Congress averts shutdown, buys time for more COVID-19 talks
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress sent a temporary government-wide funding bill to President Donald Trump on Friday that would avert a federal shutdown at midnight and buy time for on-again, off-again talks on COVID-19 aid.
The bill sets a new deadline of midnight next Friday. The short-term measure passed the Senate by a unanimous voice vote without much drama and sent senators home for the weekend without a clear picture of what awaits next week. The House passed the bill Wednesday. Trump was expected to sign it before midnight.
The talks are stalled but there is universal agreement that Congress won't adjourn for the year without passing a long-delayed round of pandemic relief. An emerging $900 billion aid package from a bipartisan group of lawmakers hit a rough patch after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., swung against the effort. Still, negotiations are ongoing anthe d pressure remains intense.
The House has recessed for a few days, with leaders warning members to be prepared to return to Washington to vote on the year-end deals.
Negotiators on a separate $1.4 trillion catchall spending bill appeared to be moving in a positive direction, said the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala.. This bill would serve as a vehicle to carry any year-end virus assistance.
The breakdown over the aid package is a Capitol Hill head-scratcher. Trump has renewed a push for a fresh round of stimulus checks for Americans, proposing $600 per individual rather than the $1,200 that was sent out this spring. Cost concerns are responsible for the smaller amount.
Sending direct cash payments to households was not included in the bipartisan proposal or a lower cost plan from Senate Republicans that has failed twice. The idea of another round of cash but has been embraced by some of the...