Second Stimulus: Talks Hit Deadlock Despite Weekend Extension, Threatening Shutdown

The negotiations for a second stimulus check bill are at a stalemate once again, and a government shutdown may be coming as well. The U.S. Congress passed another two-day extension on Friday to give themselves the weekend to work out a yearly spending bill and coronavirus pandemic aid. On Sunday, there were still hurdles to clear with little time left, according to a report by Deadline.

Congress needs to pass its yearly spending bill to avoid a government shut-down, and it also needs to pass some COVID-19 pandemic relief for struggling Americans. The two efforts have become entangled, with some lawmakers proposing to include the pandemic aid in the spending bill itself. However, this makes the threat of failed negotiations even more dangerous — especially since many of the few remaining relief programs are scheduled to expire at the end of the month.

The moratorium of evictions, unemployment extensions and other programs specific to the pandemic are running out. The Republican-controlled U.S. Senate and the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives have been at a stalemate over these issues since May, and so far, no looming deadline has managed to break it. Still, many were hopeful that the end of the year and the threat of a shut-down would be enough to force a compromise.

At the time of this writing, the outlook is grim. Even if Congress passes something on Sunday, it will take weeks to deploy whatever aid they manage to agree on, meaning a considerable gap between the expiration of old programs and the implementation of new ones for struggling Americans. Meanwhile, the virus is worsening all over the U.S.

Over the last seven months, Congress has squabbled over stimulus packages as large as $3.5 trillion and as small as $500 billion, but this month they are focused on trying to pass a smaller package, knowing that President-elect Joe Biden intends to pass a bigger one next month. According to a report by The Washington Post, lawmakers are negotiating with the upcoming Biden presidency in mind, giving Republicans an extra bargaining chip in the short term.

That leaves many Americans in limbo in the meantime, unsure of what benefits might be extended, revived or put in place for the first time. There is no concrete answer yet on what programs might make it into the final stimulus effort of 2020 — if one passes at all. Congress continues its negotiations on Sunday.