Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., also cautiously expressed optimism, saying “we’re close to an agreement, but the details really matter.” He cited several remaining differences on unemployment insurance, direct payments, and aid to small businesses.
Congress also faces a shutdown deadline this Friday. Government funding was set to lapse last Friday, but Congress passed a short-term bill extending funding for one week to give lawmakers more time to negotiate. Top lawmakers warned they might need to punt the shutdown deadline a few days more to give them time to finish their stimulus bill.
– Nicholas Wu
![Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol with Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., on Dec. 8, 2020.]()
Staring down a government shutdown, congressional leaders appear close to cementing a COVID-19 stimulus deal, but negotiations went on into the night without a deal in place.
The looming deal would restart a boost to federal unemployment insurance benefits, provide some form of relief for state and local governments, and it may include another round of stimulus checks and other much-needed financial benefits for Americans, according to a source familiar with negotiations who wasn’t authorized to speak on the record.
Congress has not passed a comprehensive relief package since March, and as coronavirus case totals climbed and benefits lapsed, Democrats and Republicans were unable to come together on another deal. The Democratic-controlled House and Republican-controlled Senate offered their own versions of legislation, only to be rejected by the other side.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke multiple times Wednesday evening, including a conversation at 10:30 p.m. EST, according to Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill.
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