Trending
WASHINGTON -- Congress swiftly passed a two-day stopgap spending bill Friday night, averting a partial government shutdown and buying time for frustratingly slow endgame negotiations on an almost $1 trillion COVID-19 economic relief package.
The virus aid talks remain on track, both sides said, but closing out final disagreements is proving difficult.
The House passed the temporary funding bill by a 320-60 vote as lawmakers headed for a Sunday session. The Senate approved the bill by voice vote almost immediately afterward, sending it to President Donald Trump.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said both sides remain intent on closing the deal, even as Democrats launched a concerted campaign to block an effort by Republicans to rein in emergency Federal Reserve lending powers. The Democrats said the GOP proposal would deprive President-elect Joe Biden of crucial tools to manage the economy.
It appeared unlikely that there would be a deal reached Friday night, lawmakers and aides said.
Democrats came out swinging at a key obstacle: a provision by conservative Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., that would close down more than $400 billion in potential Federal Reserve lending powers established under a relief bill in March. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is shutting down the programs at the end of December, but Toomey's language goes further, by barring the Fed from restarting the lending next year, and Democrats say the provision would tie Biden's hands and put the economy at risk.
"As we navigate through an unprecedented economic crisis, it is in the interests of the American people to maintain the Fed's ability to respond quickly and forcefully," said Biden economic adviser Brian Deese.