Stimulus Update: Negotiations Hit Unexpected Snag Hours Ahead of Government Shutdown Deadline

Negotiations on the newly proposed stimulus bill seem to have hit an unexpected snag, just hours ahead of the government shutdown deadline. According to Yahoo! News, the delay is related to Republican Sen. Pat Toomey introducing a motion to add Federal Reserve emergency funds limitations to the $900 billion plan. Democrat leaders are not keen on this motion, as they feel it would negatively impact President-elect Joe Biden's ability to improve the conditions of the American economy.

The bipartisan-supported proposal has been through quite a number of changes, in the hope that lawmakers from both sides of the aisle will be open to supporting it. Initially, the proposal did not include a second round of direct stimulus payments for citizens, something that many want and many politicians have openly called for. However, this week it was reported that the bill was being adjusted, which may see it split into two separate bills. The first may see direct stimulus payments, which could likely be in the amount of $600 per American.

The second would be a two-part bill that would contain the two most contested measures to be introduced. On the GOP side, there are business liability protections, which Republicans feel are necessary to keep the nation from suffering what they see as superfluous lawsuits. Democrat leaders disagree with this, as many of them have stated that companies should be held accountable for any spread of the coronavirus that was caused by negligence. In turn, the Democrats have had little luck getting Republicans to support funding for state and local governments.

Most lawmakers believe the two sides will agree to extend government funding for a few more days while relief talks continue. But this is Congress, where even the easy things can be hard to do. “There may be a partial lapse,” Coons said. Latest on talks: https://t.co/7ecTihzTk7

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) December 18, 2020

While there is no word as of yet on when a vote may take place, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has stated that it is "highly likely" that he and his peers will have to work through the weekend to get a deal that is agreeable to both parties. "We're going to stay right here until we're finished, even if that means working through the weekend, which is highly likely," He said from the Senate floor of Thursday. McConnell added that "if we need to further extend the Friday funding deadline before final legislation can pass in both chambers, I hope we'll extend it for a very, very short window of time."