Washington, Dec 22: Running out of time and excuses, Congress took up a USD 900 billion pandemic relief package Monday night that would finally deliver long-sought cash to businesses and individuals and resources to vaccinate a nation confronting a frightening surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths.
Lawmakers tacked on a SD 1.4 trillion catchall spending bill and thousands of pages of other end-of-session business in a massive bundle of bipartisan legislation as Capitol Hill prepared to close the books on the year.
The relief package, agreed to on Sunday and finally released in bill form Monday afternoon, remained on track for votes in the House and Senate. It would establish a temporary USD 300 per week supplemental jobless benefit and a USD 600 direct stimulus payment to most Americans, along with a new round of subsidies for hard-hit businesses and restaurants and money for schools, health care providers and renters facing eviction.
The 5,593-page legislation — the longest bill ever by far — came together Sunday after months of battling, posturing and postelection negotiating that reined in a number of Democratic demands as the end of the congressional session approached. President-elect Joe Biden was eager for a deal to deliver long-awaited help to suffering people and a boost to the economy, even though it was less than half the size that Democrats wanted in the fall.
The House was cruising to a vote Monday night and the Senate was expected to vote shortly afterward. Congress was passing a one-week stopgap spending bill to avert a partial government shutdown at midnight and give President Donald Trump time to sign the sweeping legislation.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, a key negotiator, said on CNBC Monday morning that the direct payments would begin arriving in bank accounts next week.
Democrats acknowledged it wasn’t as robust a relief package as they initially sought — or, they say, the country needs.
“This deal is not everything I want — not by a long shot,” said Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern, R-Mass, a longstanding voice in the party’s old-school liberal wing. “The choice before us is simple. It’s about whether we help families or not. It’s about whether we help small businesses and restaurants or not. It’s about whether we boost (food stamp) benefits and strengthen anti-hunger programs or not. And whether we help those dealing with a job loss or not. To me, this is not a tough call.”
Democrats promised more aid to come once Biden takes office, but Republicans were signaling a wait-and-see approach.
The final agreement would add to a national debt that has spiked by USD 7 trillion to USD 27.5 trillion during Trump’s term.
The measure would fund the government through September, wrapping a year’s worth of action on annual spending bills into a single package that never saw Senate committee or floor debate.
The legislation followed a tortured path. Democrats played hardball up until Election Day, amid accusations that they wanted to deny Trump a victory that might help him prevail. Democrats denied that, but their demands indeed became more realistic after Trump’s loss and as Biden made it clear that half a loaf was better than none.
The final bill bore ample resemblance to a USD 1 trillion package put together by Senate Republican leaders in July, a proposal that at the time was scoffed at by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif, as way too little.
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, took a victory lap after blocking far more ambitious legislation from reaching the Senate floor. He said the pragmatic approach of Biden was key.
“A few days ago, with a new president-elect of their own party, everything changed. Democrats suddenly came around to our position that we should find consensus, make law where we agree, and get urgent help out the door,” McConnell said.
On direct payments, the bill provides USD 600 to individuals making up to USD 75,000 per year and USD 1,200 to couples making up to $150,000, with payments phased out for higher incomes. An additional USD 600 payment will be made per dependent child, similar to the last round of relief payments in the spring.
The USD 300 per week bonus jobless benefit was half the supplemental federal unemployment benefit provided under the USD 1.8 billion CARES Act in March. That more generous benefit and would be limited to 11 weeks instead of 16 weeks. The direct USD 600 stimulus payment was also half the March payment.
The CARES Act was credited with keeping the economy from falling off a cliff during widespread lockdowns in the spring, but Republicans controlling the Senate cited debt concerns in pushing against Democratic demands.
“Anyone who thinks this bill is enough hasn’t heard the desperation in the voices of their constituents, has not looked into the eyes of the small-business owner on the brink of ruin,” Schumer said.
Progress came after a bipartisan group of pragmatists and moderates devised a USD 908 billion plan that built a middle-ground position that the top four leaders of Congress — the GOP and Democratic leaders of both the House and Senate — used as the basis for their talks. The lawmakers urged leaders on both sides to back off of hardline positions. (AGENCIES)
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