but really need a second loan, that they’re both eligible.” Read more.